■»• 


~3BS\430 
BZ6Z 
v.i 


NOTES, 

CRITICAL,  EXPLANATORY,  AXD   PRACTICAL, 


ON  THE 


BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 


By    ALBERT    BARNES, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  NOTES   ON   THE   NEW  TESTAMENT,"  "  LECTURES  ON  THE 
EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


IN    THREE    VOLUMES. 
VOL^X 

it 

\   /        • n  y 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 
1869. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S67,  by 

ALBERT   BARNES, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern 

District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PEEFACE. 


These  Notes  on  the  Book  of  Psalms  complete  my  labours  in 
endeavouring  to  explain  and  illustrate  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
At  my  timp  of  life, — with  the  partial  failure  of  vision  with 
which  I  have  been  afflicted  for  more  than  twelve  years, — with  the 
other  cares  and  burdens  resting  on  me, — and  with  the  moral 
certainty  that  the  infirmities  of  age,  if  I  am  spared,  must  soon 
come  upon  me,  I  could  hope  to  accomplish  no  more  ; — and  I  shall 
attempt  no  more. 

These  Notes  were  commenced  more  than  twelve  years  ago,  and 
were  undertaken  in  pursuance  of  a  desire  long  cherished.  For 
this  work  I  had  been  making  preparation  for  several  years 
previous  by  the  collection  of  such  Commentaries  on  the  Psalms  as 
I  could  obtain,  that  might  assist  me  in  preparing  something  on 
this  portion  of  the  Sacred  Volume  that  might  at  once  be  useful 
to  others,  and  might  make  it  my  duty  and  privilege,  in  this  the 
closing  labour  of  my  life,  in  this  department,  to  contemplate  the 
beauties  of  this  book  by  a  close  study, — an  employment  than 
which  none  could  be  more  appropriate  for  one  who  looks  at  the 
end  of  all  his  earthly  labours  as  rapidly  approaching. 

The  work  has  been  prosecuted  with  such  leisure  as  I  could 
command, — the  whole  of  it  having  been  written,  as  all  my  other 
Commentaries  have  been,  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning, 
uniformly  closing  my  daily  task  in  this  respect  as  the  hour  of 
nine  was  reached.     By  this  arrangement  I  have  secured  the  time 


iv  PREFACE. 

ft 

which   I  have   employed  in   preparing  the  Notes  on  the  New' 
Testament,  on  Job,  on  Isaiah,  on  Daniel,  and  now  on  the  Psalms, 
without  entrenching  on  what  I  felt  might  properly  be  required  of  I 
me  in  my  pastoral  labours  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  have  secured 
to  myself  personally  the  inestimable  benefit  of  commencing  each 
day  with  the  contemplation  of  a  portion  of  the  Word  of  God. 

In  the  long  period  which  has  elapsed  since  these  Notes  on  the 
Psalms  were  commenced,  I  have  been  frequently  compelled  to 
interrupt  my  studies  by  the  condition  of  my  eyes ;  and,  in  more 
than  one  instance,  the  work  has  been  wholly  suspended  for  more 
than  a  year  at  a  time,  with  little  hope  that  it  would  be  resumed 
again.  Some  apology,  I  trust,  may  be  found  in  these  facts  for 
the  manifold  defects  which  I  have  too  much  reason  to  suppose 
will  be  observed  bv  all  who  consult  these  volumes.  I  have 
performed  my  work  as  well  as  I  could  ;  but  I  have  not  accom- 
plished my  own  cherished  hopes  in  regard  to  it.  It  is  not  what  I 
fondly  trusted  it  might  be  ;  it  is  not  what  a  work  on  the  Psalms 
should  be.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  the  failure  I  have  stated  at 
length  in  the  Introduction,  §  8. 

It  is  of  more  interest  to  me  than  it  can  be  to  the  public  to  say 
that  I  cannot  close  these  labours,  continued  through  so  many 
years  of  my  life,  without  deep  emotion.  The  very  fact  that  any 
work  of  life  is  ended,  however  humble  or  unimportant  it  may  be 
in  itself,  is  fitted  to  suggest  solemn  reflections  to  a  man's  own 
mind.  The  nature  of  the  work  in  which  I  have  thus  been 
engaged  is  such  as  to  give  great  additional  solemnity  to  these 
reflections.  He  undertakes  a  work  of  great  responsibility,  who 
engages  in  the  task  of  endeavouring  to  explain  the  Word  of  God, 
and  who  may  thus  give  direction  to  the  views,  perhaps,  of  thou- 
sands, on  subjects  that  may  affect  their  destiny  for  ever. 

In  looking,  now,  at  a  labour  of  this  kind  continued  for  nearly 
forty  years,  and  entered  on  with  no  expectation  of  the  results 


PREFACE.  v 

which  have  been  reached,  while  I  am  grateful  for  the  patronage 
extended  to  my  efforts  in  this  country  and  abroad,  I  cannot  be 
insensible  to  the  responsibility  of  having  in  that  time  sent  forth 
to  influence  my  fellow-men  more  than  half  a  million  of  volumes  of 
Commentary  on  the  Scriptures  in  my  native  land,  and  perhaps 
more  than  this  number  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  and  of 
having  been  permitted,  to  a  limited  extent  at  least,  thus  to  speak 
in  the  Erench  and  "Welsh  languages,  in  the  languages  of  India, 
and  in  the  language  spoken  by  the  millions  of  China. 

With  such  feelings  of  gratitude,  and  with,  I  trust,  some  proper 
sense  of  my  responsibility,  I  now  close  this  part  of  the  labour  of 
my  life,  and  commend  these  volumes,  as  I  have  endeavoured  to 
do  those  which  have  gone  before  them,  to  the  blessing  of  God. 

ALBERT   BARNES. 


Philadelphia,  Feb.,  4,  1868. 


INTRODUCTION. 


§  1.  The  title  to  the  Book  of  Psalms.— The  general  title  to  the 
Book  of  Psalms  in  Hebrew  is  trkrn — Tehillim,  Psalms,  or  more  fully, 
Es^nn  ~>Dp — Sepher  Tehillim,  "  Book  of  Psalms."  Sometimes  a  shorter 
title  is  used — tphft—Tillim.  Other  terms  are  used  as  appropriate 
to  particular  psalms,  as  tTitt  173—  mizmorim,  or  DS"]125,  shirim,  songs ;  or 
in  the  singular,  i?0T?2,  mizmor,  and  TIE),  shir,  a  song.  These  latter 
titles,  however,  are  not  given  to  the  entire  collection,  but  to  particular 
psalms.  The  former  title — mizmor — is  given  to  Ps.  iii.,  iv.,  v.,  vi., 
viii.,  ix.,  xii.,  xiii.,  xv.,  xix.,  xx.,  xxi.,  xxii.,  xxiii.,  and  to  thirty-nine 
others,  the  last  being  Ps.  cxliii.,  rendered  uniformly  a  psalm.  The 
latter  title,  shir,  occurs  in  Ps.  xxx.,  xlv.,  xlvi.,  and  in  twenty-seven 
other  psalms,  the  last  being  Ps.  cxxxiv.,  and  is  uniformly  rendered 
song,  though  it  is  sometimes  connected  with  the  word  mizmor,  psalm, 
and  rendered  "  A  song  and  psalm,"  as  in  Ps.  xlviii.,  lxv.,  lxvi.,  lxvii., 
lxviii.,  lxxv.,  lxxxiii.,  lxxxvii.,  lxxxviii. ;  and  in  Ps.  cxxii.,  cxxiii.,  cxxiv. 
it  is  connected  with  the  word  degrees  :  "A  song  of  degrees." 

The  word  Tehillim  is  derived  from  the  verb — p^n — halal,  to  praise, 
as  in  the  word  Hallelujah,  Praise  Jehovah.  The  name  is  given  to  the 
general  collection,  because  praise,  more  than  any  one  thing  else,  is 
the  characteristic  of  the  book,  and  because  the  collection  seems  to 
have  been  designed  to  he  used  in  the  public  praise  or  worship  of  God. 
Probably  they  were  all  thus  used  in  Hebrew  worship. 

The  word  Psalms,  as  applied  to  the  collection,  we  have  derived  from 
the  Greek  translation,  the  word  \pa\ixbg,  in  the  plural  xpaXfxol—psalmos, 
and  psalmoi.  This  word  is  derived  from  ipd\\u>,  psallo,  to  touch,  to 
twitch,  to  pluck — as  the  hair  or  beard ;  and  then,  to  touch  or  twitch  a 
string,  to  twang,  that  is,  to  cause  it  to  vibrate  by  touching  or  twitch- 
ing it  with  the  finger  or  with  a  plectrum  {r:\r\KTpov) — an  instrument 
for  striking  the  strings  of  a  lyre,  as  a  quill.  Cic.  1ST.  D.,  2.  59.  Hence 
the  word  is  applied  to  instruments  of  music  employed  in  praise,  and 
then  to  acts  of  praise  in  general.  The  noun—  ^  iXfio^^^salmos— psalm, 

1* 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

means  properly  a  touching,  twang,  as  of  a  bowstring,  or  of  stringed 
instruments  ;  then  a  song,  as  accompanying  stringed  instruments ; 
and  then  specifically  a  psalm  or  song  of  praise  to  God.  Thus  the 
verb — i|/a\\w,  psallo — is  used  in  the  New  Testament  as  denoting  praise 
in  the  following  places  : — Rom.  xv.  9,  "  I  will  confess — and  sing  unto 
Thy  name ;"  1  Cor.  xiv.  15,  "  I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  sing 
with  the  understanding ;"  Eph.  v.  19,  "  Singing  and  malting  melody 
in  your  heart  to  the  Lord;"  James  v.  13,  "  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him 
sing  psalms."  The  verb  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  noun — ipa\[x6g,  psalmos — is  used  in  the  New  Testament  in 
the  following  places  as  denoting  psalms  in  general : — 1  Cor.  xiv. 
26,  "Every  one  of  you  hath  &  psalm  •"  Eph.  v.  19,  "Speaking  to 
yourselves  in  psalms ;"  Col.  iii.  16,  "  Admonishing  one  another 
in  psalms"  In  the  following  places  it  is  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  the  Book  of  Psalms,  considered  as  a  collection  of  songs 
of  praise ; — Luke  xx.  42,  "  David  himself  saith  in  the  Book  of 
Psalms  ;" — Luke  xxiv.  44,  "  All  things  must  be  fulfilled,  which  were 
written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms, 
concerning  me :"  see  Notes  on  that  passage ; — Acts  i.  20,  "  It  is 
written  in  the  Book  of  Psalms;" — Acts  xiii.  33,  "It  is  also  written 
in  the  second  psalm."  The  word  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the 
New  Testament. 

§  2.  The  authors  of  the  psalms. — The  Psalms  thus  collected  into  a 
book  are  by  no  means  the  production  of  one  poet  or  one  age.  They 
stretch  through  a  long  period  of  Jewish  history,  certainly  from  the 
time  of  Moses  to  the  time  of  the  return  from  the  captivity  of  Baby- 
lon, and  probably  later,  and  they  are  modified  by  all  the  varieties 
incident  to  the  peculiarities  of  their  respective  authors ;  to  individual 
and  national  history ;  to  the  times  in  which  they  were  composed.  So 
many  of  them,  however,  are  the  composition  of  David,  that  it  is 
customary  to  speak  of  them  as  "  The  Psalms  of  David,"  though  it  is 
probable  that  not  much  more  than  half  of  the  psalms  in  the  collection 
*  were  written  by  him.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  comprising  the 
collection,  according  to  the  enumeration  in  the  Hebrew  manuscripts, 
not  quite  one  half  are  usually  ascribed  to  him.  According  to  De 
Wette,  seventy-four ;  to  Kennicott,  sixty-six ;  to  De  Rossi,  sixty- 
seven  ;  to  Rosenmiiller  and  Eichhorn,  seventy-one  ;  and  to  Hengsten- 
berg,  eighty.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  a  portion  of  the  psalms 
to  which  no  name  is  prefixed  in  the  title — but  how  great  a  portion  it 
is  impossible  now  to  determine— is  the  production  of  David.  Still,  so 
many  are  known  to  have  been  composed  by  him,  and  he  was  so 
eminent  as  a  poet,  as  to  justify  the  language  which  is  so  frequently 
employed  when  they  are  called  familiarly  "  The  Psalms  of  David." 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

The  following  persons  are  mentioned  in  the  titles  as  authors  of 
psalms : 

(1.)  One  psalm  (xc.)  is  ascribed  to  Moses.  In  regard  to  the  question 
whether  this  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  composition  of  Moses,  see  Notes 
on  the  psalm.  No  other  psalm  in  the  collection  is  ascribed  to  him, 
though  not  a  few  specimens  of  his  poetry  are  preserved  in  the 
Pentateuch.  Why  this  was  not  incorporated  with  his  other  writings, 
or  how  it  was  preserved  until  it  obtained  a  permanent  place  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  cannot  now  be  determined. 

(2.)  David  occupies  a  prominent  position  as  the  author  of  many  of 
the  psalms  in  the  collection,  but,  as  has  been  remarked  above,  critics 
are  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  exact  number  that  should  be  ascribed 
to  him.  In  the  Hebrew  inscriptions  of  the  Psalms,  sixty- eight  are 
attributed  to  him.  The  difference  between  this  number  and  that 
noted  above  in  regard  to  the  opinions  of  De  Wette,  Kennicott,  De 
Rossi,  Rosenm  idler,  Eichhorn,  Hengstenberg,  and  others,  arises  from 
the  variations  in  the  manuscripts  in  respect  to  these  inscriptions ; 
the  different  value  attached  to  these  inscriptions  by  various  critics ; 
the  fact  that  some  psalms,  though  without  a  title  in  the  Hebrew,  are 
supposed  to  be  so  certainly  the  production  of  David  as  to  make  it 
proper  to  ascribe  them  to  him ;  and  the  fact  that  some  of  the  psalms 
ascribed  to  him  are  supposed  by  different  writers  to  belong  to  a  later 
period  of  the  Jewish  history  than  his  time,  and  that  consequently 
the  title  by  which  they  are  attributed  to  David  is  an  error.  There  is 
every  reason  to  suppose  that  some  of  the  psalms  now  without  a 
title  are  the  composition  of  David,  though  it  is  not  known,  and  cannot 
now  be  known,  why  they  are  not  ascribed  to  him  in  the  titles  of  the 
psalms  themselves.  In  consequence  of  these  facts,  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine  with  exact  precision  how  many  of  the  psalms 
are  to  be  ascribed  to  David ;  though  the  number  is  undoubtedly 
so  great  that  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  principal  author  of  the 
collection. 

(3.)  Twelve  of  the  psalms,  Ps.  1.,  lxxiii.,  lxxiv.,  lxxv.,  lxxvi.,  lxxvii., 
lxxviii.,  lxxix.,  lxxx.,  lxxxi.,  lxxxii.,  lxxxiii.,  are  ascribed  to  Asaph. 
These,  it  will  be  seen,  occupy  a  place  together  in  the  collection,  (Ps.  lxiii. 
— lxxxiii..)  with  the  exception  of  Ps.  1.  The  reason  for  this  arrangement 
cannot  now  be  known.  De  Wette  (Einleitung,  III.  iii.)  supposes 
that,  with  the  exception  of  Ps.  1.  and  lxxiii.,  these  are  improperly 
ascribed  to  Asaph,  as,  in  his  view,  they  pertain  to  later  times  of  the 
Jewish  history,  Ps.  lxxiv.  and  lxxix.  to  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
and  the  city ;  Ps.  lxxx.  to  the  Exile,  etc.  Comp.  the  Notes  on  the 
introduction  to  those  psalms. 

(4.)  Eleven  of  the  psalms,  xlii.,  xliv.,  xlv.,  xlvi.,  xlvii.,  xlviii.,  xlix., 
lxxxiv.,  lxxxv.,  lxxxvii.,  lxxxviii.,  are  ascribed  to  "the  sons  of  Korah,"  as 


x  INTRODUCTION. 

the  authors,  or  are  "for  the  sons  of  Korah."  See  Notes  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  Ps.  xlii.  It  is  not  certain  whether  these  were  composed  by 
"  the  sons  of  Korah,"  or  were  composed  for  "  the  sons  of  Korah ;" 
that  is,  for  the  company  of  musicians  to  whom  the  direction  of  the 
music  in  the  teniple  was  confided.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  if  the 
meaning  is  that  they  were  composed  by  "  the  sons  of  Korah,"  this 
furnishes  no  information  as  to  the  individual  authorship  of  the  psalms. 
By  which  one  of  them  they  were  composed,  or  whether  by  more  than 
one,  of  course  is  not  indicated  by  a  title  so  general.  De  Wette 
supposes  that  most  of  these  psalms  pertain  to  the  times  of  the  Exile, 
or  to  a  later  period.  There  is  nothing  very  peculiar  in  the  character 
of  these  psalnis ;  nothing  which  in  themselves  could  lead  us  to  conclude 
that  they  were  composed  by  those  to  whom  they  are  ascribed,  rather 
than  by  David  or  Asaph. 

(5.)  Two  psalms,  lxxxviii.,  lxxxix.,  are  ascribed  to  a  person  called 
"  The  Ezrahite."  One  of  these,  Ps.  lxxxviii.,  is  ascribed  to  "  Heman 
the  Ezrahite,"  and  the  other,  Ps.  lxxxix.,  to  Ethan  the  Ezrahite." 
The  former  of  these  is  also  reckoned  among  those  which  pertain  to 
the  "  sons  of  Korah."  Ethan  and  Heman  were  probably,  however, 
different  persons,  to  each  of  whom  the  name  Ezrahite  might  for  some 
reason  be  applied.  In  1  Kings  iv.  31,  they  are  mentioned  among 
others  as  remarkable  for  their  wisdom  :  "  For  he  [Solomon]  was 
wiser  than  all  men;  than  Ethan  the  Ezrahite,  and  Heman,  and 
Chalcol,  and  Darda,  the  sons  of  Mahol."  In  1  Chron.  ii.  6,  they 
are  mentioned  as  "  sons  of  Zerah  :"  "  Zimri,  and  Ethan,  and  Heman, 
and  Calcol,  and  Dara."  In  1  Chron.  vi.  33,  a  Heman  is  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  "  sons  of  the  Kohathites  :"  "  Heman,  a  singer,  the  son 
of  Joel."  So,  in  1  Chron.  xv.  17,  he  is  mentioned  in  connexion 
with  Ethan,  who  is  there  said  to  be  the  son  of  Kushaiah ;  and  in 
1  Chron.  xv.  19,  he  is  mentioned  as  associated  with  Asaph  and 
Ethan  :  "  So  the  singers,  Heman,  Asaph,  and  Ethan,  were  appointed 
to  sound  with  cymbals  of  brass."  In  1  Chron.  xxv.  1,  Heman  is  men- 
tioned with  Jeduthun,  as  one  of  those  whose  sons  "  should  prophesy 
with  harps,  with  psalteries,  and  with  cymbals."  He  is  there  referred 
to  as  associated  with  Asaph.  Comp.  2  Chron.  v.  12;  xxix.  13,  14; 
xxxv.  15.  Ethan  is  twice  mentioned — 1  Kings  iv.  31  as  above,  as  a 
wise  man,  and  1  Chron.  ii.  6,  as  above.  Compare  Notes  on  the 
introduction  to  Ps.  lxxxviii.,  lxxxix. 

(6.)  Two  of  the  psalms,  Ps.  lxxii.  and  Ps.  cxxvii.,  are  ascribed  to 
Solomon,  or  are  "for  Solomon."  See  the  Notes  on  the  titles  to  those 
psalms.  It  cannot  be  positively  determined  whether  those  psalms  , 
are  his  composition,  or  whether  they  were  composed  with  reference 
to  him  or  "for  "  him.  The  latter  would  seem  to  be  the  more  probable 
opinion  in  regard  to  Ps.  lxxii.,  so  far  as  can  be  determined  from  the 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

contents  of  th£  psalm;  but  still  there  is  nothing  which  absolutely 
prevents  us  from  ascribing  the  two  to  him  as  the  author. 

(7.)  Fifteen  of  the  psalms,  Ps.  cxx. — cxxxiv.,  are  entitled  "  Songs  of 
Decrees."  Of  these,  four  are  ascribed  to  David  and  one  to  Solomon. 
The  names  of  the  authors  of  the  others  are  not  mentioned.  Comp. 
the  introduction  to  the  Notes  on  Ps.  cxx.  They  are  grouped 
together  because  they  appear  to  have  been  used  on  certain  special 
occasions,  rather  than  from  anything  peculiar  in  the  psalms 
themselves. 

(8.)  Some  of  the  psalms  are  ascribed  in  the  Septuagint  translation 
to  Jeremiah,  to  Ezekiel,  to  Haggai,  and  to  Zechariah.  As  there  is 
nothing  corresponding  to  this  in  the  Hebrew  titles,  this  must  have 
been,  of  course,  mere  conjecture  or  tradition. 

(9.)  There  remains  a  pretty  large  number  of  the  collection  the 
names  of  whose  authors  are  not  mentioned  ;  and,  of  course,  there  are 
now  no  means  of  determining  the  question  in  regard  to  the  author- 
ship. Such  are  Ps.  i.,  ii.,  x.,  xxxiii.,  xliii.,  lxxi.,  xcii.,  xciii.,  xciv.,  xcv., 
xcvi.,  xcvii.,  xcviii.,  xcix.,  c,  civ.,  cv.,  cvi.,  cvii.,  cxi.,  cxii.,  cxiii.,  cxiv., 
cxv.,  cxvi.,  cxvii.,  cxviii.,  cxix.,  cxxxv.,  cxxxvi.,  cxxxvii.,  cxlvi.,  cxlvii., 
cxlviii.,  cxlix.,  cl.  These,  it  will  be  seen,  are  irregularly  scattered 
through  the  book,  though  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  near  its  close. 

In  regard  to  the  origin  and  authority  of  the  titles  to  the  several 
psalms,  see  §  4. 

§  3.  The  formation  of  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  the  Booh  of 
Psalms. — The  Jewish  Talmud  (Cod.  Berachot,  1,  9)  ascribes  the 
formation  of  the  Psalter,  or  the  assembling  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
to  David.  It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  this  cannot  be  a  correct 
opinion,  as  many  of  the  psalms  are  indubitably  of  a  later  date  than 
the  time  of  Davij^.  Most  of  the  Christian  fathers,  and  many  critics 
of  modern  times,  ascribe  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  the  book 
to  Ezra,  and  this  is  now  regarded  as  the  most  probable  opinion  ;  and  if 
so  the  collection  must  have  been  formed  about  450  years  before  Christ. 
But  though  this  may  be  regarded  as  the  correct  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  completion  of  the  whole  as  it  now  stands,  yet  there  is  evidence 
in  the  psalms  themselves  of  the  existence  of  smaller  collections  made 
before  from  which  the  general  one  was  ultimately  formed.  By  whom 
those  smaller  collections  were  made  is  not  now  known,  nor  can  it  be 
ascertained  what  changes  may  have  been  made  in  them  when  the 
general  collection  was  formed. 

The  book  is  divided  in  the  Hebrew  into  five  minor  books  or  collec- 
tions, sufficiently  marked  in  their  character,  aud  so  indicated  at  the 
close  of  each  as  to  make  it  every  way  probable  that  these  may  have 
been  published,  so  to  speak,  in  the  form  of  different  books,  or  that 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  later  were  additions  to  the  first  collection  or 'volume.  This 
division  is  found  also  in  the  Septuagint  version — a  fact  which  proves 
that  it  existed  as  early  as  the  year  200  before  Christ.  These  portions 
bear  marks  of  being  not  arbitrary  divisions  made  at  the  time  when 
the  general  collection  was  formed,  but  distinct  and  independent 
collections  by  different  persons.  The  grouping  is  not  precisely 
accurate,  that  is,  in  the  first  part,  the  "  Psalms  of  David  "  (Ps.  i. —  xli.), 
not  all  the  psalms  of  David  are  included ;  and  there  are  a  few  that 
are  not  ascribed  to  him  in  the  title ;  but  still  it  was  so  complete  at 
the  time,  probably,  as  to  make  it  proper  to  regard  it  as  a  collection 
of  his  psalms  in  respect  to  the  purpose  for  which  that  collection  was 
made. 

The  first  book  embraces  the  first  forty-one  psalms,  and  was,  pro- 
bably, a  collection  of  David's  psalms  as  such,  although  it  does  not 
embrace  by  any  means  all  that  he  wrote,  probably  not  all  that  were 
extant  at  the  time  when  the  collection  was  made.  The  close  of  this 
"  book  "  is  indicated  by  the  words  "  Amen,  and  Amen,"  Ps.  xli.  13. 
All  the  psalms  in  this  collection,  except  Ps.  i.,  ii.,  x.,  and  xxxiii.,  are 
expressly  ascribed  to  David,  and  it  is  every  way  probable  that  all 
were  composed  by  him.  In  many  manuscripts,  in  the  Septuagint, 
and  in  the  Latin  Vulgate,  the  first  psalm  is  united  with  the  second 
(as  are,  also,  in  other  parts  of  the  general  collection,  Ps.  xlii.  and 
Ps.  xliii.,  and  Ps.  cxvi.  and  cxvii.).  It  is  probable  that  this  collection 
was  early  made,  though  De  "Wette  has  endeavoured  to  show  that  it 
could  not  have  been  until  after  the  Exile,  as  he  supposes  that  Ps. 
xiv.  and  xliv.  were  composed  after  that  event.  Of  this,  however, 
there  is  no  evidence.  Of  course  it  is  impossible  to  determine  by 
whom  this  collection  was  made.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that 
it  was  as  early  as  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  and  that  it  was  prepared 
under  his  direction,  as  he  is  known  to  have  ordergl  a  collection  of 
the  proverbs  of  Solomon  to  be  made  and  written  out  (Pro v.  xxv.  1); 
and  as  (2  Chron.  xxix.  30)  he  "  commanded  the  Levites  to  sing 
praise  unto  the  Lord  with  the  words  of  David."    (Kitto,  Ency.) 

The  second  book  in  the  general  collection  comprises  Ps.  xlii. — lxxii. 
This  collection  is  made  up  of  the  psalms  of  "  the  sons  of  Korah," 
Ps.  xlii. — xlix. ;  of  one  of  the  psalms  of  Asaph,  Ps.  1. ;  of  nineteen 
psalms  of  David ;  of  two  whose  authors  are  not  named ;  and  of  one 
inscribed  "  to  Solomon,"  or  "for  Solomon,"  Ps.  lxxii.  At  the  end 
of  this  collection  (Ps.  lxxii.  20)  the  following  notice  is  given  :  "  The 
prayers  of  David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  are  ended ; "  and  some  have 
supposed  that  this  was  the  close  of  the  entire  psalms  preceding  it,  as 
one  book  or  collection,  Ps.  i. — lxxii.  Carpzov.  Introd.  ii.  107.  But 
that  this  was  a  different  collection,  or  that  there  were  two  collections 
made  by  different  persons,  seems  evident  from  the  fact  that  Ps.  liii. 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

is  the  same  as  Ps.  xiv.,  with  only  slight  variations — the  variations 
consisting  mainly  in  the  fact  that  the  word  Elohim  is  used  as  the 
name  of  God  in  the  latter,  in  the  place  of  Jehovah  in  the  former.  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  a  collector  would  have  used  the  same  psalm 
with  such  a  variation  in  the  same  collection.  So  also  Ps.  lxx.  is  but 
a  repetition  of  Ps.  xl.  13 — 17,  with  only  a  similar  change. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  these  two  collections  may  have  been 
subsequently  united,  and  may  have  constituted  one  before  the  more 
general  collection  was  made.  Thus,  the  natural  close  of  this  collec- 
tion,  as  of  the  first  collection  (Ps.  xli.  13),  would  be  with  the  words 
"  Amen,  and  Amen,"  Ps.  lxxii.  19.  To  the  entire  collection — the  two 
combined — these  words  may  have  been  added  (Ps.  lxxii.  20),  "  The 
prayers  of  David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  are  ended,"  meaning  that  now 
an  entire  and  complete  collection  of  the  Psalms  of  David  had  been 
made  in  the  two  combined ;  or,  that  as  many  had  been  combined  for 
public  worship  as  were  then  intended  to  be  used  in  that  service.  This 
idea  would  not  present  the  supposition  that  there  may  have  been  at 
that  time,  in  fact,  other  psalms  of  David  in  existence ;  or  that  they 
might  have  been  subsequently  introduced  into  the  worship  of  God  in 
other  collections. 

The  third  book  (Ps.  lxxiii. — lxxxix.)  consists  in  part  (Ps.  lxxiii. — 
lxxxiii.)  of  psalms  of  Asaph,  and  in  part  (Ps.  Ixxxiv. — lxxxix.)  of  the 
psalms  of  the  sons  of  Korah,  including  one  of  David  (Ps.  lxxxvi.). 
The  book  contains  none  of  the  psalms  of  David,  with  the  exception 
of  Ps.  lxxxvi.,  and  therefore  the  notice  is  given  at  the  end  of  the 
second  book  (Ps.  lxxii.  20),  that  "  the  prayers  of  David,  the  son  of 
Jesse,  are  ended."  It  was  evidently  the  design  of  the  author  of  the 
compilation  at  the  close  of  that  book  not  to  admit  in  the  following 
book  any  of  the  psalms  of  David ;  perhaps  it  was  the  intention  not 
to  collect  any  more  of  the  psalms  of  David  for  the  purpose  of  public 
worship.  Possibly,  as  De  Wette  (Einleitung,  p.  21)  suggests,  the 
author  of  the  collection  in  the  third  book  put  the  notice  at  the  end 
of  the  second  book  that  David's  psalms  ended  there,  it  being  his 
intention  to  make  a  collection  of  another  kind.  When  this  collection 
was  made  is  unknown.  From  Ps.  lxxxv.  it  would  seem  probable 
that  it  was  made  as  late  as  the  return  from  the  captivity  at  Babylon. 
That  psalm  may  have  been  written  by  one  of  the  company  called 
"  the  sons  of  Korah ;"  or  it  may  have  been  composed  for  their  use 
in  the  sanctuary.  This  collection  closes,  like  the  two  former,  with 
the  expressive  "  Amen,  and  Amen,"  Ps.  lxxxix.  52. 

The  fourth  collection  (Ps.  xc. — cvi.)  is  made  up  wholly  of  anony- 
mous psalms,  with  the  exception  of  Ps.  xc,  which  is  ascribed  to 
Moses,  and  Ps.  ci.  and  ciii.,  which  are  ascribed  to  David.  They  are 
psalms  which  have  almost  no  local  references  or  allusions,  which 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

might,  for  the  most  part,  have  been  composed  in  any  country  or  at 
any  period  of  the  world ;  and  which,  in  their  structure  and  allusions, 
give  no  indication  of  then  authors  or  of  the  circumstances  which  led 
to  their  composition.  Their  authorship,  except  in  the  three  instances 
above  mentioned,  cannot  now  be  ascertained ;  nor  is  it  necessary 
to  determine  that  question  in  order  fully  to  understand  and  appre- 
ciate them.  They  were  manifestly  designed  for  public  worship,  and 
probably  written  with  the  intention  of  being  so  used.  This  book 
closes  (Ps.  cvi.  48)  with  the  expression  "  Amen,  Hallelujah." 

The  fifth  and  last  book  (Ps.  cvii. — cl.),  is  miscellaneous  in  its 
character,  and  seems  to  have  been  intended  to  be  a  collection  of  all 
the  scattered  psalms  which  would  be  proper  for  public  worship, 
which  had  not  found  a  place  in  the  other  collections.  Part  ^Psalms 
cviii.,  cix.,  ex.,  exxii.,  exxiv.,  exxxi..  exxxiii.,  the  four  last  being 
among  the  "  Songs  of  Degrees,"  exxxviii.,  exxxix.,  cxl.,  cxli.,  cxlii., 
cxliii.,  cxliv.,  cxlv.,)  are  ascribed  to  David.  Part  (Psalms  cxx. — exxxiv.) 
consist  of  the  "  Songs  of  Degrees."  The  rest  (Psalms  cvii.,  cxi.,  cxii., 
cxiii.,  cxiv.,  cxv.,  cxvi.,  cxvii.,  cxviii.,  cxix.,  exxxv.,  exxxvi.,  exxxvii., 
cxlvi.,  cxlvii.,  cxlviii.,  cxlix.,  cl.)  are  anonymous.  By  whom,  and 
when  this  last  collection  was  made  is  unknown.  It  may  without 
improbability,  however,  be  supposed  that  it  was  made  by  the 
person — Ezra,  perhaps — who  undertook  to  collect  into  one  the  entire 
"  books"  already  existing,  and  who  found  many  psalms  that  had  not 
been  included  by  the  collectors  of  the  previous  books,  and  who, 
therefore,  grouped  all  these  together  in  a  single  book,  to  be  added 
in  the  general  collection  to  those  which  had  been  already  classified 
and  arranged. 

§  4.  The  titles  to  the  several  psalms. — All  the  psalms,  except  thirty- 
four,  have  now  in  the  Hebrew  titles  or  superscriptions.  Some,  how- 
ever, reckon  but  twenty-five  exceptions,  as,  according  to  their 
view,  the  phrase,  Hallelujah,  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord,"  occurring  at  the 
commencement  of  several  of  the  psalms,  is  regarded  by  them  as  a 
title  or  superscription.  The  more  correct  supposition,  however, 
undoubtedly  is  to  regard  that  phrase  as  a  part  of  the  psalm.  To 
each  one  of  these  exceptions  the  Talmud  gives  the  name  of  Orphan 
Psalms. 

(a)  The  authorship  of  these  titles  is  unknown,  and  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.  They  are  found  in  the  Hebrew;  but  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that,  so  far  as  the  name  of  the  author  of  the  psalm  is 
concerned,  or  so  far  as  they  are  intended  to  indicate  the  author, 
they  were  prefixed  to  the  psalm  by  the  authors  themselves.  The 
Psalms  are  not  of  the  nature  of  epistles  or  histories,  and  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  the  author  would  prefix  his  name  to  a  mere  poem 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

or  hymn.  The  probability,  therefore,  is,  that  they  were  prefixed  to 
the  psalms  as  they  came  into  common  use,  or  by  the  collectors  of 
the  several  books,  or  the  collector  of  the  entire  book,  either  as  in- 
dicating what  was  the  common  opinion  on  the  subject  of  the  author- 
ship, and  the  occasion  on  which  they  were  composed,  or  as  an 
inspired  record  in  regard  to  that  authorship  and  design.  The 
question  by  whom  they  were  prefixed  is,  however,  a  point  which 
cannot  now  be  determined.  If  it  were  possible  to  ascertain  that,  it 
would  do  much  to  determine  their  authority  and  worth,  but  the 
estimate  of  their  value  must  now  be  settled  by  some  other  method 
than  this. 

(b)  These  titles  are  of  great  antiquity.  The  fact  that  they  are 
found  in  the  Hebrew  manuscripts  proves  this,  for  there  are  no 
Hebrew  manuscripts,  however  ancient,  without  them.  They  are 
found,  with  some  variations,  in  the  Septuagint ;  and  it  is  thus 
certain  that  they  existed  before  that  translation  was  made.  This 
point  is  also  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  translators  of  the  Septua- 
gint have,  in  some  instances,  copied  the  Hebrew  words  in  Greek 
letters,  without  attempting  to  translate  them;  and  that,  in  other 
instances,  the  titles  which  they  use  are  translations  of  the  Hebrew 
words,  and  show  that  they  must  have  been  made  from  a  Hebrew 
original.  These  facts,  however,  would  not  make  it  necessary  to 
suppose  that  they  had  been  prefixed  by  the  writers  themselves,  nor 
would  it  be  necessary  to  suppose  that  they  were  prefixed  before  the 
time  when  the  psalms  were  collected, — either  the  separate  books,  or 
the  general  collection. 

(c)  The  design  of  these  titles  is  either  to  designate  the  author  of 
the  psalm,  or  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  composed,  or  the  chief 
singer  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  and  to  whom  it  seems  to  have  been 
committed  to  set  it  to  appropriate  music — that  is,  to  arrange  the 
music  for  a  public  use  of  the  psalm ;  or  the  style  of  the  poetry ;  or 
the  instrument  which  was  to  be  used ;  or  the  tune  which  was  to  be 
sung.  Some  of  the  titles  simply  designate  the  author,  as  in  many 
of  those  ascribed  to  David ;  some  describe  at  length  the  occasion  on 
which  they  were  written,  as  Ps.  xviii.,  xxx.,  li.,  lii.,  lvi.,  etc.  etc. 
Some  combine  several  of  these  things  together,  the  author,  the  occa- 
sion, the  style  of  the  poetry,  the  music  to  be  used,  etc.,  as  Ps.  lii., 
liii.,  liv.,  lv.,  lvi.  The  longest  and  fullest  of  these  titles  is  that  pre- 
fixed to  Ps.  lx.,  where  we  have  the  dedication  to  the  chief  musician, 
the  name  of  the  author,  the  style  of  the  poetry,  the  design  of  the 
psalm,  the  instrument  of  music  to  be  employed,  and  the  historical 
occasion  on  which  the  psalm  was  composed. 

(d)  It  is  very  difficult  at  this  distance  of  time  to  explain  the 
meaning    of  many  of  these  titles,   and   critics  have  differed  very 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

materially  in  their  conjectures  on  this  subject.  The  difficulty  arises 
in  a  considerable  degree  from  our  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  Temple- 
music,  and  to  the  instruments  which  were  employed.  The  difficulty 
is  the  same  which  would  exist  two  or  three  thousand  years  from  the 
present  time  in  explaining  a  booh,  now  familiar,  containing  "  tunes" 
of  music,  and  a  reference  to  the  instruments  of  music  which  are  now 
employed  in  the  public  service  of  God.  It  might  be  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  so  to  describe  the  exact  instrument  of  music  used  as  to 
be  intelligible  to  a  future  age ;  and  it  would  be  obviously  impossible 
to  explain  satisfactorily  the  names  of  many  of  the  tunes  which  are  now 
in  common  use — as  "  Mear,"  "  St.  Martin's,"  '*'  Russia/  "  Windham," 
"Lenox."  The  difficulty,  as  has  been  remarked  above,  was  felt  even 
at  the  time  when  the  Septuagint  version  was  made,  as  in  several 
instances  the  authors  of  that  version  have  not  attempted  even  to 
translate  the  title,  but  have  expressed  it  in  Greek  letters  answering 
to  the  Hebrew.  Coverdale,  who  translated  the  Bible  in  1535,  felt 
the  difficulty  to  be  so  great  that  he  has  omitted  nearly  all  the  titles 
except  the  names  of  the  authors.  In  these  Notes,  as  far  as  an  ex- 
planation can  now  be  given  that  is  satisfactory  or  probable,  it  will 
be  offered  in  the  exposition  of  the  particular  psalms. 

(e)  There  has  been  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  respecting  the 
authority  of  these  titles.  Not  a  few  modern  critics,  especially 
German  critics,  regard  them  as  of  no  authority,  and  argue  in  respect 
to  the  authorship  of  the  psalms,  and  the  time  and  occasion  on  which 
they  were  composed,  as  if  no  such  titles  were  found  in  the  Hebrew. 
By  most  of  the  ancient  critics  they  were  considered  as  genuine,  and 
as  having  equal  authority  with  the  psalms  themselves.  They  were 
wholly  rejected  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  by  Theodore  of 
Mopsuestia,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  judicious  of  the  ancient  in- 
terpreters. Rosenmiiller,  Hist.  Interp.  Librorum  Sacromm,  P.  III., 
p.  256.  Tholuck  and  Hengstenberg  admit  their  authority.  The 
objections  to  the  authority  of  the  title  are  such  as  these  : — (1.)  That 
the  subscriptions  at  the  close  of  the  epistles  in  the  New  Testament  are 
now  regarded  as  of  no  historical  value,  and  it  is  asked  why  may  not 
the  same  conclusion  be  adopted  in  regard  to  the  titles  prefixed  to  the 
psalms  ?  (2.)  That  the  ancient  versions,  the  Syriac  and  the  Greek 
especially,  exhibit  them  with  great  variations,  often  altering  the 
Hebrew,  and  sometimes  giving  a  heading  where  the  Hebrew  has 
none.  It  is  asked  whether  these  ancient  translators  would  have 
taken  such  liberties  if  the  titles  had  been  considered  sacred  like  the 
psalms  themselves  ?  (Kitto). — It  is  added  on  this  point,  that  "  if  ever 
Ezra  settled  them,  the  variations  in  versions  and  manuscripts  have 
tended  since  to  make  them  doubtful."  Eichhorn,  Einleitung.  III.,  p. 
490.     (3.)  It    is    argued  that    the  titles  are  at  variance  with  the 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 

contents  of  the  psalms.  Thus,  it  is  alleged  that  sometimes  the  name 
of  the  author  is  incorrectly  given,  "  as  when  David  is  named  over 
the  psalms  referring  to  the  captivity,"  as  in  Ps.  xiv.,  xxv.,  li.,  lxix. 
It  is  also  alleged  that  Ps.  cxxxix.  cannot  be  David's,  as  it  is  not 
free  from  Chaldaisms.  It  is  also  said  that  the  occasion  on  which 
a  psalm  was    composed  is   not    always   correctly   specified,   as  in 

Ps.  XXX. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  these  writers  sometimes  assume 
that  a  psalm  refers  to  the  time  of  the  exile  when  it  would  be 
possible  to  explain  it  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  composed  at  an 
earlier  date ;  and  that  it  is  not  always  safe  to  argue  from  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  a  psalm  against  the  inscription.  A  critic  affixes 
his  own  interpretation  to  a  psalm,  and  then  adopts  that  as  a  basis 
of  argument  in  regard  to  its  origin ;  whereas  often,  possibly  in  all 
cases,  if  the  inscription  were  assumed  to  be  correct,  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  explain  the  psalm,  by  fair  rules  of  interpretation,  in 
accordance  with  that  supposition. 

%  On  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me  that  these  inscriptions  are  to  be 
regarded  as  a  part  of  the  inspired  record,  and  as  having  the  authority 
of  inspiration.  The  fact  that  they  are  found  in  the  Hebrew, — that 
they  can  be  traced  back  to  the  earliest  periods  when  we  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  text, — that  they  have  come  down  to  us 
with  that  text, — furnishes  proof  which  it  seems  we  cannot  now  set 
aside ;  that  they  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  text,  and  that 
they  should  not  be  rejected,  except  .as  any  other  portion  of  the 
Hebrew  text  should  be  rejected,  i.  e.,  only  when  it  can  be  demon- 
strated that  an  error  has  crept  into  the  text  by  the  fault  of  transcribers. 

,  §  5.  The  general  character  of  the  Boo~k  of  Psalms. — The  Psalms  are 
mostly  lyrical  poetry,  that  is,  poetry  adapted  to  the  harp  or  lyre ; 
to  be  used  in  connexion  with  instrumental  music ;  to  be  sung,  not 
read.  Such  poetry  was  common  among  the  ancients,  as  it  is  among 
the  moderns.  Anacreon,  Alcseus,  Stesichorus,  Sappho,  and  Horace 
were  eminent  among  the  ancients  as  lyric  poets ;  and  the  numerous 
writers  of  songs,  sacred  and  secular,  among  the  moderns,  are  to  be 
ranked  in  the  same  class.  The  phrase  lyric  poetry  now,  however,  is 
frequently  applied  to  that  species  of  poetry  which  "  directly  expresses 
the  individual  emotions  of  the  poet"  (Webster,  Die). 
•  Lyric  poetry  is,  for  the  most  part,  an  expression  of  deep  feeling, 
and  has  its  foundation  in  feeling  or  emotion.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
fruit  of  the  understanding  as  of  the  heart ;  not  so  much  the  creation 
of  the  imagination  as  the  utterance  of  deep  personal  emotion.  It 
embraces  in  its  design  and  nature  all  kinds  of  feeling,  and  may  be 
joyous,  pensive,  desponding,  triumphant,  according  to  the  feelings  of 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  author,  or  to  the  occasion ,  for  all  these  utterances  may  be  sung, 
or  may  be  set  to  music,  the  varying  tones  of  music  being  adapted  to 
express  them  all.  Hence,  in  the  Psalms,  one  hundred  and  fifty  in 
number,  and  composed  by  a  considerable  variety  of  individuals,  and 
on  many  different  occasions,  we  have  the  varied  feelings  of  trouble, 
anguish,  fear,  hope,  joy,  trust,  thankfulness,  devotion  to  God,  peni- 
tence for  sin,  and  the  exultation  of  forgiveness, — the  heart  moved,  and 
finding  vent  for  its  feelings  in  words  adapted  to  the  melody  of  the 
lyre,  or  the  musical  tones  of  the  voice.  These  feelings  are  expressed 
in  a  great  variety  of  modes  or  forms,  and  the  music  was  intended, 
doubtless,  to  be  in  accordance  with  these  varied  feelings.  The 
Psalms,  therefore,  comprise  compositions  of  the  following  classes  or 
orders : — 

(1.)  Hymns  in  which  the  praise  of  God  is  the  principal  and  leading 
object,  as  (a)  in  general,  God  is  praised  as  the  God  of  nature  and 
of  men,  Ps.  viii.,  civ.,  cxlv. ;  (6)  as  the  God  of  nature  and  of  the 
Hebrew  people,  Ps.  xix.,  xxix.,  xxxiii.,  lxv.,  xciii.,  cxxxv.,  cxxxvi., 
cxlvii. ;  (c)  as  peculiarly  the  God  of  the  Hebrew  people,  Ps.  xlvii., 
lxvi.,  lxvii.,  lxxv. ;  (d)  as  the  helper  and  deliverer  of  his  people,  Ps. 
xlvi.,  xlviii.,  lxxv.,  lxxvi.,  xviii.,  xxx.,  cxxxviii. 

(2.)  Psalms  pertaining  to  the  Hebrew  nation ;  to  its  history ;  to  the 
Divine  interposition  in  its  behalf;  and  to  its  relation  to  Jehovah. 
Ps.  lxxviii.,  cv.,  cvi.,  cxiv. 

(3.)  Temple  psalms,  or  songs  of  Zion.  Ps.  ii.,  xv..  xxiv.,  lxxxvii., 
cxxxii. 

(4.)  Psalms  in  relation  to  trial,  calamity,  distress,  whether  of 
individuals  or  of  the  nation.  These  abound,  as  Ps.  vii.,  xxii.,  lv.,  lvi., 
cix.,  xliv.,  lxxiv.,  lxxix.,  lxxx.,  cxxxvii.,  lxix.,  lxxvii.,  eii.,  x.,  xii.,  xiv., 
xxxvi.,  and  many  others. 

(5.)  Religious  and  moral  psalms,  Ps.  xc,  cxxxix.,  xxiii.,  xci.,  cxxi., 
cxxvii.,  cxxviii.,  xlii.,  xliii.,  ci.,  cxxxi.,  i.,  cxxxiii.,  cxix. 

The  pecidiarity  of  the  Hebrew  lyrical  poetry  as  distinguished  from 
the  lyrical  poetry  of  other  ancient  people,  and  from  most  of  the  lyrical 
poetry  in  modern  times,  is  its  religion.  It  is  lyrical  poetry  on  subjects 
pertaining  to  religion,  or  to  be  employed  in  religion :  as  expressing 
religious  feeling,  and  as  designed  to  awaken  and  foster  such  feeling. 
It  is  intended  to  raise  the  heart  and  the  affections  towards  God ;  to 
lift  up  the  thoughts  of  men  from  the  earth ;  to  inspire  confidence  in 
God  ;  to  produce  consolation  as  derived  from  God  in  times  of  trouble ; 
to  cheer  and  comfort  man  in  his  pilgrimage  along  a  path  of  sorrow 
and  trouble  to  a  better  abode.  Much  of  it  can  be  best  characterised 
by  an  expression  derived  from  the  Bible  itself — an  expression  no  less 
remarkable  for  its  beauty  than  its  truthfulness — as  "  Songs  in  the 
night  "  (Job  xxxv.  10) ;  songs  indicating  the  joy  that  may  spring  up 


INTRODUCTION.  xix 

in  the  soul  of  man  in  times  of  distress  and  sorrow  ;  songs  that  show 
that  there  is  joy  in  the  darkness  of  this  world ;  songs  which  illustrate 
i  the  power  and  the  value  of  religion ;  songs  with  which  men  cheer 
themselves  and  each  other  in  their  journey  towards  the  grave; 
songs  which  even  the  guilty  may  pour  forth  from  hearts  softened 
into  penitence,  and  filled  with  thankfulness  in  the  assurance  of 
pardon. 

It  is  most  remarkable  that  this  rich  poetry  should  have  sprung  up 
in  Palestine,  and  that  it  should  have  been  confined  to  that  land.  It 
was  not  that  the  land  was  better  adapted  to  lyric  poetry  than  other 
lands — for  in  this  respect  it  could  not  compare  favourably  with  many 
other  countries,  and  particularly  with  Greece.  It  was  not  that  the 
events  of  their  history  had  been  such  as  peculiarly  to  suggest  this 
kind  of  composition — for  poetry  adapted  to  the  lyre  or  to  music 
abounded  elsewhere,  and  especially  in  Greece.  It  was  not  that  the 
Hebrews  had  a  more  poetic  imagination  than  other  people — for  theirs 
did  not,  in  this  respect,  surpass  the  Greek  genius,  and  whatever  there 
was  of  poetic  imagination  in  the  character  of  their  minds  was  found 
with  equal  richness  in  Arabia  and  Persia.  Nor  was  it  that  their 
language  was  peculiarly  favourable  for  this  kind  of  poetry — for  in  very 
many  respects  it  was  far  inferior  in  this  point  to  the  Greek,  and  had 
no  superiority  certainly  over  the  Arabian  and  Persian. 

The  fact  that  their  poetry  took  this  turn ;  the  fact  that  all  which 
they  had  was  religious ;  the  fact  that  there  was  literally  no  poetry  in 
their  language  that  was  designed  and  adapted  to  the  dance,  to  festive 
amusements,  to  Bacchanalian  orgies,  to  scenes  of  gaiety,  frivolity, 
and  vanity ;  the  fact  that  in  all  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Hebrews  there 
is  literally  nothing  in  this  respect  that  can  be  placed  by  the  side  of 
much  in  the  Greek  lyric  poetry — much  in  Horace — much  in  Burns ;  by 
the  side  of  the  lyric  poetry  of  all  lands  except  Palestine,  can  be  traced 
only  to  the  idea  that  the  new  religion  prevailed  there,  and  can  be  best 
explained  on  the  supposition  that  the  authors  of  that  poetry  were 
inspired  to  prepare  and  transmit  to  future  times  that  which,  in  all 
ages,  would  express  the  feelings  of  true  devotion,  and  which  might  be 
permanently  employed  in  the  praises  of  God.  He  will  fail  to  explain 
the  fact  that  such  poetry  is  found  in  Palestine  alone,  and  will  fail 
to  appreciate  its  true  nature,  who  does  not  admit  that  these  "  sweet 
singers"  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

On  the  general  character  of  Hebrew  poetry,  see  Introduction  to  the 
Notes  on  the  Book  of  Job,  sect.  v.  On  "the  origin  and  culture 
of  lyric  poetry  among  the  Hebrews,"  it  may  be  proper  to  introduce 
here  the  following  remarks  from  De  Wette's  "  Commentar  ueber  die 
Psalmen,"  Einleitung,  II.,  pp.  6-12.  I  copy  from  the  elegant  trans- 
lation of  the  introduction  of  De  Wette,  by  Prof.  J.  Torrey,  in  the 
Biblical  Repository,  Yol.  III.,  pp.  450-456  : — 


xx  INTRODUCTION. 

"If  we  follow  the  titles  of  the  Psalms  and  the  common  opinion,  we  must 
suppose  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  as  well  as  the  largest  portion  of  the 
Psalms  themselves,  a  production  of  David  and  his  contemporaries.  The  few 
specimens  of  lyric  composition  which  we  find  before  David  scarcely  enter  into 
consideration,  compared  with  the  fertility  of  his  own  period.  In  the  earlier 
history  it  is  hut  occasionally  that  the  voice  of  poetry  is  heard,  as  in  the  songs 
of  Moses  at  the  Red  Sea,  of  Deborah,  and  of  Hannah.  We  are  surprised,  after 
so  few  attempts  in  lyric  poetry,  to  see  so  accomplished  and  fruitful  a  poet  rise 
up  all  at  once,  with  several  others  in  his  company.  So  rapid  a  progress 
supposes  some  adequate  occasion,  some  preparatory  steps.  Now,  if  we  cast  our 
eye  over  the  history  of  the  times  immediately  preceding  the  age  of  David,  we 
are  presented  with  a  phenomenon  which  seems  to  explain  the  difficulty.  It  is 
Samuel's  school  of  the  prophets.  Many,  as  Herder,  Eichhorn,  Nachtigall,  and 
Rosenmuller,  suppose  that  the  composition  of  psalms  was  cultivated  and 
brought  to  perfection  in  this  seminary.  Specious  as  this  conjecture  appears, 
it  is  hardly  reconcilable  with  the  facts  of  the  history.  It  is  not  intimated 
that  David,  before  his  unction,  had  any  connexion  with  Samuel.  The  former 
tends  his  father's  flock.  Indeed  Samuel  appears  to  have  had  no  acquaintance 
with  David  when  he  comes  to  anoint  him,  1  Sam.  xvi.  6,  seq.  Yet  David  is 
already  a  skilful  minstrel,  and  famed  for  his  art,  ib.  ve*r.  18;  he  was  not,  there- 
fore, a  disciple  of  Samuel,  at  least  in  minstrelsy.  But  it  is  well  known  that 
music  and  song  at  this  period  were  not  separated ;  we  must  therefore  suppose 
that  David  was  already  a  poet,  and,  as  such,  known  and  celebrated.  Some 
time  afterwards,  it  is  true,  we  find  David  in  Samuel's  school  of  the  prophets, 
but  it  is  only  on  the  occasion  of  his  flight  from  Saul,  1  Sam.  xix.  18,  seq.  It 
may  be  possible  that  Samuel  had  some  acquaintance  with  David  prior  to  his 
unction,  though  no  mention  is  made  of  it  in  the  account  of  that  transaction, 
1  Sam.  xvi.  But  he  might  have  been  an  object  of  attention  to  the  prophet 
without  being  properly  his  disciple ;  or  perhaps  the  youth  was  his  own 
instructor.  Natural  capacity,  in  connexion  with  frequent  practice,  might 
produce  the  same  degree  of  talent,  to  say  the  least,  as  an  artificial  system  of 
instruction,  like  that  which  we  may  suppose  to  have  prevailed  in  the  prophetic 
school.  At  the  same  time,  it  would  be  an  error  to  imagine  that  lyric  poetry 
arose  amongst  the  Hebrews  all  at  once,  as  if  it  sprung  out  of  the  ground. 
David's  contemporaries,  the  women  who  celebrated  with  song  and  joy  his 
victory  over  Goliath,  practised  a  species  of  poetry  which,  though  rude  and 
uncultivated,  was  truly  lyric  in  its  kind ;  their  short  poem, 

Saul  smote  his  thousands, 
But  David  his  ten  thousands, 

has  already  the  form  of  the  poetic  parallelism,  and  an  original  and  superior 
mind  might  easily  advance  from  such  a  beginning  to  the  highest  degree  of 
excellence.  We  find  also,  still  earlier,  in  addition  to  the  examples  of  Moses, 
Deborah,  and  Hannah,  the  practice,  particularly  among  the  women,  of  music 
and  the  dance,  from  which  song  certainly  was  not  excluded.  Jephthah's 
daughter  comes  out  to  meet  her  father  with  timbrels  and  dances,  Judges 
xi.  31.     At  Shiloh  the  maidens  held  a  yearly  feast  with  dances,  Judges  xxi.  21. 


INTRODUCTION.  xxi 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  Samson  was  not  a  minstrel,  for  he  is  called  out 
to  play  before  the  Philistines,  Judges  xvi.  25,  which  is  commonly  understood 
to  refer  to  the  dance,  but  excludes  not  the  accompaniments  of  song  and 
instrumental  music.  But  even  if  he  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  musician  and 
singer,  yet  we  meet  in  him  with  the  first  Mashal  poet,  as  we  have  also  from 
the  same  period  the  masterly  apologue  of  Jotham.  Such  facts,  though 
insulated,  pre-suppose  among  a  people  a  considerably  high  degree  of  cultiva- 
tion, or  at  least  of  poetical  capacity.  Indeed,  the  song  of  Deborah  alone 
proves  that  the  poetic  art  was  already  arrived  at  a  stage  of  improvement  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  Davidian  poetry.  Whether  a  period 
produces  one  admirable  poem  or  more  is  a  matter  of  chance  rather  than  the 
result  of  the  state  of  culture.  Besides,  the  times  of  the  Judges  and  of  Samuel 
constituted  the  heroic  age  of  the  Hebrews,  a  period  peculiarly  favourable  to 
the  first  beginnings  and  gradual  improvement  of  poetry.  '  Such  times,'  says 
Eichhorn,  '  are  poetical  under  every  climate ;'  but  I  cannot  add  with  him, 
'  that  poetry,  in  this  case,  is  like  the  nation,  wild  and  heroic,  breathes  only 
in  the  warlike  trump,  and  knows  no  field  for  practice  but  that  of  valour  and 
victory  with  their  attendant  train.'  The  occasions  which  first  called  forth  the 
Hebrew  poets  were,  probably  enough,  connected  with  war ;  but  when  poetry 
has  once  sprung  into  life,  she  confines  herself  to  no  such  narrow  limits,  and 
draws  still  other  objects  within  her  circle.  With  feasts  of  victory,  sacrifices, 
dances,  and  other  rites  were  united,  which  might  easily  have  tempered  the  song 
to  a  tone  of  somewhat  softer  character.  Even  warlike  songs  admit  of  the 
gentler  emotions,  and  the  song  of  Deborah  is  rich  in  touches  of  amiable 
feeling.  When  it  is  said  they  sung  to  the  trumpet,  we  are  certainly  not  to 
understand  it  in  the  literal  sense ;  the  music  of  the  harp,  of  the  flute,  and  of 
the  timbrel,  was  the  accompaniment  even  of  the  songs  of  war,  and  these 
instruments  are  adapted  to  the  softest  tones.  We  are  not  then  obliged  to 
trace  the  origin  of  the  sweet  and  amiable  poetry  of  David's  psalms  exclusively 
to  Samuel's  school  of  the  prophets.  # 

"  Unfortunately  we  know  far  too  little  about  the  prophetic  school  of  Samuel 
to  determine  what  influence  it  had  on  the  cultivation  of  poetry.  The  passages 
relating  to  it  are  1  Sam.  x.  5  and  xix.  19,  20.  In  the  first  of  these  it  is 
undoubtedly  implied  that  the  disciples  of  the  prophets  had  music  among  them, 
and  their  'prophesying'  (K$3nn)  has  been  understood,  not  without 
grounds,  in  the  sense  of  song ;  for  the  word  Xs23  sometimes  signifies  poet, 
Ex.  xv.  20,  and  N23,  to  sing,  1  Chr.  xxv.  1,  seq.  We  may  suppose,  however, 
that  this  music  was  employed  simply  as  a  support  and  accompaniment  of  the 
prophetic  delivery.  The  prophets  probably  delivered  their  messages,  in  the 
earlier  times  at  least,  in  connexion  with  music  and  a  vehement  action  and 
declamation  approaching  to  a  dance.  The  passage  in  2  Kings  iii.  15,  seq.  is 
remarkable.  The  prophet  Elisha  is  about  to  pronounce  the  answer  of  the 
Lord  to  certain  inquiries  of  Jehoshaphat ;  but  before  he  does  it,  he  asks  for  a 
minstrel;  and  as  the  latter  strikes  the  harp,  'the  hand  of  Jehovah  comes 
upon  him,'  and  he  utters  his  reply.  The  case  here,  it  is  true,  is  different ; 
the  prophet  does  not  play  and  sing  himself,  but  submits  to  the  performance  of 


xxii  INTRODUCTION. 

another ;  still  it  shows  the  constant  connexion  of  music  with  the  prophetic 
office.  Neither  is  it  distinctly  asserted  in  the  passages  above  that  the ' 
company  of  the  prophets  sung  themselves.  The  word  NUinn,  which  is  there 
employed,  may  not  perhaps  signify  to  sing,  for  Saul  and  Saul's  messengers 
prophecy — ^K231in — as  soon  as  they  hear  the  music,  without  preparation  or 
practice.  Their  prophesying  was  perhaps  nothing  more  than  a  vehement 
action,  dancing,  and  gesticulation,  as  we  see  from  the  circumstance  of  Saul's 
falling  down  naked.  At  farthest,  they  might  have  joined  in  the  choral  song 
with  the  company  of  prophets.  Such  choral  chants  were  perhaps  sung  in  the 
school  of  Samuel,  but  only  for  the  purposes  of  devotion  and  inspiration  ;  and 
the  proper  design  of  this  school  was  to  educate  youth  for  the  prophetic  office, 
that  is,  to  give  counsel  from  the  Lord  to  a  people  under  a  theocratic  govern- 
ment. Samuel  was  a  prophet,  and  history  has  preserved  no  remains  of  any 
poetical  works  of  his.  Is  it  not  most  probable  that  he  was  aiming  to  educate 
his  disciples  likewise  for  the  prophetic  office  ?  Now,  it  is  true  that  the  Hebrews 
drew  no  accurate  line  of  distinction  between  lyric  poetry  and  prophetic 
eloquence  ;  yet  these  two  always  differ,  particularly  in  the  mode  of  delivery ; 
for  the  lyric  poem  was  probably  sung,  while  the  prophetic  message  was  only 
recited.  Supposing,  then,  Samuel  was  employed  in  forming  his  disciples  to  be 
prophetic  poets  or  speakers,  what  is  more  natural  than  to  imagine  that  some 
of  them  might  feel  drawn  by  genius  and  inclination  to  lyric  poetry,  and  succeed 
in  perfecting  themselves  in  this  ?  Yet  it  lay  out  of  the  plan  of  the  prophetic 
school,  and  was  a  thing  quite  accidental.  It  is  hardly  correct,  therefore,  to 
consider  the  prophetic  school  of  Samuel  simply  as  an  institution  for  the  culti- 
vation of  singing  and  poetry. 

"  There  were  other  institutions  which  may  have  had  an  influence  still 
more  important  and  decided  than  this  school  of  the  prophets  in  promoting  the 
culture  of  lyric  poetry,  especially  of  the  religious  kind.  I  refer  particularly  to 
those  musical  schools  which,  according  to  the  account,  1  Chron.  xv.  16,  seq., 
were  founded  by  David  in  aid  of  the  public  worship.  Yet  I  cannot  retract  the 
unfavourable  opinion  I  once  pronounced  *  upon  these  and  similar  narratives  in 
the  Chronicles ;  I  must  rather  confirm  it.  Besides  the  reasons  there  alleged, 
which  I  may  not  repeat,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  circumstance  particularly 
calculated  to  excite  suspicion,  that  the  psalms  and  fragments  of  psalms  repre- 
sented by  the  Chronicles  to  have  been  sung  at  the  dedication  of  the  tabernacle 
and  on  similar  occasions  can  hardly  have  been  penned  by  David,  but  belong 
rather  to  the  later  and  less  pure  style  of  the  temple  poetry.  The  psalm  which 
is  sung,  1  Chron.  xvi.  8,  seq.,  is  composed  of  Ps.  cv.  and  xcvi. ;  but  both  are  pro- 
ductions of  a  later  style.  If  the  Chronicles  had  presented  us  on  this  occasion  with 
a  genuine  song  of  David,  such  as  the  elegy  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
2  Sam.  i.,  this  circumstance  would  havo  contributed  not  a  little  to  add  weight 
to  its  authority,  but  the  insertion  of  these  fragments  throws  suspicion  over  the 
whole  of  the  accompanying  narrative.  The  phrase  also,  quoted  1  Chron  xvi.  41, 
and  elsewhere,  respecting  the  Levites  who  were  appointed  to  give  thanks  to  the 

*  Beytrage  zur  Einleit.  ins  A.  T.,  vol.  i.,  p.  85,  sq. 


INTRODUCTION.  xxiii 

Lord,  'because  his  mercy  endurcth  for  ever,'  betrays  the  later  poetry  of  the 
temple,  an  example  of  which  we  have  in  Ps.  cxxxvi,  where  this  phrase  forms  a 
regular  refrain ;  also  Psalms  cvi.,  cvii.,  and  cxviii.,  in  which  this  phrase  occurs, 
appear  to  belong  to  a  later  style  of  poetry. 

"  We  may  imagine  that  a  master  like  David  would  not  be  without  com- 
panions and  assistants  in  the  poetic  art ;  and,  in  fact,  several  of  David's  con- 
temporaries are  named  in  the  titles  as  composers  of  psalms :  but  these  notices 
are  not  always  good  authority.  Solomon,  according  to  the  testimony  of  history, 
united  in  himself  such  richness  of  lyric  invention  with  the  sententious  style  peculiar 
to  him,  that  in  his  time  lyric  poetry  must  have  attained  to  a  very  high  degree  of 
perfection.  '  Solomon  spake  three  thousand  proverbs,  and  his  songs  were  a  thou- 
sand and  five,'  1  Kings  iv.  32.  It  is  singular,  however,  that  with  the  exception 
of  two  which  are  quite  uncertain,  no  psalms  of  Solomon  are  preserved  in  our 
present  collection  ;  nor  do  we  find  any  psalm  with  the  author's  name  belonging 
to  the  pei'iod  after  Solomon,  not  even  one  which  admits  of  being  referred  with 
certainty  and  of  necessity  to  any  particular  event  in  the  history  of  those  times ; 
and  yet  such  lyric  poems  as  those  of  Hezekiah  and  of  Habakkuk  clearly  evince, 
that  during  this  period  the  culture  of  lyric  composition  had  by  no  means 
fallen  into  neglect.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  many  psalms  which,  according 
to  the  results  of  a  sound  critical  exegesis  almost  universally  acknowledged,  must 
be  placed  in  the  times  of  the  captivity,  and  after  the  captivity ;  and  these 
psalms  rank,  for  purity  of  language,  and  for  sublimity,  beauty,  and  freshness  of 
conception,  in  the  highest  class,  and  are,  in  no  respect,  inferior  to  the  poems  of 
David  and  his  contemporaries,  e.  g.,  Ps.  xlv.,  lxxiv,  Ixxix.,  cvii.,  and  many,  if  not 
all,  of  the  Psalms  of  Degrees.  We  are  here  presented,  then,  with  a  singular 
phenomenon.  The  lyric  poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  which  was  cultivated  and 
brought  to  perfection  in  the  times  of  David,  after  producing  abundance  of  fruit, 
sank  into  a  repose  of  nearly  five  hundred  years,  and  then  all  at  once,  in  the 
most  calamitous  period  of  the  state,  arose  again,  survived  another  golden  age, 
and  yielded  a  second  harvest — a  phenomenon  hardly  corresponding  with  the 
common  course  of  events.  The  singularity,  however,  disappears  as  soon  as  we 
suppose  that  the  collection  of  Psalms  contains  several  pieces,  either  anonymous 
or  incorrectly  named,  which  belong  to  the  period  extending  from  David  to  the 
captivity.  Indeed,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  lyric  composition 
flourished  side  by  side  with  the  prophetic  poetry,  and  that  many  of  the  pro- 
phets themselves  contributed  to  our  present  collection,  and  might  reclaim  their 
own  productions  from  David  and  others.  Some  of  the  prophets,  too,  are  actually 
named  by  the  Septuagiut  as  authors  of  psalms." 

§  6.  TJie  imprecations  in  the  Psalms. — Much,  has  been  written  on  the 
subject  of  the  imprecations  in  the  Psalms,  or,  as  they  are  called,  "  The 
imprecatory  psalms ;"  and  perhaps  there  is  no  part  of  the  Bible  that 
gives  more  perplexity  and  pain  to  its*  readers  than  this ;  perhaps 
nothing  that  constitutes  a  more  plausible  objection  to  the  belief  that 
the  psalms  are  the  productions  of  inspired  men  than  the  spirit  of 
revenge  which  they  sometimes  seem  to  breathe,  and  the  spirit  of 

2 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION. 

cherished  malice  and  irnplacableness  which  the  -writers  seem  to  mani- 
fest. There  has  been  probably  no  explanation  offered  which  has 
relieved  the  minds  of  those  who  are  thus  perplexed,  or  which  has 
furnished  a  solution  wholly  satisfactory  on  the  question  how  this 
spirit  can  be  reconciled  with  the  precepts  of  the  New  Testament  and 
Avith  the  requirements  of  true  religion.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
disguise  or  to  conceal  the  difficulty,  and  it  may  be  admitted  that  most 
of  the  explanations  which  have  been  suggested  leave  the  difficulty 
just  where  it  was.  Perhaps  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  remove  all 
such  difficulty,  or  so  to  present  the  subject  that  questions  may  not  be 
asked  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  answer;  and,  indeed,  what 
subject  is  there  in  mental  philosophy,  in  natural  science,  in  morals, 
or  in  theology,  on  which  questions  may  not  be  asked  which  the  human 
powers  are  not  yet  competent  to  answer  ?  In  regard  to  the  growth  of 
a  blade  of  grass,  questions  may  be  asked  which  no  chemist — no  man 
— can  answer. 

In  reference  to  the  imprecations  in  the  Psalms,  it  will  be  proper, 
first,  to  refer  to  some  specimens  of  such  psalms,  that  we  may  know 
where  the  difficulty  lies ;  and  then  to  consider  in  what  way,  if  any, 
this  difficulty  may  be  solved. 

The  following  are  among  the  passages  which  would  be  referred  to 
as  belonging  to  that  class  of  psalms.  They  are  not,  indeed,  all  that 
could  be  selected,  but  they  are  fair  specimens,  and  there  are  no 
others  that  would  involve  any  difficulty  which  are  not  found  in  these. 

Ps.  v.  10  :  "  Destroy  tliou  them,  0  God;  let  them  fall  by  their  own  counsels; 
cast  them  out  in  the  multitude  of  their  transgressions ;  for  they  have  rebelled 
against  thee." 

Ps.  x.  15 :  "  Break  thou  the  arm  of  the  wicked  and  the  evil  man :  seek  out 
his  wickedness  till  thou  find  none." 

Ps.  xviii.  40 — 42  :  "  Thou  hast  also.given  me  the  necks  of  mine  enemies;  that  I 
might  destroy  them  that  hate  me.  They  cried,  hut  there  was  none  to  save 
them  :  even  unto  the  Lord,  but  he  answered  them  not.  Then  did  I  beat  them 
small  as  the  dust  before  the  wind  :  I  did  cast  them  out  as  the  dirt  in  the 
streets." 

Ps.  xxviii.  4  :  '*  Give  them  according  to  their  deeds,  and  according  to  the 
wickedness  of  their  endeavours  :  give  them  after  the  work  of  their  hands ; 
render  to  them  their  desert." 

Ps.  xxxi.  17  :  "  Let  me  not  be  ashamed,  0  Lord ;  for  I  have  called  upon 
thee  :  let  the  wicked  be  ashamed,  and  let  them  be  silent  in  the  grave." 

Ps.  xxxv.  3 — 8  :  "  Draw  out  also  the  spear,  and  stop  the  way  against  them 
that  persecute  me  :  say  unto  my^oul,  I  am  thy  salvation.  Let  them  be  con- 
founded and  put  to  shame  that  seek  after  my  soul :  let  them  be  turned  back 
and  brought  to  confusion  that  devise  my  hurt.  Let  them  be  as  chaff  before 
the  wind  :  and  let  the  angel  of  the  Lord  chase  them.     Let  their  way  be  daik 


INTRODUCTION.  xxv 

and  slippery  :  and  let  tlic  angel  of  the  Lord  persecute  thein.  For  without 
cause  have  they  hid  for  me  their  net  in  a  pit,  which  without  cause  they  have 
digged  for  my  soul.  Let  destruction  come  upon  him  at  unawares;  and  let  his 
net  that  he  hath  hid  catch  himself:  into  that  very  destruction  let  him  fall." 

Ps.  xl.  14:  "  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  confounded  together  that  seek  after 
my  soul  to  destroy  it ;  let  them  be  driven  backward  and  put  to  shame  that 
wish  me  evil." 

Ps.  lv.  9 :  "  Destroy,  0  Lord,  and  divide  their  tongues  :  for  I  have  seen 
violence  and  strife  in  the  city."  15 :  "  Let  death  seize  upon  them,  and  let 
them  go  down  quick  [_alive,  living']  into  hell  :  for  wickedness  is  in  their 
dwellings,  and  among  them." 

Ps.  lviii.  6 — 10 :  "  Break  their  teeth,  0  God,  in  their  mouth :  break  out  the 
great  teeth  of  the  young  lions,  0  Lord.  Let  them  melt  away  as  waters  which 
run  continually  :  when  he  bendeth  his  bow  to  shoot  his  arrows,  let  them  be 
as  cut  in  pieces.  As  a  snail  which  melteth,  let  every  one  of  them  pass  away  : 
like  the  untimely  birth  of  a  woman,  that  they  may  not  see  the  sun.  Before 
your  pots  can  feel  the  thorns,  he  shall  take  them  away  as  with  a  whirlwind, 
both  living,  and  in  his  wrath.  The  righteous  shall  rejoice  when  he  seeth  the 
vengeance  :  he  shall  wash  his  feet  in  the  blood  of  the  wicked." 

Ps.  lix.  12 — 15 :  "  For  the  sin  of  their  mouth  and  the  words  of  their  lips 
let  them  even  be  taken  in  their  pride :  and  for  cursing  and  lying  which  they 
speak.  Consume  them  in  wrath,  consume  them,  that  they  may  not  be  :  and  let 
them  know  that  God  ruleth  in  Jacob  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  And  at 
evening  let  them  return  ;  and  let  them  make  a  noise  like  a  dog,  and  go  round 
about  the  city.  Let  them  wander  up  and  down  for  meat,  and  grudge  if  they 
be  not  satisfied." 

Ps.  lxviii.  2 :  "As  smoke  is  driven  away,  so  drive  them  away :  as  wax 
melteth  before  the  fire,  so  let  the  wicked  perish  at  the  presence  of  God." 

Ps.  lxix.  22 — 25  :  "  Let  their  table  become  a  snare  before-  them  :  and  that 
which  should  have  been  for  their  welfare,  let  it  become  a  trap.  Let  their 
eyes  be  darkened,  that  they  see  not;  and  make  their  loins  continually  to 
shake.  Pour  out  thine  indignation  upon  them,  and  let  thy  wrathful  anger 
take  hold  of  them.  Let  their  habitation  be  desolate ;  and  let  none  dwell  in 
their  tents." 

Ps.  lxxix.  12 :  "  And  render  unto  our  neighbours  sevenfold  into  their  bosom 
their  reproach,  wherewith  they  have  reproached  thee,  O  Lord." 

Ps.  lxxxiii.  9 — 17  :  "  Do  unto  them  as  unto  the  Midianites ;  as  to  Sisera,  as 
to  Jabin,  at  the  brook  of  Kison  :  which  perished  at  Endor :  they  became 
as  dung  for  the  earth.  Make  their  nobles  like  Oreb,  and  like  Zeeb;  yea, 
all  their  princes  as  Zebah,  and  as  Zalmunna.  .  .  .  O  my  God,  make 
them  like  a  wheel ;  as  the  stubble  before  the  wrind.  As  the  fire  burnetii  a 
wood,  and  as  the  flame  setteth  the  mountains  on  fire ;  so  persecute  them  with 
thy  tempest,  and  make  them  afraid  with  thy  storm.  Fill  their  faces  with 
shame;  that  they  may  seek  thy  name,  O  Lord.  Let  them  be  confounded  and 
troubled  for  ever ;  yea,  let  them  be  put  to  shame,  and  perish." 

Ps.  cix.  G — 15  :  "  Set  thou  a  wicked  uiau  over  him  :  and  let  Satan  stand  at 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION. 

his  right  hand.  "When  he  shall  be  judged,  let  him  be  condemned  :  and  let  his 
prayer  become  sin.  Let  his  days  be  few ;  and  let  another  take  his  office. 
Let  his  children  be  fatherless,  and  his  wife  a  widow.  Let  his  children  be  con- 
tinually vagabonds,  and  beg  :  let  them  seek  their  bread  also  out  of  their 
desolate  places.  Let  the  extortioner  catch  all  that  he  hath;  and  let  the  strangers 
spoil  his  labour.  Let  there  be  none  to  extend  mercy  unto  him  :  neither  let 
there  be  any  to  favour  his  fatherless  children.  Let  his  posterity  be  cut  off; 
and  in  the  generation  following  let  their  name  be  blotted  out.  Let  the  iniquity 
of  his  fathers  be  remembered  with  the  Lord ;  and  let  not  the  sin  of  his  mother 
be  blotted  out.  Let  them  be  before  the  Lord  continually,  that  he  may  cut  off 
the  memory  of  them  from  the  earth.'' 

Ps.  cxxxvii.  7 — 9  :  "  Remember,  O  Lord,  the  children  of  Edom  in  the  day 
of  Jerusalem;  who  said,  Rase  it,  rase  it,  even  to  the  foundation  thereof.  O 
daughter  of  Babylon,  who  art  to  be  destroyed ;  happy  shall  he  be,  that  re- 
wardeth  thee  as  thou  hast  served  us.  Happy  shall  he  be,  that  taketb  and 
dasheth  thy  little  ones  against  the  stones." 

These  are  specimens  of  the  class  of  psalms  now  under  considera- 
tion, and  though  the  number  might  be  somewhat  increased,  yet  these 
examples  embrace  those  which  are  most  difficult  to  be  explained,  and 
involve  all  the  difficulties  to  be  found  in  this  class  of  the  psalms.  None 
could  be  adduced  which  seem  to  breathe  a  more  vindictive  spirit  than 
these  do  ;  none  seem  to  be  more  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  New 
Testament.  If,  therefore,  a  solution  can  be  suggested  that  would  be 
satisfactory  in  regard  to  these  passages,  it  would  be  easy  to  apply 
the  principles  of  such  a  solution  to  all  the  similar  passages  in  the 
Psalms. 

The  inquiry  then  occurs  in  what  way,  if  in  any  way,  the  difficulty 
is  to  be  solved,  "or  what  explanations  can  be  suggested. 

On  this  subject  the  following  remarks  may  be  made  : — (1.)   What- 
ever difficulty  there  exists,  is  created  by  the  Bible  itself.     The  record 
is  one  which  the  sacred  writers  have  themselves  made.      This  fact  is 
proof  at  least  of  candour,  and  of  a  consciousness  on  their  part  that 
there  was  nothing  in  this  record  which  was  not  founded  in  truth, 
which   did  not   really  occur ;  that  is,  that  these  feelings   actually 
existed  in  their  minds.      It  cannot  be  pretended  that  the  writers 
indulged  in  feelings  which  they  were  unwilling  to  record ;  which  they 
were  ashamed  to  make  known.     In  fact,  they  took  all  the  methods  in 
their  power  to  make  them  known,  and  to  have  the  record  perpe- 
tuated.    They  not  only  recorded  them — put  them  in  a  permanent 
form — but  they  embodied  them  in  poetry,  which  was  to  be  employed 
in  the  public  worship  of  God  ;  which  was  to  go  down  to  future  ages, 
to  direct  the  devotions  of  the  people  of  far-distant  times.      More- 
over, if  there  is  any  condemnation  of  this  spirit  in  the  Bible — if  there 
was  anything  wrong  in  this    spirit — we  are  to  remember  that  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXVU 


condemnation  is  found  in  the  very  book  where  these  expressions  occur 
— for  it  is  to  be  assumed  here  that,  so  far  as  the  objection  lies  against 
these  expressions  as  a  part  of  the  Bible — as  a  part  of  a  pretended 
revelation — the  Bible  is  one  booh ;  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New 
are  parts  of  the  same  revelation  from  God.  The  Bible,  thus  in 
making  the  record,  should  be  allowed  at  least  to  be  a  book  of  candour 
— a  book  in  which  there  is  no  attempt  to  conceal  what  was  actually 
passing  in  the  minds  of  the  writers.  There  was,  it  may  be  presumed, 
some  reason  for  making  the  record  which  was  regarded  as  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  purpose  of  a  revelation  ;  and  it  was  assumed  also  that 
these  things  would  be  susceptible  of  an  explanation,  which  would  be 
consistent  with  the  claim  that  the  Bible  was  a  revelation  from  God. 

(2.)  It  may  be  a  fair  subject  of  inquiry  how  much  of  what  is 
charged  as  wrong,  harsh,  and  vindictive,  maybe  referred  to  the  spirit  of 
the  age  in  which  the  BibJe  was  composed,  and  in  which  these  men 
lived.  This  remark  is  not  made  on  the  supposition  that  the  princi- 
ples of  morals  and  religion  change  from  one  age  to  another ;  or  that 
they  are  modified  by  the  circumstances  of  men ;  or  that  the  same 
thing  is  morally  right  in  one  age  or  country,  and  morally  wrong  in 
another.  Truth  and  holiness,  right  and  wrong,  do  not  change,  nor 
are  they  dependent  on  the  caprices  or  the  customs  of  mankind. 
Still,  in  order  to  know  exactly  what  was  meant ;  how  much  words 
express  ;  what  was  the  precise  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  lan- 
guage that  was  used, — it  is  necessary  for  us  to  place  ourselves  in  the 
circumstances,  and  to  understand  the  prevailing  customs  and  habits 
of  the  people  who  used  the  language.  "We  constantly  apply  these 
principles,  insensibly  it  may  be,  when  we  read  Homer,  or  when  we 
read  the  records  of  knight-errantry,  or  when  we  endeavour  to  under- 
stand the  poetry  of  any  people  in  the  earlier  periods  of  history.  The 
language  which  a  Covenanter  or  a  Puritan  used  may  possibly  have 
expressed  no  other  internal  emotion  than  would  be  expressed  by  the 
milder  language  which  we  should  use ;  the  rough  words  which  the 
uneducated  and  the  vulgar  use  may  express  no  different  feelings 
than  would  be  found  to  exist  when  the  thoughts  are  conveyed  in  the 
smooth  tones,  and  the  courtly  phrases  of  those  in  the  higher  walks  of 
life.  There  may  be  as  much  bitter  feeling  beneath  silk  and  satin  as 
beneath  a  dress  made  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  ;  in  the  palace  as  in 
the  wigwam.  It  may  be  possible  that  those  who  lived  in  the  earlier 
ages  of  the  world  really  meant  no  more  by  the  language  which  they 
often  used,  and  which  seems  to  us  to  be  so  harsh,  so  revengeful,  and 
so  savage,  than  we  do  in  the  milder  tones  which  we  employ,  and 
which  we  now  suppose  to  be  demanded  by  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianity. It  is,  at  least,  a  supposable  case  that  the  people  of  future 
times  may  have  had  conveyed  to  them  as  much  in  the  records  of  our 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

literature,  and  of  our  customs,  which  they  will  find  it  difficult  to 
explain  consistently  with  their  notions  of  refinement,  civilization, 
and  the  spirit  of  pure  religion,  as  we  recognise  in  the  language  of  the 
Covenanters  and  the  Puritans  of  Scotland  and  England,  or  in  the 
poetic  effusions  of  the  days  of  David.  Let  us  be  sure  that  we  under- 
stand precisely  what  they  meant,  and  exactly  how  our  own  spirit  is 
better  than  theirs,  before  we  condemn  them. 

(3.)  Part  of  these  passages  may  undoubtedly  be  regarded  as  pro- 
phetic ;  expressing  what  would  be,  rather  than  indicating  any  wish 
on  the  part  of  the  author  of  the  psalms  that  such  things  should  be. 
In  some  instances,  the  passages  might  have  been  rendered  in  the 
future  instead  of  the  imperative  mood,  with  no  violation  of  the  laws 
of  the  Hebrew  language,  or  the  proper  principles  of  interpretation. 
Several  of  the  passages  of  this  kind  which  may  properly  be  apj>lied 
to  the  Messiah,  are  undoubtedly  of  this  nature,  and  those  passages 
are  to  be  interpreted,  when  the  laws  of  language  will  admit  of  such 
an  interpretation,  as  expressive  of  what  sinners  deserve,  and  of  what 
will  come  upon  them,  and  not  as  indicating  any  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  author  that  it  should  be  so. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  this  consideration  does  by  no 
means  remove  all  the  difficulty,  nor  does  it  in  fact  even  diminish  it. 
It  cannot  be  affirmed  by  any  one  acquainted  with  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage that  this  solution  could  be  applied  to  all  the  cases  in  reference 
to  which  the  difficulty  exists,  and  there  is  still  an  explanation  needed 
to  meet  the  cases  which  cannot  be  brought  under  this  rule.  In  a 
book  claiming  to  be  inspired  the  objection  is,  in  effect,  as  great  if 
there  is  only  one  such  passage  as  if  there  are  many.  The  essential 
difficulty  is  to  explain  it  consistently  with  the  claim  to  inspiration 
at  all. 

It  should  be  conceded,  further,  that  this  explanation  is  one  which 
cannot  be  admitted  in  regard  to  the  most  difficult  of  the  passages.  No 
man  can  show  that  they  are  all  mere  predictions  of  the  future ;  no  one 
can  prove  that  all  that  is  implied  in  these  passages  is  a  mere  expression 
of  what  sin  deserves,  or  what  ought  to  be  inflicted  on  transgressors. 
Beyond  all  question  there  is,  in  many  cases,  an  expression  of  feeling — 
or  desire — or  wish;  there  is  language  used  which  implies  that  there 
would  be  gratification — satisfaction — pleasure — if  the  calamity  in- 
voked should  come  upon  the  enemies  of  the  writer,  or  if  the  punish- 
ment should  be  inflicted  on  the  wicked ;  there  is  what  is  of  the  nature 
of  prayer,  that  these  calamities  might  come,  and  that  the  wicked 
might  be  detected,  arrested,  punished.  We  cannot  on  any  honest 
principles  interpret  these  psalms  without  admitting  this ;  and  the 
objector  has  a  right  to  ask  how  this  feeling  can  be  vindicated ;  how  it 
can  be  reconciled  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity ;  how  it  can  be  shown 


INTRODUCTION.  xxix 

to  be  consistent  with  the  belief  that  the  psalms  were  inspired  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  This  is  a  fair  question  to  ask,  and  it  is  one  which  a 
believer  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  should  be  held  to  answer. 

(4.)  Some  of  the  expressions  referred  to  are  a  mere  record  of  the 
feelings  of  others ;  of  the  gratification  which  they  would  feel  in  seeing 
vengeance  inflicted  on  the  guilty,  even  when  revenge  should  be  taken 
in  the  most  barbarous  and  savage  manner.  In  such  a  case  all  that 
the  inspired  writer,  or  the  Spirit  of  inspiration,  is  responsible  for,  is 
the  fairness  of  the  record ;  or  that  he  has  given  an  exact  statement  of 
the  feelings  which  would  be  cherished  and  expressed  by  those  who 
should  inflict  the  vengeance,  or  who  should  experience  gratification  in 
seeing  it.  A  man  may  describe  the  acts  of  the  American  savage, 
scalping,  torturing,  murdering  by  slow  degrees  women  and  children, 
or  the  acts  of  cannibals,  without  being  responsible  for  any  of  the 
feelings  of  the  savages  in  doing  this ;  and  the  writer  of  history 
cannot  assuredly  be  responsible  for  all  or  any  of  the  feelings  of 
barbarous  delight  which  a  tyrant  may  have  in  oppressing  his  subjects, 
or  for  the  fury  and  hatred  which  leads  men  to  pursue  with  vengeance 
their  flying  victims.  The  inspired  writers  who  made  a  record  of  the 
cruelty  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xxxiv.  25 — 29,  xlix.  6,  7),  or  of  the 
act  of  David  in  bringing  forth  the  people  of  Rabbah,  and  "  putting 
them  under  saws,  and  under  harrows  of  iron,  and  under  axes  of  iron, 
and  making  them  pass  through  the  brick-kiln  "  (2  Sam.  xii.  31),  or 
the  acts  of  Joab,  Ahithophel,  Absalom,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Ahab  or 
Jezebel,  cannot  be  held  to  be  answerable  for  the  feelings  which  they 
manifested,  or  the  deeds  which  they  performed,  nor  is  it  fair  to  infer 
that  in  making  the  record  they  approved  of  what  was  done.  All  that 
the  writers  can  be  held  to  be  responsible  for  is  the  correctness  of  the 
record. 

An  instance  of  this  kind  occurs  in  Ps.  cxxxvii.  8,  9,  "  O  daughter 
of  Babylon,  who  art  to  be  destroyed ;  happy  shall  he  be  that  reward- 
eth  thee  as  thou  hast  served  us.  Sappy  shall  he  he  that  taketh  and 
dasheth  thy  little  ones  against  the  stones."  There  is  nothing  to  prevent 
our  regarding  this  as  a  statement  of  the  actual  feelings — the  pleasure 
— the  satisfaction — which  they  would  actually  feel  who  should  wreak 
vengeance  on  Babylon.  The  idea  may  be,  and  from  anything  that 
appears  actually  is,  that  such  had  been  the  pride  and  arrogance  of 
Babylon,  such  the  wrongs  which  she  had  done  to  other  people ;  such 
her  acts  of  cruelty  and  oppression, — that  they  who  should  overcome, 
subdue,  and  destroy  her,  would  have  conscious  satisfaction  and  plea- 
sure in  bringing  deserved  punishment  on  her,  even  in  those  forms 
which  men  usually  regard  as  savage  and  barbarous.  In  this  there  is 
nothing  which  necessarily  implies  that  the  author  of  the  psalms  would 
approve  of  it,  or  that  he  would  have  done  it  himself.     If  the  case  is 


xxx  INTRODUCTION". 

supposed  even  to  indicate  the  common  feelings  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
in  view  of  the  destruction  of  an  enemy  under  which  the  nation  had 
suffered  so  much  and  so  long,  still  it  may  be  a  mere  record  of  that 
feeling  as  a  matter  of  fact,  and  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  is  responsible 
only  for  a  fair  account  of  the  feelings  which  would  actually  exist. 

In  one  of  the  methods  which  have  thus  been  indicated  the  difficul- 
ties in  regard  to  a  portion  of  what  are  called  the  imprecatory  psalms 
may  be  removed  altogether.  These  are  solutions,  however,  which 
cannot  be  applied  to  all  of  them ;  and  if  there  is  any  number,  however 
small, — if  there  is  a  single  one  remaining, — to  which  these  solutions 
cannot  be  applied,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  actual  difficulty  still 
remains ;  for  the  Psalms  are  to  be  regarded  as  forming  one  book ; 
they  have,  as  is  fairly  implied  in  the  idea  that  they  are  inspired,  one 
author — the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  as  it  is  a  principle  which,  must  be  held 
by  all  who  regard  the  Bible  as  an  inspired  book,  that  one  text  of 
Scripture  fairly  interpreted  is  sufficient  to  establish  the  truth  of  any 
doctrine,  so  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  well-founded  objection  to  a 
single  text,  fairly  interpreted,  as  really  affects  the  question  of  inspira- 
tion as  though  there  were  many  passages  of  that  character.  Some 
other  solution,  therefore,  must  be  found  in  order  to  remove  the  real 
difficulty  in  the  case. 

(5.)  A  fifth  remark,  therefore,  in  regard  to  the  prayers  in  these 
passages  considered  as  invocations  of  vengeance  or  of  punishment 
on  the  wicked  may  be  suggested.  The  real  question  is,  whether  under 
any  circumstance  such  prayers — such  imprecations— can  be  right ;  and 
whether,  if  ever  right,  the  circumstances  in  the  Psalms  were  such  as 
to  make  them  proper. 

To  obtain  a  just  view  of  this,  several  remarks  are  to  be  made. 

(a)  David  was  a  magistrate ;  a  king.  He  was,  by  the  appointment 
of  God,  the  civil  and  military  ruler  of  the  nation.  His  authority  was 
not  an  usurped  authority ;  nor  were  his  acts  those  merely  of  a  private 
man,  a  man  individually  wronged.  As  a  king — a  magistrate — he  was 
appointed  to  preserve  order;  to  maintain  law ;  to  dispense  justice  ; 
to  detect,  arraign,  and  punish  the  guilty.  As  a  magistrate,  he  re- 
presented the  state ;  the  majesty  of  the  law ;  the  interests  of  justice. 
As  a  magistrate,  an  act  done — an  offence  committed — a  crime  in 
the  community,  did  not  respect  him  as  a  man — an  individual — but  as 
appointed  to  administer  the  government  and  to  defend  the  state. 
No  one  can  deny  that  David  sustained  this  relation  to  the  state,  and 
that  the  duty  of  maintaining  and  administering  law  rested  supremely 
with  him.  From  anything  that  appears,  also,  the  remark  here 
made  is  applicable  to  each  of  the  cases  where  "imprecations"  are 
found  in  the  Psalms.  The  question,  then,  is,  whether  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  office  and  functions  of  one  appointed  to  make  and 


INTRODUCTION  xxxi 

execute   the  laws  of  a  land  which  would  render  such  imprecations 
justifiable. 

(b)  Punishment  is  right.  It  is  not  wrong  that  a  penalty  should  be 
affixed  to  law ;  it  is  not  wrong  that  the  penalty  of  a  law  should  be 
inflicted;  it  is  not  wrong  that  pain,  privation  of  office,  imprison- 
ment, and  the  loss  of  life  itself,  should  follow  the  commission  of 
crime.  So  all  laws  determine ;  so  all  nations  have  judged.  It  is 
material  here  to  remark  that  this  is  not  an  arbitrary  thing  ;  that  it  is 
not  a  matter  of  individual  or  local  feeling.  It  is  laid  in  our  very 
nature.  It  is  found  in  all  nations.  It  is  acted  on  among  all  people. 
There  is  something  in  our  very  nature,  account  for  it  as  ive  may,  which 
approves  of  punishment  when  properly  inflicted  ;  which  approves  of  the 
appointment  of  a  penalty  for  crime.  If  this  is  wrong,  it  is  a  wrong  in 
our  very  nature ;  it  is  a  universal  wrong ;  it  is  a  wrong  which  has 
gone  into  the  enactment  of  all  laws — for  all  law  has  a  penalty.  A 
law  without  a  penalty  would  be  a  mockery  and  a  farce.  When  a  man, 
in  accordance  with  a  just  sentence  of  law,  is  fined,  imprisoned, 
executed,  we  approve  of  it.  We  feel  that  it  is  what  ought  to  be 
done,  and  in  this  feeling  we  are  conscious  of  no  wrong.  We  are 
conscious  that  we  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  approving  the  sentence 
which  condemns  the  guilty  any  more  than  we  are  for  approving  the 
sentence  which  acquits  the  innocent.  The  foundation  of  this  feeling 
is  laid  in  the  very  nature  of  man,  and,  therefore,  it  cannot  be  evil. 
No  man  feels  that  he  is  blameworthy  when  he  thus  finds  himself 
approving  of  a  just  sentence  of  law;  no  man  feels  that  this  principle 
of  his  nature  ought  to  be  resisted  or  reversed,  so  that  he  would  be  a 
better  man  if  he  were  conscious  of  the  opposite  feeling. 

(c)  In  accordance  with  this  principle,  there  are  arrangements  in 
every  community  for  detecting  and  punishing  crime.  There  are 
laws  made  which  define  crime,  and  designate  its  just  penalty  ;  there 
are  arrangements  made  for  arresting  the  guilty,  and  bringing  them 
to  trial ;  there  are  prisons  built  in  anticipation  that  there  will  be  men 
to  be  punished.  There  are  courts  organized  for  the  express  purpose 
of  trying  offenders ;  there  are  penalties  affixed  by  law  to  different 
classes  of  crimes ;  there  are  processes  prescribed  in  the  law  books 
for  arresting,  indicting,  committing,  arraigning,  and  judging  those 
charged  with  a  violation  of  law.  There  is  a  class  of  men  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  detect  and  arrest  offenders;  there  is  a  class  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  try  them ;  there  is  a  class  whose  business  it  is  to  inflict 
punishment  on  them.  Hence  we  have  a  detective  police — men  whose 
calling  it  is  to  find  out  offenders  ;  we  have  an  array  of  constables,  jury- 
men, and  judges;  we  have  sheriffs,  keepers  of  prisons,  and  execu- 
tioners. These  arrangements  are  necessary  in  our  world.  Society 
could  not  do  without  them.      No  community  would  be  safe  without 

2* 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION. 

them.  No  man  would  feel  that  his  life,  his  property,  his  family  were 
secure  without  them.  They  euter  into  the  very  structure  of  society 
as  it  exists  on  earth  j  and  if  these  were  abolished,  the  world  would 
soon  be  filled  with  anarchy,  bloodshed,  and  crime. 

(d)  These  are  lawful,  proper,  and  honourable  employments.  The 
business  of  a  detective  officer,  of  a  constable,  of  a  sheriff",  of  a  jury- 
man, of  a  judge,  is  as  lawful  as  that  of  a  farmer,  a  blacksmith,  a 
school-teacher,  a  physician,  a  clergyman.  No  man  occupies  a  more 
honourable  position  than  the  judge  of  a  court,  though  it  be  a  crimi- 

"nal  court ;  no  man  is  rendering  more  valuable  service  to  his  country 
than  he  whose  daily  business  it  is  to  detect  offenders,  to  prosecute  for 
crime,  or  to  administer  the  laws  of  a  nation.  The  constable  and  the 
judge  may  go  to  their  work  with  as  conscious  a  feeling  that  they  are 
engaged  in  an  honourable  work  as  the  farmer  or  the  merchant ;  and 
the  foreman  of  a  jury  who  declares  that  a  man  arraigned  for  crime 
has  been  found  "  guilty,"  and  the  judge  who  pronounces  the  sentence 
of  the  law,  and  the  man  who  executes  the  sentence,  may  each  one  lie 
down  on  his  bed  at  night  as  calmly  as  the  man  who  during  the  day 
has  been  engaged  in  sowing  seed  in  his  field,  or  gathering  in  his 
harvest,  or  administering  medicine  to  the  sick,  or  preaching  the 
Gospel.  Through  all  that  day  the  one  may  be  as  conscious  that  he 
has  had  no  malice  towards  his  fellow-men,  no  desire  of  revenge,  as 
the  other.  In  the  bosom  of  each  one  there  may  have  been  only 
the  consciousness  of  a  simple  desire  to  do  his  duty. 

(e)  It  is  lawful  and  proper  for  such  a  man  to  pray ; — a  detective 
officer,  a  constable,  a  juryman,  a  judge,  a  keeper  of  a  prison,  a  hang- 
man.    It  is  as  proper  for  such  a  man  to  pray  as  any  other  man.     He 
may  pray  in  his  closet  and  in  his  family ;  he  may  breathe  forth  a 
mental  prayer  when  searching  for  a  man  charged  with  an  offence,  or 
when  bearing  a  testimony  against  him,  or  when  sitting  in  judgment 
on  him,  or  when  inflicting  the  penalty  of  the  law.     He  may  pray,  as 
other  men  do,  that  he  may  be  "diligent  in  business  ;*'  that  he  may 
be  "  fervent  in  spirit ;"  that  he  may  "  serve  the  Lord  "  in  that  calling. 
He  may  pray  that  he  may  have  grace  to  be  faithful  to  his  trust ; 
firm  in  his  conduct ;  successful  in  what  he  is  appointed  to  do.      But 
what  is  this  ?  It  is  that  the  wicked — the  guilty — may  be  brought  to 
punishment ;  that  they  may  be  punished ;  that  they  may  receive  the 
due  reward  for  their  deeds.      It  is  net  malice  against  an  individual  ; 
it  is  not  a  desire  of  revenge  ;  it  is  not  the  indulgence  of  any  private 
feeling ;    it  is   not   conduct   inconsistent  with  the   widest  benevo- 
lence.    The  officers  of  justice  are  engaged  in  the  very  work  of  bring- 
ing men  to  punishment ;  and  why  may  they  not  pray  for  success  in 
the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged  ?    Why  may  not  any  man  who 
loves  the  cause  of  justice,  and  who  desires  the  security  and  good 


INTRODUCTION.  xxxiii 

order  of  a  community,  pray  that  the  wicked  may  be  checked  in  their 
career — arrested — confined — punished  ?  Since  men  lawfully  engage 
in  doing  the  thing,  why  may  they  not  lawfully  pray  for  the  Divine 
blessing  to  aid  them  in  doing  it  ? 

It  is  further  to  be  remarked  that  a  magistrate  offering  such  a 
prayer  would  have  a  very  different  feeling  from  one  who  was  en- 
gaged in  an  unlawful  employment.  How  can  a  man  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  pray  ?  How  can  he  ask 
for  success  in  his  work  ?  To  do  this  would  be  to  pray  that  his  neigh- 
bour, his  fellow-men,  near  or  far  off,  might  spend  their  property  for  that 
which  would  not  profit  them ;  might  waste  their  time,  ruin  their 
health,  cut  short  their  lives,  and  destroy  their  souls ;  that  they  might 
be  profane,  gross,  offensive,  beastly  ;  that  they  might  be  a  pest  in  the 
community,  be  led  into  crime,  and  find  their  home  in  an  almshouse, 
a  penitentiary,  or  an  insane  asylum ;  that  their  families  might  be 
beggared,  and  that  a  once  peaceful  home  might  become  a  hell ;  and 
that  the  young,  the  vigorous,  the  hopeful,  the  beautiful,  the  sons  of 
the  virtuous  and  the  pious — might  go  down  early  to  the  drunkard's 
grave ;  that  the  hearts  of  wives,  mothers,  sisters,  and  daughters 
might  be  crushed  and  broken,  because  a  husband,  a  father,  a  brother, 
had  been  made  a  drunkard.  But  what  fiendish  malignity  would  there 
be  in  such  a  prayer  as  this  !  Hence  such  men  do  not  ask  the  Divine 
blessing  on  their  work.  But  a  magistrate  may  pray,  and  should  pray. 
He  may  pray  that  he  may  be  successful  in  discharging  the  duties  of 
his  office ;  in  administering  justice  ;  in  prosecuting  for  crime  ;  and  in 
pronouncing  the  sentence  of  the  law.  His  prayer,  in  fact,  is  simply 
that  justice  may  be  done  to  all ;  that  punishment  may  be  inflicted 
when  it  is  deserved ;  and  that  he  may  be  made  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God  in  detecting  and  punishing  crime.  At  the  same  time 
this  may  be  so  far  from  being  a  vindictive  and  revengeful  spirit,  that 
he  himself  may  be  among  the  most  kind  and  humane  men  in  a  com- 
munity, and  when  he  pronounces  the  sentence  of  the  law,  he  may  be 
the  only  one  in  the  court  room  that  shall  weep.  Tears  may  flow  fast 
from  his  eyes  as  he  pronounces  the  sentence  of  the  law,  while  the 
hardened  wretch  sentenced  to  the  gallows  may  be  wholly  unmoved. 
It  indicated  no  want  of  feeling  and  no  malevolent  spirit  when 
Washington  signed  the  death-warrant  of  the  accomplished  Andre, 
for  he  did  it  with  tears. 

In  the  same  way,  and  with  the  same  spirit,  a  man  may  go  forth  to 
the  defence  of  his  country  when  invaded,  or  when  one  portion  of  it 
has  risen  up  in  rebellion  against  a  lawful  government.  A  soldier 
called  forth  to  defend  his  country  may  pray ;  the  commander  of  an 
army  may  pray — should  pray.  But  the  prayer  of  such  an  one  may 
be,  and  should  be,  in  the  line  of  his  duty ;  for  success  in  that  which 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION. 

lie  lias  undertaken.  It  will  be  a  prayer  that  the  enemies  of  his 
country  may  be  overcome  and  subdued.  It  indicates  no  malice,  no 
personal  feeling,  no  spirit  of  revenge,  when  he  prays  that  the  enemies 
of  his  country  may  be  scattered  as  chaff  before  the  wind ;  or  that 
their  counsels  may  be  turned  to  foolishness ;  or  that  he  may  be  suc- 
cessful in  subduing  them.  It  is  a  prayer  for  the  triumph  of  a 
righteous  cause ;  and  as  all  his  acts  as  a  soldier  tend  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  enemies  of  his  country ;  as  he  is  actually  engaged  in 
endeavouring  to  subdue  them ;  as  all  his  plans  contemplate  that ;  as 
he  cannot  be  successful  without  that, — if  the  employment  itself  is 
right,  it  cannot  be  wrong  that  he  should  pray  for  success  in  it ;  that 
is,  that  his  enemies  may  be  delivered  into  his  hands,  and  that  God 
would  enable  him  to  overcome,  to  scatter,  to  subdue  them.  In  this 
view  of  the  matter  there  is  necessarily  no  feeling  inconsistent  with 
the  purest  benevolence  when  the  defenders  of  liberty  and  law  and 
right  apply  to  themselves  the  language  of  Psalm  cxlix.  : — "  Let  the 
high  praises  of  God  be  in  their  mouth,  and  a  two-edged  sword  in 
their  hand ;  to  execute  vengeance  upon  the  heathen,  and  punishments 
upon  the  people ;  to  bind  their  kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles 
with  fetters  of  iron;  to  execute  upon  them  the  judgment  written," 
vers.  6-9. 

(/)  It  only  remains  to  be  added,  as  bearing  on  the  point  here  sug- 
gested, that  it  cannot  be  demonstrated  that  there  is  in  the  psalms  that 
are  called  "  Imprecatory  Psalms  "  any  more  of  malice,  or  of  a  spirit 
of  revenge,  than  there  is  in  the  heart  of  a  detective  officer,  a  con- 
stable, a  sheriff,';  a  juryman,  a  crown  lawyer,  a  prosecuting  attorney, 
a  judge,  the  keeper  of  a  penitentiary,  or  an  executioner,  when  he 
goes  to  the  daily  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  when,  in 
his  closet,  or  in  his  family,  in  his  morning  devotions,  he  prays  that 
he  may  be  faithful  and  successful  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties 
through  the  day : — for  success  in  any  of  these  duties  will  be  in  the 
line  of  prayer,  and  may  be  in  answer  to  prayer.  If  the  detective 
officer  is  successful  in  ferreting  out  a  burglar  or  a  counterfeiter ;  if 
a  magistrate  is  successful  in  bringing  him  to  justice ;  if  a  juryman 
pronounces  an  honest  verdict  finding  him  guilty ;  if  an  attorney  is 
successful  in  prosecuting  the  guilty  to  conviction  ;  if  a  judge  delivers 
a  just  sentence  ;  and  if  the  keeper  of  a  prison  closes  the  massive  bars 
and  bolts  on  the  guilty, — at  night,  when  they  reflect  on  their  work, 
they  may  regard  their  success  in  the  lawful  duties  of  the  day  as  being 
as  real  an  answer  to  prayer  in  the  proper  business  of  human  life  as 
the  waving  golden  harvest  is  an  answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  pious 
farmer,  or  the  ship  laden  with  the  rich  productions  of  the  East,  as 
she  glides  gallantly  into  port,  should  be  regarded  as  an  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  the  pious  merchant ; — and  until  it  is  proved  that  this  may 


INTRODUCTION.  xxxv 

not  have  been  all  that  was  implied  in  the  language  of  the  psalmist,  it 
should  not  be  assumed  that  the  imprecatory  psalms  breathe  a  vindic- 
tive spirit,  or  are  contrary  to  the  purest  and  most  benevolent  feel- 
ings of  the  human  heart. 

(6.)  There  is  still  another  solution  of  the  difficulty  which  has  been 
suggested.  It  is,  substantially,  that  these  expressions  are  a  mere 
record  of  what  actually  occurred  in  the  mind  of  the  psalmist,  and  are 
preserved  to  us  as  an  illustration  of  human  nature  when  partially 
sanctified.  According  to  this  explanation  we  are  not  required  by  any 
just  view  of  inspiration  to  vindicate  those  feelings,  or  to  maintain 
that  such  feelings  could  not  occur  in  the  case  of  an  inspired  man. 
One  of  the  main  objects  of  the  Psalms  is  to  illustrate  religion  as  it 
actually  exists  in  the  minds  of  good  men  in  this  world ;  men  who  are 
not  absolutely  perfect,  but  whose  best  religious  emotions  are  mingled 
with  many  imperfections.  According  to  this  view  the  Spirit  of  inspi- 
ration is  no  more  responsible  for  these  feelings  on  the  part  of  the 
psalmist  than  it  is  for  the  acts  of  David,  Abraham,  Jacob,  or  Peter. 
The  feelings — the  acts — are  what  they  are;  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  is 
responsible  for  a  correct  record  or  statement  in  regard  to  these  acts 
and  feelings : — a  record  that  shall  be  historically  and  exactly  true. 
A  few  remarks  may  explain  this  further. 

(a)  It  is,  then,  an  admitted  fact  that  David  was  not  a  perfect  man ; 
and  the  same  was  undoubtedly  true  of  all  the  writers  of  the  Psalms. 
The  Bible  never  claims  that  they  were  perfect ;  it  makes  a  fair  record 
of  their  faults ;  it  lays  down  the  general  principle  that  none  are 
absolutely  free  from  sin  :  1  Kings  viii.  46 ;  Eccles.  vii.  20  ;  James  iii. 
2  ;  1  John  i.  8 ;  Job  ix.  20.  As  it  is  everywhere  declared  in  the  Bible 
that  no  one  is  absolutely  perfect,  and  as  it  is  admitted  that  David,  for 
example,  was  guilty  of  wrong  acts,  as  in  the  case  of  Uriah, — so,  for 
the  same  reason,  it  is  to  be  admitted  that  men,  even  the  best  of 
men,  are  liable  to  sin  in  thoughts  and  in  words  as  well  as  in  deeds. 

(&)  The  proper  notion  of  inspiration  does  not  require  us  to  hold 
that  the  men  who  were  inspired  were  absolutely  sinless.  There  is 
and  must  be  a  manifest  and  palpable  difference  between  being 
inspired,  and  being  personally  perfect.  Inspiration,  in  its  true  nature, 
secures  a  truthful  record ;  it  does  not  necessarily  secure  absolute 
sanctification.  Indeed,  inspiration  has  no  necessary  connexion  with 
sanctification ; — as  it  is  conceivable,  certainly,  in  accordance  with 
the  common  belief,  that  Balaam  uttered  true  prophecies  respecting 
the  Messiah,  yet  no  one  from  that  fact  feels  bound  to  maintain  that 
he  was  otherwise  than  a  bad  man.  Livy,  Gibbon,  Hume,  Robertson, 
were  not  perfect  men,  and  yet  it  may  be  true  that  they  have  given  a 
correct  account  of  the  events  which  they  profess  to  record ;  nor  do 
we  argue  that  because  they  were  faithful  historians  that,  therefore, 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION. 

they  were  perfect  men,  or  that  they  never  did  or  said  anything, 
which,  if  it  were  recorded  exactly  as  it  occurred,  would  not  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  of  absolute  perfection  of  character.  It  is,  there- 
fore, a  very  important  principle  that  inspiration  secures  a  correct 
record,  not  that  it  implies  or  secures  personal  sanctification ;  and  that  if 
it  does  secure  a  correct  record  the  limit  of  responsibility  in  regard  to  it  is 
reached.  Assuredly  the  fact  that  David  in  Psalm  li.  has  made  a 
true  record  in  regard  to  his  guiltiness  in  the  case  of  Uriah,  does  not 
prove  that  he  was  right  or  innocent  in  the  fact  which  is  the  subject 
of  that  record  ;  nor  if  a  record  is  a  record  of  feelings  instead  of  deeds 
does  its  correctness  any  more  justify  or  sanction  such  feelings. 

(c)  It  was  important  and  necessary  in  a  revelation  from  God,  in 
order  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  world,  that  there  should  be  a  true 
representation  of  religion  as  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  human 
heart ;  as  it  is  in  fact  illustrated  and  manifested  in  the  life  of  man, 
not  as  it  might  be  in  the  life  of  a  spotless  angel.  Assuming,  as  the 
Bible  does  everywhere,  that  man  is  depraved ;  that  he  has  corrupt 
and  evil  propensities;  that  he  has  passions  which  by  nature  are 
uncontrollable,  and  that  it  is  the  design  of  religion  to  teach  him  how 
to  control  and  govern  them, — what  we  want  is  an  illustration  of 
religion  as  it  comes  in  contact  with  such  a  heart.  If  the  Bible  had 
described  only  the  feelings  and  conduct  of  a  perfect  being,  it  would  be 
obviously  unfit  for  man,  for  it  would  not  be  adapted  to  his  condition. 
As  man  is  imperfect  and  sinful,  a  representation  of  religion  which 
would  leave  the  impression  that  there  is  no  true  piety  except  where 
there  is  absolute  perfection,  would  be  adapted  only  to  discourage  and 
dishearten,  for  it  would  hold  up  that  before  his  mind  which  he  would 
feel  to  be  unattainable,  and  his  own  consciousness  of  imperfection 
would  lead  him  to  the  painful  conclusion  that  he  had  no  true  religion. 
Hence  in  the  Bible,  except  in  the  solitary  instance  of  the  Saviour,  we 
have  no  record  of  the  life  of  a  perfect  saint.  We  have  a  description 
of  piety  as  it  must  always  be  found  in  the  life  of  man  : — as  feeble,  and 
struggling,  and  doubting,  and  contending  with  evil  passions ;  as  a 
life  of  conflict,  of  mingled  light  and  darkness,  good  and  evil,  happi- 
ness and  sadness,  cheerfulness  and  despondency ;  as  a  life  where  evil 
often  breaks  out,  where  there  is  a  constant  effort  required  to  subdue 
it,  and  where  there  is,  amidst  much  that  seems  to  be  otherwise,  yet 
truly  a  constant  progress  in  the  soul  towards  perfection — a  perfection 
not  to  be  obtained  in  this  life,  but  which  is  to  be  consummated  in 
heaven  alone.  Such  a  record  only  is  fitted  for  man ;  such  a  record 
only  would  properly  represent  and  describe  man  in  his  present  con- 
dition. In  another  world — in  heaven — a  true  record  of  man  redeemed 
would  be  a  record  of  religion  without  imperfection — as  it  would  now 
be  of  the  angels.     As  it  is,,  we  have  now  in  the  Bible  everywhere 


INTRODUCTION.  xxxvii 

recorded  the  lives  of  imperfect  men  : — imperfect  in  their  conduct  ; 
imperfect  in  their  feelings ;  imperfect  in  their  words.  "We  have  the 
biographies  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  of  Eli,  David,  Hezekiah, 
Moses,  Aaron,  Josiah,  James,  John,  Peter, — all  imperfect  but  good 
men;  men  in  whose  bosoms  there  were  the  stragglings  between  good 
and  evil  principles ;  in  whose  lives  the  evil  principle  was  constantly 
breaking  out,  and  over  whom  for  the  time  it  seemed  to  triumph. 
Hence  the  painful  but  honest  records  which  we  have  of  piety  in  the 
Bible.  In  like  manner,  in  order  to  see  and  understand  what  true 
piety  is  as  it  is  found  in  connexion  with  human  nature,  it  might  be 
important  that  there  should  be  such  an  illustration  of  it  as  we 
actually  find  in  the  Psalms:  the  honest  record  of  what  passed  through 
the  mind  of  a  good  man ;  of  what  imperfect  man  actually  feels  often, 
even  when  it  is  proper  to  characterise  him  as  a  man  of  God. 
Probably  there  have  been  few  men,  very  few,  even  under  the  influence 
of  the  highest  forms  of  piety,  who,  if  they  had  made  an  honest  record 
of  what  was  passing  in  their  minds  at  all  times — of  their  wishes, 
desires,  emotions;  of  their  feelings  towards  their  enemies,  persecu- 
tors, and  slanderers — would  not  have  found  that  the  language  of  the 
Psalms  would  better  express  their  feelings  in  this  respect  than  any 
language  which  they  could  find  elsewhere ; — and  is  it  a  forced  or 
an  unauthorized  thought  that  even  such  men  as  Augustine,  Luther, 
Calvin,  Knox,  and  Edwards,  at  times  when  unchristian  feelings  seemed 
to  have  got  the  ascendancy  in  their  hearts ;  when  they  were  strongly 
tempted  to  give  way  to  passion,  or  actually  gave  way  to  it ;  when 
they  might  have  been  led  to  doubt  whether  men  with  such  feelings  could 
have  any  true  religion — may  have  found  consolation  in  the  fact  that 
feelings  precisely  like  theirs  sprang  up  in  the  hearts  of  the  inspired 
men  who  composed  the  Psalms,  and  who  there  made  an  honest  record 
of  what  was  actually  passing  in  the  soul,  almost  an  actual  transcript  of 
what  they  themselves  experienced  ?  It  need  be  hardly  remarked  that 
if  this  is  a  true  view  of  the  matter,  we  are  not  bound  to  attempt  to 
vindicate  these  expressions  of  passion — any  more  than  we  are  the  con- 
duct of  David  in  the  matter  of  Uriah,  or  of  Peter  in  denying  his  Lord. 
(d)  According  to  this  view,  the  expressions  which  are  used  in  this 
record  are  not  presented  for  our  imitation.  The  mere  fact  that  they 
are  recorded  as  having  occurred  in  the  lives  of  good  men  is  no  evi- 
dence that  they  are  right,  or  are  to  be  followed  by  us.  All  that 
occurred  in  the  life  of  the  Redeemer  was  right,  and  was  recorded 
that,  so  far  as  it  might  be  applicable  to  us  in  our  circumstances,  we 
might  imitate  it.  If  the  above  remarks  are  correct,  then  the  record 
was  made  for  far  other  purposes  than  that  we  should  imitate  the 
conduct  of  those  who  gave  expression  to  these  feelings.  Nor  should 
the  fact  that  such  feelings  actually  existed  in  the  minds  of  good  men, 


xxxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

4. 

or  that  these  "imprecations  "  -are found  in  their  writings,  be  charged 
on  religion,  as  if  it  tended  to  produce  them,  any  more  than  the  act 
of  adultery  and  murder  on  the  part  of  David,  or  the  profaneness  of 
Peter,  should  be  referred  to  as  an  illustration  of  what  religion  is 
adapted  to  produce  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men.  Religion  is  not 
responsible  for  these  things.  The  responsibility  is  in  our  corrupt 
nature. 

(e)  If  such  is  a  just  view  of  the  matter,  then  all  that  inspiration  is 
responsible  for  is,  the  correctness  of  the  record  in  regard  to  the  exist- 
ence of  these  feelings  : — that  is,  the  authors  of  the  Psalms  actually 
recorded  what  was  passing  in  their  own  minds.  They  gave  vent  to 
their  internal  emotions.  They  state  real  feelings  which  they  them- 
selves had ;  feelings  which,  while  human  nature  remains  the  same, 
may  spring  up  in  the  mind  of  imperfect  man,  anywhere,  and  at  any 
time.  They  record  what  other  men  actually  feel ;  and  in  making  the 
record,  they  simply  give  utterance  to  what  passed  through  their  own 
hearts.  They  do  not  apologize  for  it ;  they  do  not  pause  to  vindicate 
it ;  they  offer  no  word  in  extenuation  of  it — any  more  than  other 
sacred  writers  did  when  they  recorded  the  facts  about  the  errors  in  the 
lives  of  the  patriarchs,  of  David,  and  of  Peter. 

In  some  of  these  ways  it  is  probable  that  all  the  difficulties  in  re- 
gard to  the  "  imprecations  "  in  the  Psalms  may  be  met.  They  who 
deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Psalms  should  be  able  to  show  that  these 
are  not  proper  explanations  of  the  difficulty ;  or  that  they  are  not 
consistent  with  any  just  notions  of  inspiration. 

'  §  7.  The  practical  value  of  the  'Booh  of  Psalms. — It  is  not  a  little 
remarkable  that  the  Psalms,  in  the  estimation  of  religious  persons, 
hold  substantially  the  same  place  under  the  clearer  light  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  which  they  did  under  the  comparatively 
obscure  Hebrew  economy,  and  that  with  all  the  additional  light 
which  has  been  imparted  under  the  Christian  revelation,  the  Psalms 
have  not  been  superseded.  The  Christian  looks  to  the  Psalms  with 
an  interest  as  intense  as  did  the  ancient  Jew ;  and,  as  expressive  of 
personal  religious  experience,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of  a  manual 
for  worship,  the  Psalms  are  selected  by  the  Christian,  from  the  whole 
Bible,  as  they  were  by  the  Jew  from  the  books  in  his  possession — the 
Old  Testament.  As  such,  they  will  retain  their  value  in  all  times  to 
come,  nor  will  there  ever  be  in  our  world  such  an  advance  in  religious 
light,  experience,  and  knowledge,  that  they  will  lose  their  relative 
» place  as  connected  with  the  exercises  of  practical  piety.  How  far 
this  fact  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  proof  that  the  authors  of  the  Psalms  were 
inspired  ;  that  there  was  communicated  to  them  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  and  workings  of  true  piety,  so  in  advance  of  their  own  age  ■ 


INTRODUCTION*.  xxxix 

as  to  be  on  a  level  with  what  will  be  possessed  in  the  most  advanced 
periods  of  religious  culture ;  that  there  must  have  been  an  influence 
on  their  minds,  in  composing  the  Psalms,  beyond  anything  derived 
from  mere  poetic  genius,  is  a  question  which  must  occur  to  all  reflect- 
ing minds.  It  is  a  fair  question  to  propose  to  one  who  doubts  the 
inspiration  of  the  Psalms,  how  he  will  account  for  this  fact,  consistently 
with  his  idea  that  the  authors  of  the  Psalms  were  men  endowed  only 
as  other  men  of  genius  are,  and  with  the  acknowledged  fact  that  they 
lived  in  an  age  when  the  views  of  truth  in  the  world  were  compara- 
tively obscure.  How  did  it  happen  that  a  Hebrew  bard,  in  the 
matter  of  deep  religious  experience  and  knowledge,  placed  himself  so 
high  as  to  be  a  guide  to  mankind  in  all  coming  times,  after  a  new 
revelation  should  have  been  introduced  to  the  world,  and  after  all 
the  attainments  which  men  would  have  made  in  the  knowledge  of 
religion  and  of  the  human  heart  ? 

The  special  value  of  the  Psalms  arises  (a)  from  the  fact  that  they 
are  adapted  to  the  worship  of  God ;  (b)  from  the  fact  that  they  are 
records  of  deep  religious  experience. 

(a)  As  adapted  to  the  worship  of  God.  For  this  many  of  them 
were  originally  designed  in  their  very  composition ;  to  this  the  entire 
book  seems  to  have  been  intentionally  adapted  by  those  who  made 
the  collection.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  these  sacred 
songs  comprise  the  whole  of  the  Hebrew  lyrical  poetry,  for  as  we 
know  that  some  of  the  books  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament, 
though  inspired,  accomplished  their  purpose  and  have  been  lost,  so 
it  may  have  been  in  regard  to  a  portion  of  the  lyrical  poetry  of  the 
Hebrews.  Many  of  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  though  all  that  he 
spoke  was  pure  truth — truth  such  as  no  other  man  ever  spoke — truth 
such  as  the  Spirit  of  God  imparts — were  lost  from  not  having  been 
recorded  (John  xxi,  25),  and  in  like  manner  it  may  have  been  that 
truths  which  were  written  may  have  accomplished  their  purpose,  and 
have  passed  away.  But,  if  there  were  such  productions  which  have 
not  come  down  to  us,  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  were  of 
the  same  general  character  as  those  which  have  survived,  and  which 
now  constitute  the  Book  of  Psalms.  Now,  it.  is  remarkable  that  the 
poetry  of  the  Hebrews  is  so  adapted  to  public  worship  above  all  other 
poetry,  and  that  the  poetic  genius  of  the  nation  took  so  exclusively 
a  religious  turn.  In  this  respect  the  Hebrew  lyric  poetry  stands  by 
itself,  and  is  unlike  that  of  every  other  nation.  Among  the  Greeks 
there  are,  indeed,  hymns  to  the  gods — hymns  designed  to  be  used  in 
the  worship  of  the  gods ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the  general  character 
of  their  lyric  poetry.  Among  the  Persians,  the  Arabs,  the  Romans, 
the  Babylonians,  there  were  doubtless  such  hymns ;  \>ut  this  is  not 


xl  INTRODUCTION". 

the  prevailing  character  of  their  lyric  poetry.     In  the  early  Scotch, 
French,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  English  poetry  there  are  such  hymns, 
but  this  is  by  no  means  the  exclusive  or  the  predominant  character 
of  the  early  lyric  poetry  of  those  nations.     Few  of  all  their  lyric 
compositions  can  be  used  in  the  worship  of  the  true  God  ;  nor  is  that 
which  can  be  thus  used   always  of  the  most  exalted  character  as 
poetry.     The  composition  of  psalms  and  hymns  is  a  separate  poetic 
art ;  and  though  there  are  specimens,  in  the  hymns  in  these  lan- 
guages, of  the  highest  kind  of  lyric  excellence,  yet  it  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted that  a  large  portion  of  that  species  of  literature  would  scarcely 
be  regarded  as  even  respectable,  if  it  related  to  other  subjects  than 
religion.     Of  the  Hebrews,  however,  this  is  their  all.     They  have  no 
other  poetry  whatever.     They  have  none  merely  amatory  or  pastoral 
which  will  compare  with  the  Bucolics  of  Virgil,  or  with  much  of  the 
poetry  of  Burns.     Their  poetry  of  the  religious  kind,  also,  is  all  of  a 
high  order.     There  is  none  that  can  be  placed  on  the  same  low  level 
with  much  that  is  found  in  the  hymn  books  of  most  denominations  of 
Christians — very  good ;   very  pious ;   very  sentimental ;  very  much 
adapted,  as   is   supposed,   to   excite  the  feelings   of  devotion — but 
withal  so  flat,,  so  weak,  so  unpoetic,  that  it  would  not,  in  a  volume  of 
mere  poetry,  be  admitted  to  a  third  or  fourth  rank,  if,  indeed,  it 
would  find  a  place  at  all.      It  is  for  him  who  rejects  the  idea  of 
inspiration,  as  applied  to  the  Book  of  Psalms,  to  account  for  this 
fact. 

(b)  The  Book  of  Psalms  is  a  record  of  deep  religious  experience. 
It  is  this  which,  in  the  estimation  of  religious  persons  in  general, 
gives  it  its  chief  value.  It  is  the  guide  of  young  believers ;  and  it 
becomes  more  and  more  the  companion,  the  comforter,  and  the 
counsellor,  as  the  believer  moves  along  through  the  varied  scenes  of 
life,  and  as  grey  hairs  come  upon  him,  and  as  the  infirmities,  which 
pre-intimate  the  approaching  close  of  all  things,  press  him  down. 
A  religious  man  is  rarely,  if  ever,  placed  in  circumstances  where  he 
will  not  find  something  in  the  PsaJms  appropriate  to  his  circum- 
stances ;  where  he  will  not  find  that  the  Hebrew  sacred  bard  has  not 
gone  before  him  in  the  depths  of  religious  experience.  Hence,  in 
sickness,  in  bereavement,  in  persecution,  in  old  age,  on  the  bed  of 
death,  the  Book  of  Psalms  becomes  so  invariable  and  so  valuable  a 
companion;  and  hence,  not  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  but  as 
supplying  a  want  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  as  significant  of  their 
value,  the  Psalms  and  the  New  Testament  are  so  often  bound  to- 
gether in  a  single  volume.  Hence,  also,  for  the  aged,  for  the  sick, 
for  those  whose  powers  of  vision  fail  by  disease  or  by  years,  the 
Psalms  and  the  New  Testament  are  printed  in  large  type,  and  bound 


INTRODUCTION.  xli 

in  convenient  forms,  that  the  truths  contained  in  these  volumes  may 
be  still  accessible  to  the  saint  ripening  for  heaven,  as  the  light  fails, 
and  as  life  ebbs  away.  To  the  end  of  the  world  the  Psalms  in 
religious  experience  will  occupy  the  same  place  which  they  now 
occupy ;  to  the  end  of  the  world  they  will  impart  comfort  to  the 
troubled,  and  peace  to  the  dying,  as  they  have  done  in  the  ages  that 
are  past. 

§  8.  The  qualifications  for  preparing  a  Commentary  on  the  Psalms. 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  there  have  been  more  failures  in  the 
Commentaries  on  the  Book  of  Psalms  than  on  any  other  of  the  books 
of  the  Bible.  As  yet  there  has  been  no  Commentary  that  has  met 
the  wants  of  the  Christian  world  ;  there  are  none,  whatever  anticipa- 
tions may  have  been  raised,  which  can  be  read  without  feelings  of 
disappointment.  For  this  fact  there  must  be  a  cause  ;  and  that 
cause  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  very  peculiar  qualifications 
needed  to  produce  a  Commentary  on  the  Psalms  : — qualifications 
which  are  rarely  to  be  found  united  in  the  same  person. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  qualifications  necessary  for  preparing  such  a 
Commentary  may  explain  the  cause  of  the  failures  which  have 
occurred;  and  may,  perhaps,  also  explain  the  reason  why  the  one 
now  submitted  to  the  public  may  be  found  to  be  an  addition  to  the 
failures  already  existing.  Every  man  who  prepares  a  Commentary 
on  the  Psalms  will  probably,  at  the  close  of  his  work,  be  sensible  of 
a  feeling  of  disappointment  in  what  he  had  hoped,  perhaps  what  he 
had  expected  to  do,  and  will  share  fully  in  the  feelings  of  his  readers 
that  what  is  thus  submitted  to  the  world  is  very  far  from  being  what 
a  Commentary  on  this  portion  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  ought  to  be. 

The  peculiar  qualifications  for  preparing  a  Commentary  on  the 
Psalms  are  such  as  the  following  : — 

(1.)  A  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  language,  particularly  as  it  is 
affected  by  the  laws  of  poetry  which  prevailed  among  the  Hebrews. 
In  all  languages  there  are  peculiar  rules  of  poetry ;  rules  by  which 
the  sense  of  the  words  used  is  affected,  and  by  which  peculiar  shades 
of  thought  are  expressed.  In  most  languages,  words  have  a  poetic 
and  a  prosaic  sense  ;  and  the  application  of  the  meaning  of  a  word  as 
used  in  prose  to  a  passage  in  poetry  might  by  no  means  express  the 
idea  which  was  in  the  mind  of  the  poet.  We  learn  almost  insensibly, 
in  reading  a  language  familiar  to  us,  to  make  this  distinction  ac- 
curately, even  when  we  could  not  explain  it;  and  we  read  a  psalm,  a 
hymn,  a  lyric  song,  without  mistaking  the  meaning.  But  it  is 
another  thing  when  one  undertakes  to  read  a  book  of  poetry  in  a 
language  different  from  his  native  tongue.  What  is  obvious  to  an 
Italian,  a  Frenchman,  or  a  German,  in  reading  poetry  in  his  native 


xlii  INTRODUCTION. 

language,  becomes  a  matter  of  difficult  acquisition  when  an  English- 
man attempts  to  read  the  poem.  The  same  thing  is  true  in  studying 
a  dead  language.  It  need  not  be  said  that  there  is  a  peculiar  litera- 
ture in  respect  to  the  Greek  and  Latin  poets  ;  and  he  who  can  read 
Herodotus  or  Livy  cannot  assume  that  he  has  such  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  as  to  qualify  him  to  understand  the 
poetry  in  those  languages.  So  much  depends  often  on  rhythm,  on 
the  poetic  forms  of  words,  or  on  the  images  peculiar  to  poetry,  that 
a  classical  education  is  not  complete,  nor  is  the  student  qualified 
to  apprehend  the  meaning  of  the  language  of  a  poem,  or  to  appre- 
ciate the  beauties  of  its  thought  and  imagery  until  he  has  mastered 
this  most  difficult  part  of  the  rules  of  language.  That  the  Hebrews, 
like  other  people,  had  such  rules  and  usages,  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
for  they  are  to  be  found  in  all  languages,  and  there  is  abundant  evi- 
dence in  the  Hebrew  poetry  itself  that  they  existed  among  the  Jewish 
people.  Yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  is  possible  now  so  fully  to 
recover  the  knowledge  of  those  rules  and  usages  as  to  apply  them 
perfectly  in  the  explanation  of  the  poetic  portions  of  the  sacred 
writings.  Much  pertaining  to  the  rhythm  of  the  language,  much 
relating  to  the  accents,  much  connected  with  the  peculiar  use  of 
words,  it  may  be  impossible  now  to  recover.  To  show  the  difficulty 
of  this  subject  in  its  bearing  on  the  interpretation  of  the  Psalms,  as 
well  as  to  illustrate  the  subject  of  Hebrew  poetry,  I  may  refer  to  the 
remarks  of  De  Wette,  Einleitung,  vii.  pp.  37 — 76.  An  elegant  trans- 
lation of  this  may  be  found  in  the  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  iii.,  pp. 
478—514. 

(2.)  True  piety  is  essential  to  qualify  one  to  be  an  interpreter  of 
the  Psalms.  This  is  true,  in  fact,  in  regard  to  the  interpretation  of 
any  portion  of  the  Sacred  Volume.  As  the  Bible  is  a  book  of  religion, 
employed  in  describing  the  nature,  the  power,  and  the  influence  of 
religion,  it  is  obvious  that  correct  religious  feeling,  or  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  religion,  is  necessary  in  an  interpreter.  The 
principle  is  substantially  the  same  which  is  required  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  books  on  any  subject.  In  a  treatise  on  painting, 
poetry,  sculpture,  architecture,  there  will  be  things  which  could  not 
be  so  well  explained  as  by  one  who  had  a  practical  knowledge  of  these 
arts ;  and  in  order  to  the  possession  of  a  complete  qualification  for 
the  interpretation  of  such  a  book,  an  ability  to  appreciate  what  is 
said  on  those  arts  must  be  regarded  as  indispensable.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  mere  knowledge  of  words — of  philology — would  not  be  ail 
that  would  be  demanded ;  nor  would  any  power  of  explaining  local 
allusions,  laws,  customs,  manners,  or  geographical  or  historical  re- 
ferences, be  all  that  would  be  required.  Beyond  all  this,  there  was  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer  or  author  that  which  he  intended  to  express, 


INTRODUCTION.  xliii 


and  which  no  mere  knowledge  of  language  or  of  customs  would  be 
sufficient  to  explain.  To  show  what  the  writer  meant  it  would  be 
obviously  necessary  to  be  able  to  understand  him, — to  appreciate 
what  he  intended  to  say ;  to  bring  out  what  was  in  his  mind ;  what 
he  thought  of — what  he  felt — what  he  designed  to  express.  Hence, 
however  valuable  a  work  may  be  on  the  Psalms  as  a  philological 
work,  or  as  illustrating  the  authorship  of  a  psalm,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  author  in  its  composition,  it  is  plain  that  we  have  not 
reached  the  main  thing  unless  we  have  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the 
author,  and  are  qualified  to  understand  and  appreciate  his  own 
feelings  in  the  composition. 

(3.)  For  the  reason  above  stated,  there  should  be  in  an  exposition  of 
the  Psalms  more  than  the  mere  possession  of  piety.  There  should  he 
deep  religious  experience.  There  should  be  an  acquaintance  with  piety 
in  its  highest  forms  of  rapture,  and  in  the  lowest  depths  of  de- 
spondency, darkness,  and  sorrow.  There  is  no  book  in  the  world 
in  which  there  are  such  varied  expressions  of  piety,  in  which  there 
are  such  diversified  forms  of  religious  experience,  as  in  the  Book 
of  Psalms.  As  the  Psalms  were  designed  for  every  age  of  the  world; 
for  persons  found  in  every  rank  and  condition  of  life  ;  for  seasons  of 
joy  and  of  sorrow;  for  childhood,  youth,  middle  age,  old  age;  for 
the  ignorant  and  the  learned ;  for  times  of  sickness  and  of  health ; 
for  private,  social,  domestic,  and  public  life ;  for  magistrates  and 
private  citizens ;  for  war  and  peace ;  for  acts  of  business  and  acts  of* 
charity  ;  for  the  living  and  for  the  dying,  and  for  those  that  mourn, — 
so  they  were  designed  to  form  a  manual  that  would  illustrate  religion 
in  all  these  forms  and  relations  ;  to  be  a  book  in  which  any  one, 
in  all  the  varied  conditions  of  human  existence,  might  be  sure  that 
he  would  find  something  that  would  be  applicable  to  himself.  If  this 
is  so,  then  it  is  clear  that  in  order  to  a  good  Commentary  on  the 
Psalms, — in  order  that  the  expositor  may  be  able  to  enter  into  the 
real  spirit  of  the  work  which  he  undertakes  to  explain, — piety  of  no 
common  order  is  demanded  ;  a  rich  and  varied  religious  experience  is 
required  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  very  few  of  mankind.  Looking 
simply  at  this  qualification  of  a  commentator  on  the  Psalms,  we  may 
cease  to  be  surprised  that  no  such  Commentary  has  ever  appeared  as 
to  leave  nothing  yet  to  be  desired. 

(4.)  Poetic  taste  is  an  important  requisite  in  a  commentator  on  the 
Psalms.  The  Psalms  are  poetry,  and  poetry  of  the  most  delicate 
kind.  Much  of  the  beauty  of  the  Psalms,  and  much  of  their  adapt- 
edness  to  the  wants  of  man,  depends  on  the  fact  that  they  are  poetry. 
This  was  a  reason  why  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  breathing  his  influence 
on  the  men  who  composed  the  Psalms,  preferred  that  the  sentiments 


xliv  INTRODUCTION. 

found  in  them  should  he  expressed  in  poetry  rather  than  in  prose,  and 
hence  this  medium  was  selected.  Among  the  original  endowments 
of  the  human  mind,  that  which  contemplates  poetry  as  among  the 
means  of  happiness ;  as  adapted  to  impress  truth  on  the  mind ;  as 
fitted  to  arouse  the  soul  to  great  efforts  ;  as  designed  to  fill  the  mind 
with  calm,  peaceful,  pure,  patriotic,  pious  emotions,  is  one.  Possessed 
by  men,  indeed  (either  in  the  power  of  producing  poetry  or  of  ap- 
preciating it)  in  very  different  degrees,  yet  it  is  an  endowment  of 
man ;  and,  being  such,  religion  makes  use  of  it  to  promote  its  own 
ends.  There  are  those  who  will  be  moved  by  little  besides  calm 
argument,  stern  logic,  severe  demonstration ;  there  are  those  who 
will  be  aroused  only  by  the  lofty  appeals  of  eloquence;  there  are 
those  who  will  be  most  influenced  by  the  voice  of  persuasion ;  there 
are  those  who  will  be  awakened  from  dangerous  slumbers  only  by  the 
denunciations  of  wrath ;  there  are  those  in  whose  minds  pure  and 
joyful  and  holy  emotions  will  be  best  excited  by  poetry.  It  is  the 
province  of  song,  as  such,  to  awaken  many  of  the  most  pure  and 
devoted  feelings  of  piety  in  the  human  soul ;  and  the  Book  of  Psalms 
is  the  portion  of  the  Sacred  Yolume  by  which  it  is  designed  and 
expected  that  this  object  will  be  accomplished  as  a  permanent 
arrangement. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  he  cannot  be  completely  qualified  to  be  a 
commentator  on  the  Psalms  who  has  not  himself  such  endowments 
as  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  poetry ;  who  cannot,  in  this  respect, 
enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  sacred  writer  on  the  one  hand,  and  into 
the  hearts  of  those  who  are  so  made  as  to  be  affected  by  poetry  on 
the  other.  One  of  the  causes  of  the  failure  to  produce  a  good  Com- 
mentary on  the  Psalms  may  be  traced  to  this  source.  A  mere  philo- 
logist ;  a  man  who  regards  nothing  as  valuable"  but  exact  demonstra- 
tion ;  a  man  of  prosaic  temperament,  though  he  may  have  piety  that 
is  exalted  and  pure,  may  lack  still  an  important  qualification  for 
entering  into  the  true  spirit  of  the  Psalms,  and  for  meeting  the 
wants  of  those  who  seek  for  edification  and  comfort  in  this  portion 
of  the  Bible. 

(5.)  A  knowledge  of  the  human  heart — of  human  nature — is  an 
indispensable  condition  for  a  good  commentator  on  the  Psalms.  The 
Psalms  comprise,  more  than  any  other  book  in  the  Bible,  a  record  of 
the  workings  of  the  heart.  Indeed,  they  pertain  mostly  to  the  heart. 
They  are  not  addressed,  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is,  to  the 
loftier  powers  of  the  understanding,  nor  do  they  make  such  appeals 
to  the  imagination  as  the  visions  of  Isaiah,  or  the  visions  of  John  in 
Patmos.  It  is  the  heart  which,  in  the  Psalms,  is  eminently  the 
medium  of  communication  between  the  Divine  Spirit  and  the  soul. 


INTRODUCTION.  xlv 

Of  all  parts  of  the  Bible  there  is  most  to  illustrate  the  human  heart 
in  the  Psalms.     All  that  there  is  in  the  heart  of  man  is  there  in 
one  way  or  another  illustrated,  and  in  an  almost  endless  variety  of 
circumstances.     Joy,  sorrow,   penitence,  gratitude,   praise,   despon- 
dency,  sadness;    love — love    to    God — love  to   man;— the    feelings 
experienced   in   sickness,   and   on   a  recovery  from   sickness;— the 
anguish,   the   bitterness   of  soul,    arising  from   the  ingratitude  of 
others ;  terror  at  the  wrath  of  God ;  the  dread  of  death ;  the  peace 
which  religion  gives  in  the  prospect  of  death ;  the  joy  of  prayer ;  the 
light  which  comes  into  the  soul  in  answer  to  earnest  supplication ; 
the  calmness  which  springs  from  devout  meditation  on  the  character 
of  God  and  his  law;  the  light  which  beams  upon  the  soul  after  long 
darkness  ;  the  effects  of  remembered  guilt  (as  in  Ps.  li.) ;  the  feeling 
of  despair  when  God  seems  to  have  forsaken  us ;  the  feelings  which 
spring  up  in  the  heart  on  the  reception  of  injuries  ; — these  are  a  few 
among  the  many  topics  which  are  found  illustrated  in  the  Psalms  in 
the  personal  experience  of  the  writers,  and  it  is  obvious  that  no  one  is 
qualified  to  comment  on  these  subjects  unless  he  has  himself  a  know- 
ledge of  the  workings  of  the  human  heart.     To  be  able  to  explain  the 
words  used ;  to  state  the  origin  and  authorship  of  the  Psalms,  and 
the  occasion  on  which  they  were  composed ;    to   investigate  the 
genuineness  and  accuracy  of  the  text,  and  to  determine  the  value  of 
the  varied  readings  ;  to  understand  and  explain  the  parallelisms,  the 
rhythm,  and  the  accents  employed  in  the  Psalms ;  to  comprehend 
and  appreciate  the  poetry  of  the  Psalms;  or  to  gather  together  what 
Jewish  Rabbies  and  the  Christian  Fathers  have  written,  or  to  trans- 
plant from  Germany  what  has  been  produced  under  Rationalistic 
views  of  the  Bible,  or  even  what  the  German  mind  in  its  best  work- 
ings and  under  the  influence  of  true  religion  has  produced,  is  not 
all  or  mainly  what  is  demanded  in  a  Commentary  on  the  Psalms  that 
will  meet  the  wants  of  those  in  our  own  land,  or  that  will  illustrate 
the  Psalms  in  the  manner  that  will  be  of  most  value  to  the  great 
masses  of  the  young,  the  sick,  the  bereaved,  the  tempted,  the  aged, 
and  the  desponding.     A  man  who  cannot  in  this  varied  manner  enter 
into  sympathy  with  the  writers  of  the  Psalms  in  the  workings  of  the 
human  heart  as  there  illustrated,  is  not  a  man  who  is  fully  qualified 
to  prepare  a  Commentary  on  this  book.     For  some  purposes  he  may, 
indeed,  make  a  book  that  will  be  valuable,  but  not  a  book  that  will 
be  valuable  in  relation  to  the  real  purpose  designed  to  be  accom- 
plished by  the  Psalms — to  be  a  guide  and  a  comfort  to  believers  of 
every  station  and  condition,  in  all  the  varied  circumstances  of  human 
life,  and  in  all  the  varied  and  complicated  workings  of  the  human 
heart. 


xlvi  INTRODUCTION. 

(6)  It  may  be  added  that  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  main,  is  so 
plain,  so  easy  to  be  understood  by  the  great  mass  of  readers ;  so 
expressive  of  the  internal  feelings  and  emotions,  as  to  increase  the 
difficulty  in  the  preparation  of  a  Commentary.  The  Psalms  are  so 
rich ;  so  full  of  meaning ;  so  adapted  to  the  wants  of  believers ; — they 
so  meet  the  varied  experiences  of  the  people  of  God,  and  are  so  replete 
with  the  illustratioms  of  piety ;  they  so  touch  the  deepest  fountains 
of  emotion  in  the  soul,  that,  so  far  as  most  of  these  points  are  con- 
cerned, a  Commentary,  considered  as  an  additional  source  of  light, 
does  not  differ  materially  from  a  candle  considered  as  affording 
additional  splendour  to  the  sun.  What  a  man  finds  in  the  ordinary 
perusal  of  the  Psalms  as  a  book  of  devotion,  on  the  subject  of  deep 
experimental  piety,  is  so  much  in  advance  of  what  he  will  usually 
find  in  the  Commentary,  that  he  turns  from  the  attempt  to  explain 
them  with  a  feeling  of  deep  disappointment,  and  comes  back  to  the 
Book  itself  as  better  expressing'  his  emotions,  meeting  his  necessities, 
and  imparting  consolation  in  trial,  than  anything  which  the  com- 
mentator cai*  add.  He  welcomes  the  Book  of  Psalms  itself  as  a 
comforter  and  a  guide ;  and  in  the  little  volume  sold  now  at  so  cheap 
a  rate,  or  appended  to  his  pocket  Testament,  the  common  reader 
of  the  Bible  finds  more  that  is  suited  to  his  need  than  he  would  in 
the  voluminous  commentary  of  Yenema ;  in  all  the  collections  in  the 
Critici  Sacri ;  in  the  Synopsis  of  Poole ;  in  the  Annotations  of 
Grotius  ;  or  in  the  learned  expositions  of  De  Wette — elegant  as  the 
work  of  De  Wette  is, — or  of  Tholuck,  or  Hengstenberg. 

When  these  difficulties  in  composing  a  Commentary  on  the  Psalms 
are  considered; — when  a  man  who  sits  down  to  write  one  reflects  on 
the  qualifications  necessary  for  the  task; — and  when  under  the  influ- 
ence of  these  thoughts,  constantly  increasing  in  magnitude,  and 
pressing  upon  him  more  and  more  as  he  labours  for  a  dozen  years, 
though  at  intervals,  as  I  have  done,  in  preparing  a  Commentary  on 
this  portion  of  Scripture, — whatever  ardour  of  desire  or  confidence  of 
success  he  may  have  had  at  the  commencement  of  his  enterprise,  he 
will  cease  to  wonder,  as  he  progresses  in  his  work,  that  the  efforts  of 
others  to  prepare  a  Commentary  heretofore  have  been  a  failure,  and 
he  will  not  be  surprised,  should  his  life  be  lengthened  out  to  see  the 
result  of  his  own  labours,  if  he  finds  that  the  world  regards  that  at 
which  he  has  toiled  so  long,  and  which  he  hoped  might  be,  in  some 
measure,  worthy  of  the  Volume  he  has  undertaken  to  explain,  as  but 
adding  another  to  the  long  list  of  unsuccessful  attempts  to  prepare  a 
proper  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Psalms. 


THE    BOOK    OF    PSALMS. 


PSALM  I. 

The  first  psalm  has  no  title  prefixed 
to  it,  which  is  the  case,  also,  with  many 
others,  Ps.  x.,  cxvi.,  cxvii.,  etc.  It  is  now 
in  vain  to  attempt  to  search  for  the  cause 
of  this  omission.  On  the  origin  and 
authority  of  the  titles  prefixed  to  the 
Psalms,  see  Introduct.,  §  4.  Some  have 
supposed  that  the  reason  why  no  title  was 
affixed  to  this  psalm  was  that  the  general 
title,  "The  Psalms  of  David,"  was  pre- 
fixed to  the  whole  book,  and  that  that 
was  a  sufficient  indication  of  the  author 

'  of  this  the  first  in  the  series.  But  this 
is  mere  conjecture,  and  this  reason  would 
no  more  make  proper  the  omission  of  the 
title  to  the  first  psalm  than  of  any  other 
that  came  under  that  general  title.  In 
some  manuscripts  (2  Codd.De  Rossi)  this 
psalm  is  not  numbered ;  in  some  others 
(4  Codd.  Kennic,  and  3  De  Rossi)  it  is 
united  with  the  second  psalm,  and  the 
two  are  reckoned  as  one.  It  is,  how- 
ever, manifestly  a  distinct  composition 
from  the  second  psalm.  It  has  a  unity 
of  its  own,  as  the  second  has  also ;  and 
there  are  almost  no  two  psalms  in  the 
whole  collection  which  might  not  be 
united  with  as  much  propriety  as  these. 

"  It   is  impossible  now  to   ascertain  the 

1  authorship  of  the  psalm,  though  the  com- 
mon opinion  is  probably  the  correct  one, 
that  it  was  composed  by  David.  But  on 
what  occasion  it  was  written  it  is  now 
equally  impossible  to  discover.  There  are 
no  historical  allusions  in  it  which  would 
enable  us  to  determine  the  occasion  on 
which  it  was  written,  as  there  is  nothing 
in  it  which  certainly  determines  its 
authorship.  The  terms  employed  are  of 
the  most  general  character,  and  the 
sentiments  are   applicable  to  all  times 

)  and  all  lands.  It  has  all  the  marks  of 
being  a  general  introduction  to  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  and  of  having  been  de- 
signed to  express  in  a  few  sentences  the 
substance  of  the  entire  collection,  or  to 
state  the  great  principle  which  would  be 
found  to  run  through  the  whole  of  it — 
that  a  righteous  life  trill  be  attended 
wit/:  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  that 
Jhe  life  of  the  wicked  will  be  followed  by 
VOL.   I. 


sorrow  and  ruin.  This  was  the  great 
principle  of  the  Jewish  Theocracy  ;  and 
was  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  stated 
clearly  in  the  commencement  of  a 
book  that  was  designed  to  illustrate  so 
fully  the  nature  and  the  value  of  true 
religion.     Comp.  Deut.  xxvii.,  xxviii. 

The  psalm  is  designed  to  describe  the 
blessedness  or  the  happiness  of  the  righ- 
teous man.  This  is  done  "literally  and 
figuratively,  positively  and  negatively, 
directly  and  by  contrast,  with  respect 
both  to  his  character  and  his  condition 
here  and  hereafter." — Professor  Alex- 
ander. It  is  not,  however,  as  Professor 
Alexander  supposes,  a  "  picture  of  the 
truly  happy  man ;"  it  is  a  description 
of  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous  man, 
in  contrast  with  the  condition  of  the 
unrighteous.  The  righteous  man  is  in- 
deed prosperous  and  happy ;  and  it  is 
one  design  of  the  psalm  to  show  this. 
But  it  is  not  the  happy  man,  as  such, 
that  is  in  the  eye  of  the  psalmist ;  it  is 
the  righteous  man,  and  the  blessedness 
of  being  righteous. 

The  psalm  is  properly  made  up  of  two 
parts— the  blessedness  of  the  righteous 
man,  and  the  unblessedness,  Tlngluck  {De 
Wette),  of  the  wicked  or  ungodly  man. 

I.  The  blessedness  of  the  righteous 
man,  vers.  1—3.  This  consists  also  of 
two  minor  parts  :  — 

(1.)  His  character  (vers.  1,  2),  and 
this  is  described  also  in  two  forms— 
negatively  and  positively. 

\a)   Negatively. — He   does   not    walk 
in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly, 
nor  stand  in  the  way  of  sinners, 
nor  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn- 
ful, ver.  1. 
(b)  Positively. — He    delights    in  the 
law  of   the  Lord,   and  he  has 
pleasure    in     meditating     con- 
tinually on  his  truth,  ver.  2. 
(2)   His  prosperity,    as  the  result   of 
being  righteous,  ver.  3.   His  condition  is 
compared  with  that  of  a  tree   planted 
in  a  well-watered  place,   whose  leaves 
are  always  green,  and  whose  fruit  never 
fails  ;  so'whatever  he  does  shall  prosper. 

II.  The  condition  of  the  unrighteous, 
or  the  strong  contrast  between  the  un- 


TSALM  I. 


PSALM  I. 


"DLESSED    is    the    man 

a  Prov.  iv.  14,  15. 


that 


righteous  and  the  righteous,  vers.  4—6. 
Their  condition  and  destiny  are  expressed 
in  three  forms  : — 

(1)  They  are  like  chaff  which  the 
■wind  drives  away,  ver.  4. 

(2)  They  shall  not  be  acquitted  in 
the  judgment,  nor  have  a  place  among 

"the  righteous,  ver.  5. 

(3)  They  shall  not  he  approved  by 
God,  but  shall  perish,  ver.  6. 

1.  Blessed  is  the  man.  That  is,  his 
condition  is  a  happy  or  a  desirable 
one.  The  word  here  used,*"|^T'S,  aishair, 
means  properly  happiness  or  blessed- 
ness. It  is  found,  however,  only  in  the 
plural  form  and  in  the  construct  state, 
and  takes  the  nature  and  force  of  an 
interjection — "  0  the  happiness  of  the 
man  !"  or  "  O  happy  man  !"  Deut. 
xxxiii. 29:  "Happy  art  thou,0  Israel!" 
1  Kings  x.  8  :  "Sappy  are  thy  men, 
liappy  are  these  thy  servants  I"  Job 
v.  17 :  "  Happy  is  the  man  whom 
Godcorrecteth!"  Ps.ii.  12:  "Blessed 
are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in 
him  \"  See  also  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2  j  xxxiii. 
12;  xxxiv.  8;  xl.  4 ;  xli.  lj  lxv.  4; 
lxxxiv.  4,  5,  12,  et  ah,  where  it  is 
rendered  blessed.  The  word  is  of  the 
most  general  character,  and,  in  itself, 
would  embrace  all  that  is  supposed  to 
constitute  real  happiness.  The  par- 
ticular kind  of  blessedness  referred  to 
here,  as  explained  in  the  subsequent 
part  of  the  psalm,  consists  in  the  fact 
t.ba^jjp.flvrmhjjtligj^^^  of 

the  wicked  ;  that  he  has  pleasure  in 
the  law  of  the  Lord;  that_he  will  be 
prospered  in  this  world;  and  that  h'e 
wuT-riTTt  perish  at  last.  The  word 
"man"  here,  also,  is  of  the  most 
general  character,  and  is  designed  to 
include  all  men,  of  all  times  and  of  all 
conditions,  who  possess  the  character 
referred  to.  The  term  is  applicable 
to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich  ;  to 
the  low  as  well  as  to  the  exalted ;  to 
the  servant  as  well  as  to  the  master  ; 
alike  to  the  aged,  the  middle-aged, 
and  the  young.  All  who  have  the 
character  here  described  come  under 


walketh  not a  in  the  connsel  of  the 
1  ungodly,  nor  standeth  in  the  way 

1  Or,  tricked. 

the  general  description  of  the  happy 
man — the  man  whose  condition  is  a 
happy  and  a  desirable  one.  %  That 
walketh  not.  Whose  character  is  that 
he  does  not  walk  in  the  manner  speci- 
fied. Professor  Alexander  renders 
this,  "  Who  has  not  walked."  Put  it 
implies  more  than  this;  it  refers  to 
more  than  the  past.  It  is  the  cha- 
racteristic of  the  man,  always  and 
habitually,  that  he  does  not  thus  walk; 
it  has  not  only  been  true  in  the  past, 
but  it  is  true  in  the  present,  and  will 
be  true  in  the  future.  It  is  that 
which  distinguishes  the  man.  The 
word  tcalk  is  often  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  denote  a  way  of  life  or  con-__ 
jluct— since  life  is  represented  as  a 
journey,  and  man  as  a  traveller.  Ps. 
xv.  2:  "Who  walketh  uprightly/' 
Compare  1  Kings  ix.  4;  Deut.  xix.  9; 
xxviii.  9 ;  Ps.  lxxxi.  12, 13 ;  Isa.  xxxiii. 
15.  %  In  the  counsel.  After  the  man- 
ner, the  principles,theplansof  this  class 
of  men.  He  does  not  take  counsel  of 
them  as  to  the  way  in  which  he 
should  live,  but  from  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  ver.  2.  This  would  include 
such  things  as  these : — he^does  not 
follow  the  advice  of  sinners,  2  Sam. 
xvi.  20;  1  Kings  i.  12;  he  does  not 
execute  the  purposes  or  plans  of  sin- 
ners, Isa.  xix.  3;  he  does  not  frame 
his  life  according  to  their  views  and 
suggestions.  In  his  plans  and  pur- 
poses of  life  he  is  independent  of 
them,  and  looks  to  some  other  source 
for  the  rules  to  guide  him.  ^  Of  the 
ungodly.  The  wicked.  The  word 
here  used  is  general,  and  would  em- 
brace all  kinds  and  degrees  of  the 
unrighteous.  It  is  not  so  specific,  and 
would,  in  itself,  not  indicate  as  defi- 
nite, or  as  aggravated  depravity,  as 
the  terms  which  follow.  The  general 
sentiment  here  is,  that  the  man  re- 
ferred to  is  not  the  companion  of 
wicked  men.  ^[  Nor  standeth.  This 
indicates  more  deliberation;  a  cha- 
racter more  fixed  and  decided.  ^[  In 
the  way.     The  path  where  they  am 


-A   u...  >^4&'    .    PSALM  1.9 


3 


of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  &  in  the  seat  I  of  the  scornful : 

"or.  xv. 3       _ 


■£*.* «~  -  ■&«/. 


4 


found,  or  where  they  usually  go.  His 
standing  there  would  be  as  if  he 
'waited  for  them,  or  as  if  he  desired 
to  be  associated  with  them.  Instead 
of  passing  along  in  his  own  regular 
and  proper  employment,  he  stations 
himself  in  the  path  where  sinners 
usually  go,  and  lingers  and  loiters  there. 
Thus  he  indicates  a  desire  to  be  with 
them.  This  is  often,  in  fact,  illustrated 
by  men  who  place  themselves,  as  if 
they  had  nothing  to  do,  in  the  usual 
situation  where  the  wicked  pass  along, 
or  where  they  may  be  met  with  at  the 
corners  of  the  streets  in  a  great  city. 
%  Of  sinners,  QSN  131*7,  hattayim.  This 
word  means  literally,  those  tvho  miss 
the  mark  ;  then,  those  who  err  from 
the  path  of  duty  or  rectitude.  It  is 
often  used  to  denote  any  kind  or  de- 
gree of  sin.  It  is  more  specific  than 
the  former  word  rendered  ungodly, 
as  denoting  those  who  depart  from 
the  path  of  duty  ;  who  fail  in  regard 
to  the  great  end  of  life ;  who  vio- 
late positive  and  known  obligations. 
%  Nor  sitteth.  This  implies  still 
greater  deliberation  and  determina- 
tion of  character  than  either  of  the 
other  words  employed.  The  man 
here  referred  to  does  not  casually  and 
accidentally  walk  along  with  them, 
nor  put  himself  in  their  way  by 
standing  where  they  are  ordinarily 
to  be  found;  but  he  has  become  one 
of  them  by  occupying  a  seat  with 
them;  thus  deliberately  associating 
with  them.  He  has  _an_established 
reshlejice  among  the  wicked;  he  is 
permanently  one  of  their  number.  ' 
%  In  the  seat.  The  seat  which  the 
scornful  usually  occupy;  the  place 
where  such  men  converse  and  sit  toge- 
ther— as  in  a  ball-room,  or  in  a  "  club," 
wdiere  wicked  men  hold  their  meet- 
ings, or  where  infidels  and  scoffers  are 
accustomed  to  assemble.  %  Of  the 
scornful,  E"'??,  laitzim.  This  word 
properly  means  those  who  mock,  de- 
ride, scoff;  those  who  treat  virtue 
and  religion  with,  contempt  and  seorp. 
Pro  _' ;    iii.  31;    ix.  7,  S;   xiii. 


1;  xv.  12,  et  scepe.  It  denotes  a 
higher  and  more  determined  grade  of' 
wickedness  than  either  of  the  other 
wards  employed,  and  refers  to  the 
consummation  of  a  depraved  charac- 
ter, the  last  stage  of  wickedness^ 
when  God  and  sacred  things  are 
treated  with  contempt  and  derision. 
There  is  hope  of  a  man  as  long  as  he 
will  treat  virtue  and  religion  with" 
some  degree  of  respect;  there  is 
little  or  none  when  he  has  reached 
the  point  in  his  own  character  in 
which  virtue  and  piety  are  regarded 
only  as  fit  subjects  for  ridicule  and 
scorn.  We  have  here,  then,  a  beau- 
tiful double  gradation  or  climax,  in 
the  nouns  and  verbs  of  this  verse, 
indicating  successive  stages  of  cha^ 
racter.  There  is,  first,  casual  walking 
with  the  wicked,  or  accidentally  fall- 
ing into  their  company ;  there  is 
then  a  more  deliberate  inclination 
for  their  society,  indicated  by  a  volun- 
tary putting  of  oneself  in  places 
where  they  usually  congregate,  and 
standing  to  wait  for  them;  and  then 
there  is  a  deliberate  and  settled  pur- 
pose of  associating  with  them,  or  of 
becoming  permanently  one  of  them, 
by  regularly  sitting  among  them. 
So  also  it  is  in  regard  to  the  persons^. 
with  whom  they  associate.  They  are, 
first,  irreligious  men  in  general; 
then,  those  who  have  so  far  advanced 
in  depravity  _  as  to  disregard  known 
duty,  and  to  violate  known  obliga- 
tions; and  then,  those  who  become 
confirmed  in  infidelity,  and  who 
openly  mock  at  virtue,  and  scoff  at 
the  claims  of  religion.  It  is  unneces- 
sarv  to  sav  that,  in  both  these  re- 
spects,  this  is  an  accurate  description 
of  what  actually  occurs  in  the  world. 
He  who  casually  and  accidentally 
walks  wuth  the  wicked,  listening  to 
their  counsel,  will  soon  learn  to  place 
himself  in  their  way,  and  to  wait  for 
them,  desiring  their  society,  and  will 
ultimately  be  likely  to  be  found  iden- 
tified witli  open  scoffers;  and  he  who 
indulges  in  one  form  of  depravity,  or 


> 


4 


PSALM  I. 


2  But  Lis  delight  cis  in  the  law 
of  the  Lord ;  and  in  his  law  d  doth 
c  Job  xxiii.  12. 


he  meditate  day  and  night. 


d  Ps.  cxix.  97. 


in  the  neglect  of  religion  in  any  way, 
will,  unless  restrained  and  converted, 
he  likely  to  run  through  every  grade 
of  wickedness,  until  he  becomes  a 
confirmed  scoffer  at  all  religion.  The 
sentiment  in  this  verse  is,  that  the 
man  who  is  truly  blessed  is  a  man 
who  does  none  of  these  things.  His 
associations  and  preferences  are  found 
elsewhere,  as  is  stated  in  the  next 
verse. 

2.  But  Ms  delight.  His  pleasure; 
his  happiness.  Instead  of  finding 
his  .happiness  in  the  society  and  the 
occupations  of  the  wicked,  he  finds  it 
in  the"Truth  of  God.  The  law  or 
truth  of  God  is  not  distasteful  to  him, 
but  he  so  delights  in  it  as  to  desire  to 
become  more  and  more  acquainted 
with  it,  and  to  have  its  truths  im- 
pressed more  and  more  on  his  heart. 
^T  In  the  law  of  the  Lord.  The  law 
of  Jehovah — the  small  capitals  in 
the  translation  indicating  here  as 
elsewhere  that  the  original  word  is 
Jehovah.  The  word  laio  in  the 
Scriptures  is  used  in  a  considerable 
variety  of  significations.  The  Hebrew 
word  rnin,  torah,  properly  means 
instruction,  precept ;  and  then,  an  in- 
junction, command,  law,  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  word.  It  was  applied 
particularly  to  the  Pentateuch,  or 
law  of  Moses  (comp.  Notes  on  Luke 
xxiv.  44),  as  containing  the  first  writ- 
ten and  recorded  laws  of  God;  and 
then  the  word  came,  in  a  more  general 
sense,  to  be  applied  to  all  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  as  being  an  expo- 
sition and  application  of  the  law.  Here 
the  word  undoubtedly  refers  to  the 
written  revelation  of  the  will  of  God 
as  far  as  it  wras  then  made  known. 
On  the  same  principle,  however,  the 
declaration  here  made  would  apply 
to  any  part  of  a  Divine  revelation ; 
and  hence  the'  sentiment  is,  that  a 
truly  pious  man  findshis  highest  de- 
\hght_in  the  revealeT|lf tllfis  oi'TTocT. 
is  oTEen^elferrecl  to"a3  charac- 
true   pietx.      Comp.    Ps. 


ns  is 
teristic   of 


xix.  10;  cxix.  97,  99.  %  And  in  his 
laxv.  On  his  law,  or  his  truth. 
%  He  doth  meditate.  The  word  here 
used,  nMl,  hag  ah,  means  properly 
to  murmur,  to  mutter;  then,  to  speak  ; 
then,  to  utter  in  a  low  murmuring 
voice,  as  is  often  done  by  a  person  in 
deep  meditation ;  hence,  in  the  usual 
sense,  to  meditate  on  anything  ;  to 
think  of  it.  So  Joshua  i.  8  :  "  Thou 
shalt  meditate  therein  [the  law]  day 
and  night."  Ps.  lxxvii.  12  :  "I  me- 
ditate on  all  thy  work/'  Pro  v.  xv. 
28:  "The  heart  of  the  righteous 
meditateth  what  to  answer."  The 
meaning  here  is,  he  thinks  of  it ;  he 
endeavours  to  understand  its  mean- 
ing; he  has  pleasure  in  reflecting  on 
it.  It  is  not  a  subject  which  he  puts 
away  from  him,  or  in  respect  to  which 
he  is  indifferent,  but  he  keeps  it 
before  his  mind,  and  has  satisfaction 
in  doing  it.  %  Day  and  night.  That 
is,  continually — as  day  and  night  con- 
stitute the  whole  of  time.  The  mean- 
ing is — (a)  he  does  this  habitually, 
or  he  intentionally  forms  the  habit  of 
meditating  on  Divine  truth,  by  dis- 
ciplining his  mind  in  order  that  he 
may  do  it ;  (b)  he  takes  time  to  do 
it — designedly  setting  apart  suitable 
portions  of  each  day,  that,  withdrawn 
from  the  cares  of  life,  he  may  refresh 
his  spirit  by  contemplating  Divine 
truth,  or  maybecomebetter  acquainted 
with  God,  and  with  his  duty  to  him, 
and  may  bring  to  bear  upon  his  own 
soul  more  directly  the  truths  per- 
taining to  eternal  realities ;  (c)  he 
does  this  in  the  intervals  of  business, 
the  moments  of  leisure  which  he  may 
have  during  the  day — having  thus 
an  unfailing  subject  of  reflection  to 
which  his  mind  readily  reverts,  and 
in  which,  amid  the  cares  and  toils  of 
life,  he  finds  relaxation  and  comfort; 
and  (d)  he  does  it  in  the  wakeful 
hours  of  night,  when  sick  and  tossed 
upon  his  bed,  or  when,  for  any  other 
reason,  his  "  eyes  are  held  waking." 
Ps.  lxiii.   5,   G:   "My  soul   shall   be 


PSALM  I. 


3  And  lie  shall  "be  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water, 


e  Jer.  xvii.  8. 


that  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in 
his   season;    his   leaf  also    shall 


satisfied  as  with  marrow  and  fatness  ; 
and  my  month  shall  praise  thee  with 
joyful  lips;  when  I  remember  thee 
upon  my  bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in 
the  night-watches."  Ps.  cxix.  54: 
"Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs  in 
the  house  of  my  pilgrimage."  Comp. 
vers.  23,  48  j  Ps.  cxliii.  5.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  psalmist  had  the  in- 
junction in  his  mind  which  is  con- 
tained in  Josh.  i.  8. 

3.  And  he  shall  be  like  a  tree.  A 
description  of  the  happiness  or  pros- 
perity of  the  man  who  thus  avoids  the 
way  of  sinners,  and  who  delights  in 
the  law  of  God,  now  follows.  This  is 
presented  in  the  form  of  a  very  beau- 
tiful image — a  tree  planted  where  its 
roots  would  have  abundance  of  water. 
^f  Planted  by  the  rivers  of  water.  It 
is  not  a  tree  that  springs  up  spon- 
taneously, but  one  that  is  set  out  hi  a 
favorable  place,  and  that  is  culti- 
vated with  care.  The  word  "rivers" 
does  not  here  quite  express  the" sense 
y, — of  the  original.  The  Hebrew  word 
( j2p  peleg,  from  y2*£palag,  to  cleave, 
to  split,  to  divide),  properly  means  di- 
visions :  and  then,  channels,  canals, 
trenches,  branching-cuts,  brooks.  The 
allusion  is  to  the  Oriental  method  of 
irrigating  their  lands  by  making  arti- 
ficial rivulets  to  convey  the  water 
from  a  larger  stream,  or  from  a  lake. 
In  this  way  the  water  was  distributed 
in,  all  directions.  The  whole  land  of 
""""Egypt  was  anciently  sluiced  in  this 
manner,  and  it  was  in  this  way  that 
its  extraordinary  fertility  was  se- 
cured. An  illustration  of  the  passage 
may  be  derived  from  the  account  by 
Maiindrell  of  the  method  of  watering 
the  gardens  and  orchards  in  the  vici- 
nity of  Damascus.  "  The  gardens  are 
thick  set  with  fruit  trees  of  all  kinds, 
kept  fresh  and  verdant  by  the  waters 

of  the  Barady This  river,  as  soon  as 

it  issues  out  of  the  cleft  of  the  moun- 
tain before  mentioned,  into  the  plain, 
is  immediately  divided  into  three 
streams,  of  which  the  middlemost  and 


largest  runs  directly  to  Damascus, 
and  is  distributed  to  all  the  cisterns 
and  fountains  of  the  city.  The  other 
two,  which  I  take  to  be  the  work  ot 
art,  are  drawn  round,  the  one  to  the 
right,  and  the  other  to  the  left,  on 
the  borders  of  the  gardens,  into  which 
they  are  let  out,  as  they  pass,  by  little 
rivulets,  and  so  dispersed  over  all  the 
vast  wood,  insomuch  that  there  is  not 
a  garden  but  has  a  fine,  quick  stream 
running  through  it."  Trav.,  p.  122. 
A  striking  allusion  to  trees  cultivated 
in  this  manner  occurs  in  Ezek.  xxxi. 
3,  4:  "Behold,  the  Assyrian  was  a 
cedar  in  Lebanon,  with  fair  branches, 
and  with  a  shadowing  shroud,  and  of 
a  high  stature,  and  his  top  was  among 
the  thick  boughs.  The  waters  made 
him  great,  the  deep  set  him  up  on 
high,  with  his  rivers  running  round 
ahout  his  plants,  and  sent  out  his 
little  rivers  unto  all  the  trees  of  the 
field."  So  Eccles.ii.  4:  "I  made  me 
pools  of  water,  to  water  therewith  the 
wood  that  bringeth  forth  trees."  No 
particular  kind  of  tree  is  referred  to 
in  the  passage  before  us,  but  there  are 
abundant  illustrations  of  the  passage 
in  the  rows  of  willow,  oranges,  &c, 
that  stand  on  the  banks  of  these  arti- 
ficial streams  in  the  East.  The  image 
is  that  of  a  tree  abundantly  watered, 
and  that  was  flourishing.  ^f  That 
bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in  his  season. 
Whose  fruit  does  not  fall  by  the  want 
of  nutriment.  The  idea  is  that  of  a 
tree  which,  at  the  proper  season  of 
the  year,  is  loaded  with  fruit.  Comp. 
Ps.  xcii.  14.  The  image  is  one  ot 
great  beauty.  The  fruit  is  not  un- 
timely. It  does  not  ripen  and  fall  too 
soon,  or  fall  before  it  is  mature ;  and 
the  crop  is  abundant.  ^[  His  leaj 
also  shall  not  wither.  By  drought 
and  heat.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  viii. 
16  ;  xv.  32.  It  is  green  and  flourish- 
ing— a  striking  image  of  a  happy  and 
a  prosperous  man.  ^[  And  ivhat- 
soever  he  doeih  shall  prosper.  This 
is   a   literal  statement   of  what  had 


PSALM  I. 


not l  wither ;  and  whatsoever  he 
doeth  shall  prosper. 

i  Or,  fade. 


4  The  ungodly  arc  not  so :  but 
are  like  the  chaff  f  which  the 
wind  driveth  away. 

/Matt.  iii.  12. 


just  been  put  in  a  figurative  or  poetic 
form.  It  contains  a  general  truth,  or 
contains  an  affirmation  as  to  the  natural 
and  proper  effect  of  religion,  or  of  a 
life  of  piety,  and  is  similar  to  that 
.  which  occurs  in  1  Tim.  iv.  8  :  "  God- 
/  liness  is  profitable  unto  all  things, 
|  having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
.  and  of  that  which  is  to  come."  This 
idea  of  the  effect  of  a  life  of  piety  is 
one  that  is  common  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  is  sustained  by  the  regular  course 
of  events.  If  a  man  desires  perma- 
nent prosperity  and  happiness,  it  is 
to  be  found  only  in  the  ways  of  virtue 
and  religion.  The  word  "  whatsoever" 
here  is  to  be  taken  in  a  general  sense, 
and  the  proper  laws  of  interpretation 
do  not  require  that  we  should  explain 
it  VLS^iiJiigersalli/  true.  It  is  con- 
ceivable that  a  righteous  man — a  man 
profoundly  and  sincerely  fearing  God 
— may  sometimes  form  plans  that  will 
not  be  wise ;  it  is  conceivable  that  he 
may  lose  his  wealth,  or  that  he  may 
be  involved  in  the  calamities  that 
come  upon  a  people  in  times  of  com- 
mercial distress,  in  seasons  of  war,  of 
famine,  and  pestilence ;  it  is  con- 
ceivable that  he  may  be  made  to  suffer 
loss  by  the  fraud  and  dishonesty  of 
other  men ;  but  still  as  a  general  and 
as  a  most  important  truth,  a  life  of 
piety  will  be  followed  by  prosperity, 
and  will  constantly  impart  happiness. 
It  is  this  great  and  important  truth 
which  it  is  the  main  design  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms  to  illustrate. 

4.  The  ungodly  are  not  so.  Literally, 
"  Xot  thus  the  wicked."  For  the 
word  ungodly,  see  Xotes  on  ver.  1. 
The  statement  that  the  ■'  wicked  are 
not  so,"  is  a  general  statement  appli- 
cable alike  to  their  character  and 
destiny,  though  the  mind  of  the 
author  of  the  psalm  is  fixed  immedi- 
ately and  particularly  on  the  differ- 
ence in  their  destiny,  without  spe- 
cifying anything  particularly  respect- 
ing their  character.     It  is  as  true, 


however,  that  the  ungodly  do  walk  in 
the  counsel  of  the  wicked,  and  stand 
in  the  way  of  sinners,  and  sit  in  the 
seat  of  the  scornful,  as  it  is  that  the 
righteous  do  not ;  as  true  that  they  do 
not  delight  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  as 
it  is  that  the  righteous  do ;  as  true 
that  the  wicked  are  not  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  channels  of  water,  as  it 
is  that  the  righteous  are.  This  passage, 
therefore,  may  be  employed  to  show 
what  is  the  character  of  the  ungodly, 
and  in  so  applying  it,  what  was  before 
negative  in  regard  to  the  righteous, 
becomes  positive  in  regard  to  the 
wicked ;  what  was  positive,  becomes 
negative.  Thus  it  is  true  (a)  that  the 
wicked  do  walk  in  the  counsel  of 
the  ungodly ;  do  stand  in  the  way  of 
sinners ;  do  sit  in  the  seat  of  the 
scornful ;  (b)  that  they  do  not  delight 
in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  or  meditate 
on  his  word ;  and  (c)  that  they  are 
not  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  waters, 
that  is  green  and  beautiful  and  fruit- 
ful. Both  in  character  and  in  destiny 
the  ungodly  differ  from  the  righteous. 
The  subsequent  part  of  the  verse 
shows  that,  while  the  general  truth 
was  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  the 
particular  thing  on  which  his  atten- 
tion was  fixed  was,  his  condition  in 
fife — his  destiny — as  that  which  could 
not  be  compared  with  a  green  and 
fruitful  tree,  but  which  suggested 
quite  another  image.  ^[  JBut  are  like 
the  chaff  v:hich  the  wind  driveth  away. 
When  the  wheat  waa  winnowed. 
This,  in  Oriental  countries,  was  com- 
monly performed  in  the  open  field, 
and  usually  on  .an  eminence,  and 
where  there  was  a  strong  wind.  The 
operation  was  performed,  as  it  is  now 
in  our  country,  when  a  fan  or  fan- 
ning-mill  cannot  be  procured,  by 
throwing  up  the  grain  as  it  is  threshed 
with  a  shovel,  and  the  wind  scatters 
the  chaff,  while  the  grain  falls  to  the 
ground.  See  Xotes  on  Matt.  iii.  12. 
The  following  cut  will    furnish    an 


• 


Or*- 

PSALM  I.  7 


5  Therefore  the  ungodly  shall 
not  stand  g  in  the  judgment,  nor 

g  Matt.  xxv.  41,  46. 


sinners  in  the  congregation  of 
the  righteous. 


illustration   of   this   as   practised   in 
Oriental  countries  : 


AN  ANCIENT  MODE   OF   WINNOWING. 

This  very  naturally  and  appropriately 
furnished  an  illustration  of  the  destiny 
of  the  wicked.  Compared  with  the 
righteous,  they  were  like  the  worth- 
less chaff  driven  away  by  the~wirid~. 
"The  image  is  often  found  i5~"The 
Scriptures.  See  Notes  on  Job  xxi. 
18;  Isa.  xvii.  13.  Comp.  also  Ps. 
xxxv.  5  ;  Tsa.  xxix.  5 ;  xli.  15 ;  Dan. 
ii.  35 ;  Hos.  xiii.  3.  The  idea  here 
is,  that  the  wicked  are  in  no  respect 
like  the  green  and  fruitful  tree  re- 
ferred to  in  ver.  3.  They  are  not  like 
a  tree  in  any  respect.  They  are  not 
even  like  a  decaying  tree,,  a  barren 
tree,  a  deacTt ree/7or  either  of  these 
would  suggest  some  idea  of  stability 
or  permanency.  They  are  like  dry 
and  worthless  chaff  driven  off" by  the 
windraiToT  no  value  to  the  farmer — a 
substance  which  he  is  anxious  only  to 
separate  wholly  from  his  grain,  and  to 
get  out  of  his  way.  The  idea  thus 
suggested,  therefore,  is  that  of_ju. 
trinsic  worthlessness.  It  will  be, 
among  other  things,  on  this  account 
that  the  wicked  will  be  driven  away 
— that  they  are  worthless  in  the  uni- 
verse of  God — worthless  to  all  the 
purposes  for  which  man  was  made. 


At  the  same  time,  however,  there 
may  be  an  implied  contrast  between 
that  chaff  and  the  useful  grain  which 
it  is  the  object   of   the   farmer  to 

secure. ^ 

5.  Therefore.  Because  they  are  thus 
worthless.  11  The  ungodly.  See  .Notes 
on  ver.  1.  The  wicked  in  general; 
the  wicked  of  any  kind  or  degree. 
%  Shall  not  stand.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ver.  1.  The  idea  is,  that  they  will 
not  be  found  among  those  who  are 
acquitted  by  the  Judge,  and  approved 
by  him.  The  idea  seems  to  be  derived 
from  the  act  of  standing  up  to  be 
tried,  or  to  receive  a  sentence.  %  In 
the  judgment.  The  Chaldee  Paraphrase 
renders  this,  "  in  the  great  day" — un- 
derstanding it  of  the  day  of  judgment. 
The  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  render  it, 
"  the  wicked  shall  not  rise — dvaar  - 
(tovtcu  —  resurgent  —  in  judgment." 
Most  of  the  Jewish  interpreters,  fol- 
lowing the  Chaldee  Paraphrase,  un- 
derstand this  as  referring  to  the  last 
judgment.  Rosenmuller,inloe.  The 
truth  stated,  however,  seems  to  be 
more  general  than  that,  though  that 
is  probably  included.  The  meaning 
is,  that  they  would  not  share  the  lot 
of  the  righteous  :  in  all  places,  and  at 
all  times,  where  character  is  deter- 
mined, and  where  the  Divine  estimate 
of  human  character  is  manifested,  it 
would  be  found  that  they  could  not 
stand  the  trial,  or  abide  the  result,  so 
as  to  have  a  place  with  the  righteous. 
Their  true  character  wrould  in  all  such 
cases  be  shown,  and  they  would  be 
treated. like  the  chaff  that  is  driven 
away.  This  would  be  true  alike  in 
those  situations  of  trial  in  the  present 
life  when  character  is  determined, 
and  at  the  last  judgment,  when  the 
sentence  will  be  pronounced  which 
will  determine  the  final  doom  of  man- 
kind. %  Nor  sinners.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  1.  %  In  the  congregation  of  the 
righteous.  Be  reckoned  or  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  righteous.  That 
is,  in  all  the  places  where  the  righteous, 


8 


PSALM  I. 


6  For  the  Lord  knoweth  h  the 


h  Job  xxiii.  10. 


as  such,  are  assembled,  they  will  have 
no  place  :  where  they  assemble  to  wor- 
ship God;  where  they  meet  as  his 
friends  ;  where  they  unitedly  partici- 
pate in  his  favour ;  when,  iu  the  last 
day,  they  shall  be  gathered  together 
to  receive  their  reward,  and  when 
they  shall  be  assembled  together  in 
heaven.  The  sinner  has  no  place  in 
the  congregations  of  the  people  of 
God.      "    * 

6.  For  the  Lord  7cnov:et7i  the  way 
of  the  righteous.  This  is  given  as 
a  reason  why  the  wicked  would  not 
stand  in  the  judgment  with  the 
righteous.  The  reason  is,  that  the 
Lord,  the  great  Judge,  fully  under- 
stands the  character  of  those  who  are 
his  friends,  and  can  discriminate  be- 
tween them  and  all  others,  whatever 
pretences  others  may  make  to  that 
character.  Only  those  whom  God 
approves,  and  loves,  as  his  friends, 
will  be  able  to  stand  in  the  day  when 
the  great  decision  shall  be  made.  No 
one  can  impose  on  him  by  any  mere 
pretensions  to  piety;  no  one  can 
force  his  way  to  his  favour,  or  to  the 
rewards  of  the  just,  by  power ;  no  one 
can  claim  this  in  virtue  of  rank  and 
station.  No  one  can  be  admitted  to 
the  favour  of  God,  and  to  the  rewards 
of  heaven,  whose  character  is  not  such 
that  it  will  bear  the  scrutiny  of  the 
Omniscient  eye.  Comp.  Notes  on  2 
Tim.  ii.  19.  Man  may  be  deceived  in 
judging  character,  but  God  is  not. 
When  it  is  said  that  "  the  Lordknow- 
eth  the  way  of  the  righteous/'  the 
word  way  seems  to  be  used  to  denote 
the  whole  of  life — the  manner  of  living 
(Notes,  ver.  1),  and  hence  the  whole 
character.  Perhaps  there  is  included 
also  the  idea  that  the  Lord  knows  the 
result  of  their  manner  of  life — the 
issue  to  which  it  leads — and  that, 
therefore,  he  can  properly  judge  the 
righteous  and  assign  them  to  that 
place  in  the  future  world,  to  wit, 
heaven,  to  which  their  actions  tend. 
^[  But  the  icay  of  the  ungodly  shall 


way  of  the  righteous  :    but  the 
way  '  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish. 


i  Prov.  xv.  9. 


perish.  The  way  or  manner  in  which 
the  ungodly  live  shall  tend  to  ruin ; 
their  plans,  and  purposes,  and  hopes, 
shall  come  to  nought.  Their  course, 
in  fact,  tends  to  destruction.  None 
of  their  plans  shall  prosper  in  regard 
to  religion;  none  of  their  hopes  shall 
be  fulfilled.  In  this,  as  in  all  other 
respects,  they  stand  in  strong  contrast 
with  the  righteous,  alike  in  this  world 
and  the  world  to  come. 

PSALM  II. 

§  1.  The  author. — This  psalm,  like  the 
one  preceding,  is  without  any  title  pre- 
fixed to  it,  and,  like  that,  is  without  any- 
thing in  the  psalm  itself  to  indicate  its 
authorship.  Its  authorship  must  be 
learned,  therefore,  elsewhere,  if  it  can 
be  ascertained  at  all.  There  is,  how- 
ever, every  reason  to  suppose  that  David 
was  the  author  ;  and  by  those  who  admit 
the  authority  of  the  New  Testament 
this  will  not  be  doubted.  The  reasons 
for  supposing  that  its  authorship  is  to  be 
traced  to  David  are  the  following: — (a) 
It  is  expressly  ascribed  to  him  in  Acts 
iv.  25,  26  :  "Who  by  the  mouth  of  thy 
servant  David  hast  said,  Why  did  the 
heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine 
vain  tilings :' '  etc .  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  psalm  is  here  referred  to,  and 
the  quotation  in  this  manner  proves  that 
this  was  the  common  understanding 
among  the  Jews.  It  may  be  presumed 
that  in  a  matter  of  this  kind  the  general 
tradition  Avould  be  likely  to  be  correct ; 
and  to  those  who  admit  the  inspiration 
of  the  apostles  as  bearing  on  points  like 
this,  the  fact  of  its  being  quoted  as  the 
production  of  David  is  decisive,  (b)  This 
is  the  common  opinion  respecting  its 
origin  among  Hebrew  writers.  Kimchi 
and  Aben  Ezra  expressly  ascribe  it  to 
David,  and  they  are  supposed  in  this  to 
express  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the 
Hebrew  people,  (c)  Its  place  among  the 
Psalms  of  David  may,  perhaps,  be  re- 
garded as  a  circumstance  indicating  the 
same  thing.  Thus,  to  the  seventy- 
second  psalm  there  are  none  which  are 
ascribed  expressly  to  any  other  author 
than  David  (except  the  fiftieth  psalm, 
which  is  ascribed  to  Asaph,  or  'for  Asaph,' 
as  it  is  in  the  margin),  though  there  are 


PSALM  II. 


9 


several  whose  authors  are  not  mentioned  ; 
and  the  common  impression  has  been 
that  this  portion  of  the  Book  of  Psalms 
was  arranged  in  tins  manner  because  they 
were  understood  by  the  collector  of  the 
Psalms  to  have  been  composed  by  him. 
(d)  The  character  of  the  composition 
accords  well  with  this  supposition.  It 
is  true,  indeed,  that  nothing  can  be  cer- 
tainly inferred  from  this  consideration 
respecting  its  authorship  ;  and  that  it 
must  be  admitted  that  there  are  no  such 
peculiarities  in  the  style  as  to  prove  that 
David  is  the  author.  But  the  remark 
now  made  is,  that  there  is  nothing  incon- 
sistent with  this  supposition,  and  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  sentiment,  the 
style,  or  the  allusions,  which  might  not 
have  flowed  from  his  pen,  or  which 
would  not  be  appropriate  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  he  was  the  author.  The  only 
objection  that  could  be  urged  to  this 
would  be  derived  from  ver.  6,  "  I  have 
set  my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion." 
But  this  will  be  considered  in  another 
place. 

§  2.  The  time  when  written. — As  Ave 
cannot  with  absolute  certainty  determine 
who  was  the  author,  it  is,  of  course,  not 
possible  to  ascertain  the  exact  time  when 
it  was  composed  ;  nor,  if  it  be  admitted 
that  David  was  the  author,  can  we  now 
ascertain  what  was  the  occasion  on  which 
it  was  written.  There  are  no  names  of 
the  kings  and  people  who  are  represented 
as  conspiring  against  the  Anointed  One 
who  is  the  chief  subject  of  the  psalm ; 
and  there  is  no  local  allusion  whatever 
except  in  the  single  phrase  the  "hill  of 
Zion,"  in  ver.  G.  The  probability  would 
seem  to  be  that  the  psalm  was  not  de- 
signed to  refer  to  anything  which  had 
occurred  in  the  time  of  the  author  him- 
self, but,  as  will  be  seen  in  another  part 
of  these  introduetoiy  remarks  ($  4),  that 
the  writer  intended  to  refer  mainly  to 
the  Messiah,  who  was  to  come  in  ■  a 
distant  age,  although  tins  may  have 
been  suggested  by  something  which  took 
place  in  the  time  of  the  wi-iter.  The 
opposition  made  to  David  himself  by  sur- 
rounding nations,  their  attempts  to  over- 
whelm the  Hebrew  people  and  himself 
as  their  king,  the  fact  that  God  gave  him 
the  victory  over  his  foes,  and  established 
him  as  the  king  of  his  people,  and  the 
prosperity  and  triumph  which  he  had 
experienced,  may  have  given  rise  to  the 
ideas  and  imagery  of  the  psalm,  and 
may  have  led  him  to  compose  it  with 
reference  to  the  Messiah,  between  whose 
treatment  and  his  own  there  would  be  so 


strong  a  resemblance,  that  the  one  might 
suggest  the  other.  If  conjecture  ma}-  be 
allowed  where  it  is  impossible  to  be  cer- 
tain, it  may  be  supposed  that  the  psalm 
was  composed  by  David  after  the  termi- 
nation of  the  wars  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged  with  surrounding  nations,  and 
in  which  he  had  struggled  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  throne  and  kingdom  ; 
and  after  he  had  been  peacefully  and 
triumphantly  established  as  ruler  over 
the  people  of  God.  Then  it  Avould  be 
natural  to  compare  his  own  fortunes  with 
those  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  future 
Messiah,  who  was  to  be,  in  his  human 
nature,  his  descendant ;  against  whom  • 
the  rulers  of  the  earth  would  also  "rage," 
as  they  had  against  himself ;  whom  it 
was  the  purpose  of  God  to  establish  on  a 
permanent  throne  in  spite  of  all  opposi- 
tion, as  he  had  established  him  on  his 
throne ;  and  who  was  to  sway  a  sceptre 
over  the  nations  of  the  earth,  of  which 
the  sceptre  that  he  swayed  might  be  re- 
garded as  an  emblem.  Thus  understood, 
it  had,  in  its  original  composition,  no 
particular  reference  to  David  himself,  or 
to  Solomon,  as  Paulus  supposed,  or  to  any 
other  of  the  kings  of  Israel ;  but  it  is  to 
be  regarded  as  having  sole  reference  to 
the  Messiah,  in  language  suggested  by 
events  which  had  occurred  in  the  history 
of  David,  the  author.  It  is  made  up  of  I 
the  peaceful  and  happy  reflections  of  one 
who  had  been  engaged,  in  the  face  of 
much  opposition,  in  establishing  his  own  L 
throne,  now  looking  forward  to  the  simi- 
lar scenes  of  conliict  and  of  triumph 
through  which  the  Anointed  One  would 
pass. 

§  3.  The  structure  and  contents  of  the 
psalm. — The  psalm  is  exceedingly  regu- 
lar in  its  composition,  and  has  in  its 
structure  much  of  a  dramatic  character. 
It  naturally  falls  into  four  parts,  of  three 
verses  each. 

I.  In  the  first  (vers.  1 — 3)  the  con- 
duct and  purposes  of  the  raging  nations 
are  described.  They  are  in  the  deepest 
agitation,  forming  plans  against  Jehovah 
and  his  Anointed  One,  and  uniting  then' 
counsels  to  break  their  bands  asunder, 
and  to  cast  off  their  authority,  that  is,  as 
ver.  6  shows,  to  prevent  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Anointed  One  as  King  on  the 
holy  hill  of  Zion.  The  opening  of  the 
psalm  is  bold  and  abrupt.  The  psalmist 
looks  out  suddenly  on  the  nations,  and 
sees  them  in  violent  commotion. 

II.  In  the  second  part  (vers.  4—6) 
the  feelings  and  purposes  of  God  are  de- 
scribed.   It  is  implied  that  he  had  formed 

B  2 


10 


PSALM  II. 


the  purpose,  by  a  fixed  decree  (comp. 
ver.  7),  to  establish  his  Anointed  One  as 
king,  and  he  now  calmly  sits  in  the 
heavens  and  looks  with  derision  on  the 
vain  designs  of  those  who  are  opposed  to 
it.  He  smiles  upon  their  impotent  rage, 
and  goes  steadily  forward  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  plan.  He  solemnly 
declares  that  he  had  established  his  King 
on  his  holy  hill  of  Zion,  and  conse- 
quently, that  all  theh  efforts  must  be 
vain. 

III.  In  the  third  part  (vers.  7—9) 
the  King  himself,  the  Anointed  One, 
speaks,  and  states  the  decree  which  had 
been  formed  in  reference  to  himself,  and 
the  promise  which  had  been  made  to 
him.  That  decree  was,  that  he  should 
be  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  Jehovah 
himself ;  the  promise  was  that  he  should, 
at  his  own  request,  have  the  nations  of. 
the  earth  for  a  possession,  and  rule  over 
them  with  an  absolute  sceptre. 

IV.  In  the  fourth  part  (vers.  10—12) 
the  psalmist  exhorts  the  rulers  of  the 
nations  to  yield  to  the  claims  of  the 
Anointed  One,  threatening  Divine  wrath 
on  those  who  should  reject  him,  and 
promising  a  blessing  on  those  who  should 
put  then-  trust  in  him. 

The  psalm  is,  therefore,  regularly 
constructed,  and  the  main  thought  is 
pursued  through  the  whole  of  it — the 
exalted  claims  and  ultimate  triumph  of 
him  who  is  here  called  "  the  Anointed ;" 
the  vanity  of  opposition  to  his  decrees; 
and  the  dutv  and  advantage  of  yielding 
to  his  authority.  "The  several  sentences 
are  also  very  regular  in  form,  exhibiting 
parallelisms  of  great  uniformity." — Pro- 
fessor Alexa)tder.  The  psalm,  in  its 
construction,  is  one  of  the  most  perfect 
in  the  book,  according  to  the  peculiar 
ideal  of  Hebrew  poetrv. 

$  4.  The  question  to  whom  the  psalm 
refers. — There  can  be  but  three  opinions 
as  to  the  question  to  whom  the  psalm 
was  designed  to  refer:  (a)  That  in  which 
it  is  supposed  that  it  refers  exclusively 
to  David,  or  to  some  other  one  of  the 
anointed  kings  of  Israel;  (b)  that  in 
which  it  is  supposed  that  it  had  this 
original  reference,  but  has  also  a  second- 
ary reference  to  the  Messiah ;  and  (c) 
that  in  which  it  is  supposed  that  it  has 
exclusive  and  sole  reference  to  the  Mes- 
siah. 

There  arc*  few  who  maintain  the  first 
of  these  opinions.  Even  Grotius,  in  re- 
spect to  whom  it  was  said,  in  comparison 
with  Cocceius,  that  "  Cocceius  found 
Christ    everywhere,    and    Grotius    no- 


where," admits  that  while,  in  his  view, 
the  psalm  had  a  primary  reference  to 
David,  and  to  the  Philistines,  Moabites, 
Ammonites,  Idumeans,  &c,  as  his  ene- 
mies, yet,  in  a  more  "mystical  and  ab- 
struse sense,  it  pertained  to  the  Mes- 
siah." The  reasons  why  the  psalm 
should  not  be  regarded  as  referring  ex- 
clusively to  any  Hebrew  king  are  con- 
clusive. They  are  summed  up  in  this 
one :  that  the  expressions  in  the  psalm 
are  such  as  cannot  be  applied  exclusively 
to  any  Hebrew  monarch.  This  will  ap- 
pear in  the  exposition  of  this  psalm. 
For  like  reasons,  the  psalm  cannot  be 
regarded  as  designed  to  refer  primarily 
to  David,  and  hi  a  secondary  and  higher 
sense  to  the  Messiah.  There  are  no  in- 
dications in  the  psalm  of  any  such  double 
sense ;  and  if  it  cannot  be  applied  ex- 
clusively to  David,  cannot  be  applied  to 
him  at  all. 

The  psalm,  I  suppose,  like  Isa.  liii., 
had  an  original  and  exclusive  reference 
to  the  Messiah.  This  may  be  shown  by 
the  following  considerations  : — 

(1)  It  is  so  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  is  referred  to  in  no  other  way. 
Thus,  in  Acts  iv.  24 — 27,  the  whole 
company  of  the  apostles  is  represented 
as  quoting  the  first  verses  of  the  psalm, 
and  referring  them  to  Christ :  "  They 
lifted  up  then*  voice  to  God  with  one 
accord,  and  said,  Lord,  thou  art  God  .  .  . 
who  by  the  mouth  of  thy  servant  David 
hast  said,  "Why  did  the  heathen  rage, 
and  the  people  imagine  vain  things? 
The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the 
rulers  were  gathered  together  against 
the  Loi'd,  and  against  his  Christ.  For 
of  a  truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus, 
whom  thou  hast  anointed,  both  Herod 
and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  gathered 
together."  If  the  authority  of  the 
apostles,  therefore,  is  to  be  admitted  in 
the  case,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
psalm  was  intended  to  refer  to  the  Mes- 
siah. This  statement  of  the  apostles  may 
also  be  adduced  as  proof  that  this  was, 
probably,  the  prevailing  mode  of  inter- 
pretation in  their  age.  Again,  the  psalm 
is  quoted  by  Paul  (Acts  xiii.  32,  33)  as 
applicable  to  Christ,  and  with  reference 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  a  doctrine  of  the 
Old  Testament  that  the  Messiah  was  to 
rise  from  the  dead :  "  And  Ave  declare 
unto  you  glad  tidings,  how  that  the  pro- 
mise which  was  made  unto  the  fathers, 
God  hath  fulfilled  the  same  unto  us  their 
children,  in  that  he  hath  raised  up  Jesus 
again ;  as  it  is  also  written  in  the  second 


PSALM  II. 


11 


psalm,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have 
1  begotten  thee."  And  again,  in  Heb. 
i.  5,  the  same  passage  is  quoted  by  Raul 
to  establish  the  exalted  rank  of  the  Mes- 
siah as  being  above  the  angels :  "  For 
unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any 
time,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I 
begotten  thee  ?"  These  quotations  prove 
that  in  the  estimation  of  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  the  psalm  had  an 
original  reference  to  the  Messiah;  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  make  the 
quotation  piwes  that  this  was  the  cur- 
rent belief  of  the  Jews  in  their  day,  as 
they  appear  to  have  been  under  no  ap- 
prehension that  the  propriety  of  the  ap- 
plication which  they  made  would  be 
called  hi  question. 

(2)  But,  besides  this,  there  is  other 
evidence  that  such  was  the  prevailing 
interpretation  among  the  ancient  He- 
brews :  "  In  the  older  Jewish  writings, 
as  the  Sohar,  the  Talmud,  &c,  there  is 
a  variety  of  passages  in  which  the  Mes- 
sianic interpretation  is  given  to  the 
psalm.  See  the  collections  by  Eaym. 
Martini,  Pug.  Fid.  ed.  Carpzov.,  in 
several  places,  and  by  Schottgen,  de 
Messia,  pp.  227  seq.  Even  Kimchi  and 
Jarchi  confess  that  it  "was  the  prevailing 
interpretation  among  their  forefathers; 
and  the  latter  very  honestly  gives  his 
reasons  for  departing  from  it,  when  he 
says  he  prefers  to  explain  it  of  David, 
for  the  refutation  of  the  heretics;  that 
is,  in  order  to  destroy  the  force  of  the 
arguments  drawn  from  it  by  the  Chris- 
tians."    (Hengstenberg,  Christ.,  i.  77.) 

(3)  That  it  refers  to  the  Messiah  is 
manifest  from  the  psalm  itself.  This 
will  be  apparent  from  a  few  subordinate 
considerations,  (a)  It  cannot  be  applied 
to  David,  or  to  any  other  earthly  king ; 
that  is,  there  are  expressions  in  it  which 
cannot  be  applied  with  any  degree  of 
propriety  to  any  earthly  monarch  what- 
ever. This  remark  is  founded  particu- 
larly on  the  remarkable  use  of  the  word 
"Son"  in  the  psalm,  and  the  promise 
that  "the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth" 
should  be  placed  under  the  control  of 
him  to  whom  that  word  is  applied.  The 
word  son  is,  indeed,  of  large  significa- 
tion, and  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  applied 
to  the  righteous  in  the  plural  number, 
as  being  the  sons  or  the  children  of  God 
by  adoption ;  but  it  is  not  so  applied  in 
the  singular  number,  and  there  is  a  pe- 
culiarity in  its  use  here  which  shows 
that  it  was  not  intended  to  be  applied  to 
an  earthly  monarch,  or  to  any  pious  man 
considered  as  a  child  of  God.  •  That  ap- 


pellation— the  Son  of  God — properly  de- 
notes a  nearer  relation  to  God  than  can 
be  applied  «to  a  mere  mortal  of  any  rank 
(comp.  Notes  on  John  v.  18),  and  was  so 
understood  by  the  Jews  themselves.  It 
is  not  used  in  the  Old  Testament,  as  ap- 
plied to  an  earthly  monarch,  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  employed  here. 
The  remark  here  made  is  entirely  irre- 
spective of  the  doctrine  which  is  some- 
times supposed  to  be  taught  in  this  pas- 
sage, of  "  the  eternal  generation  "  of  the 
Son  of  God,  since  what  is  here  said  is 
equally  true,  whether  that  doctrine  is 
well-founded  or  not.  (b)  There  is  an 
extent  of  dominion  and  a  perpetuity  of 
empire  promised  here  which  could  not 
be  applied  to  David  or  to  any  other 
earthly  monarch,  but  which  is  entirely 
applicable  to  the  Messiah  (see  vers.  8, 
10).  •  (c)  Such,  too,  is  the  nature  of  the 
promise  to  those  who  put  then-  trust  in 
him,  and  the  threatening  on  those  who 
do  not  obey  him  (ver.  12).  This  is  lan- 
guage which  will  be  seen  at  once  to  be 
entirely  applicable  to  the  Messiah,  but 
which  cannot  be  so  regarded  in  respect 
of  any  earthly  monarch,  (d)  There  is  a 
strong  probability  that  the  psalm  is  de- 
signed to  refer  to  the  Messiah,  from  the 
fact  that  they  who  deny  this  have  not 
been  able  to  propose  any  other  plausible 
interpretation,  or  to  show  with  any  de- 
gree of  probability  to  Avhom  it  does  refer. 
There  were  no  Israelitish  kings  or  princes 
to  whom  it  could  be  regarded  with  any 
show  of  probability  as  applicable,  unless 
it  were  David  or  Solomon ;  and  yet  there 
are  no  recorded  circumstances  in  their 
lives  to  which  it  can  be  regarded  as 
adapted,  and  there  is  no  substantial 
agreement  among  those  who  maintain 
that  it  does  refer  to  either  of  them.  It 
is  maintained  by  both  Kosenmuller  and 
De  "VVette  that  it  cannot  relate  to  David 
or  Solomon.  Some  of  the  modern  Jews 
maintain  that  it  was  composed  by  David 
respecting  himself  when  the  Philistines 
came  up  against  him  (2  Sam.  v.  17) ; 
but  this  is  manifestly  an  erroneous  opi- 
nion, for  not  only  was  there  nothing  in 
tne  occurrence  there  to  correspond  with 
the  language  of  the  psalm,  but  there  was 
at  that  time  no  particular  consecration  of 
the  hill  of  Zion  (ver.  6),  nor  was  that 
mount  regarded  as  holy  or  sacred  until 
after  the  tabernacle  was  erected  on  it, 
which  was  after  the  Philistine  war.  The 
same  remark  may  be  made  substantially 
of  the  supposition  that  it  refers  to  the 
rebellion  of  Absalom,  or  to  any  of  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  David  was  placed. 


12 


PSALM  II. 


PSALM  II. 
TyHT  *do  the  heathen  1  rage, 

A- Acts  iv.  25, 26.      *•  Or,  tumnltuonshj 
assemble. 


And  there  is  still  less  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  it  refers  to  Solomon,  for  there 
is  no  mention  of  any  rebellion  against 
him ;   of  any  general  attempt  to  throw 
oft'  his  yoke  ;  of  any  solemn  consecration 
of  him  as  king  in  consequence  of,  or  in 
spite  of  such  an  attempt,    (e)  The  psalm 
agrees  with  the  account  of  the  Messiah, 
or  is  in  its  general  structure  and  details 
applicable  to  him.     This  will  be  shown 
in  the  exposition,  and  indeed  is  manifest 
on  the  face  of  it.     The  only  plausible 
objection  to  this  view  is,  as  stated  by 
De  Wette,  "According  to  the  doctrine 
of  Christianity,  the  Messiah  is  no  con- 
queror  of  nations,  bearing  an  iron  scep- 
tre ;  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 
But  to  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  all 
that  is  meant  in  ver.  9  may  be,  that  he 
will  set  up  a  kingdom  over  the  nations 
of  the  earth;  that  all  his  enemies  will 
be   subdued   under  him ;    and  that  the 
sceptre  which  he  will  sway  will  be  firm 
and  irresistible.  See,  for  the  applicability 
of  tins  to  the  Messiah,  the  Xotes  on  ver.  9. 
(1)  It  may  be  added  that  the  psalm  is 
such  as  one  might  expect  to  find  in  the 
poetic  writings  of  the  Hebrews,  with  the 
views   which   they   entertained    of   the 
Messiah.      The   promised   Messiah   was 
the   object  of  deepest  interest  to  their 
minds.    All  their  hopes  centered  in  him. 
To  him  they  looked  forward  as  the  Great 
Deliverer  ;  and  all  their  anticipations  of 
what  the  people  of  God  were  to  be  clus- 
tered around  him.  He  was  to  be  a  Prince, 
a  Conqueror,  a  Deliverer,  a  Saviour.    To 
him  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  directed  ; 
he  was  shadowed  forth  by  their  pompous 
religious  rites,  and  their  sacred  bards  sang 
his   advent.       That  we  should  find  an 
entire  psalm  composed  with  reference  to 
him,  designed  to  set  forth  his  character 
and  the  glory  of  his  reign,  is  no  more 
than   what   we    should   expect  to  find 
among  a  people  where  poetry  is  culti- 
vated at  all,  and  where  these  high  hopes 
were  cherished  in  reference  to  his  ad- 
vent ;  and  especially  if  to  this  view  of 
their  national  poetry,  in  itself  considered, 
there  be  added  the  idea  that  the  sacred 
bards  wrote  under  the  influence  of  in- 
spiration, nothing  is  more  natural  than 
that  we  should  expect  to  find  a  poetic 
composition  having  such  a  sole  and  ex- 
clusive reference.     Nothing  would  have 


1  and  the  people  2  imagine  a  vain 


thing  ? 


I  Ps.  xhi.  6. 


2  meditate. 


been  more  unnatural  than  that,  with 
these  prevailing  views  and  hopes,  and 
with  the  fact  before  us  that  so  much  of 
the  Old  Testament  is  sacred  poetry,  we 
should  have  found  no  such  production  as 
the  second  psalm,  on  the  supposition 
that  it  had  an  original  and  exclusive  re- 
ference to  the  Messiah. 

1.  Why  do  the  heathen  rage.  "Why 
do  nations  make  a  noise?"  Prof.  Alex- 
ander. The  word  heathen  here  —  Q*i 3 
goim — means  properly  nations,  with- 
out respect,  so  far  as  the  viord  is  con- 
cerned, to  the  character  of  the  nations. 
It  was  applied  by  the  Hebrews  to  the 
surrounding  nations,  or  to  all  other 
people  than  their  own ;  and  as  those 
nations  were  in  fact  heathens,  or  ido- 
lators,  the  word  came  to  have  this 
signification.  Xeh.  v.  8;  Jer.  xxxi. 
10;  Ezek.  xxiii.  30;  xxx.  11;  com- 
pare DIN,  Jer.  xxxii.  20.     The  word 

T    T 

Gentile  among  the  Hebrews  (Gr., 
'itivoQ)  expressed  the  same  thing. 
Matt.  iv.  15 ;  vi.  32;  x.  5,  18;  xii.  21, 
et  scepe.  The  word  rendered  rage — 
^7")  — ragash  —  means  to  make  a 
noise  or  tumult,  and  would  be  ex- 
pressive of  violent  commotion  or  agi- 
tation. It  occurs  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  only  in  this  place,  though 
the  corresponding  Chaldee  word — 
liDD"!  —  regash  —  is  found  in  Daniel 
vi.  6,  11,  15 — rendered  in  ver.  6, 
"  assembled  together,"  in  the  margin 
"  cametumultuously,'* — and  in  ver.  11, 
15,  rendered  assembled.  The  psalmist 
here  sees  the  nations  in  violent  agita- 
tion or  commotion,  as  if  under  high 
excitement,  engaged  in  accomplishing 
some  purpose — rushing  on  to  secure 
something,  or  to  prevent  something. 
The  image  of  a  mob,  or  of  a  tumultu- 
ous unregulated  assemblage,  would 
probably  convey  the  idea  of  the 
psalmist.  The  word  itself  does  not 
enable  us  to  determine  how  extensive 
this  agitation  would  be,  but  it  is  evi- 
dently implied  that  it  would  be  a 
somewhat  general  movement;  a  move- 


PSALM  II. 


13 


2    Tlie  kings  of  the  earth  set  I  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take 


ment  in  which  more  than  one  nation 
or  people  would  participate.  The 
matter  in  hand  was  something  that 
affected  the  nations  generally,  and 
which  would  produce  violent  agitation 
among  them.  ^[  And  the  people. 
O^Tpsb  Leummim.  A  word  express- 
ing substantially  the  same  idea,  that 
of  people,  or  nations,  and  referring 
here  to  the  same  thing  as  the  word 
rendered  heathen — according  to  the 
laws  of  Hebrew  parallelism  in  poetry. 
It  is  the  people  here  that  are  seen  in 
violent  agitation  :  the  conduct  of  the 
rulers,  as  associated  with  them,  is  re- 
ferred to  in  the  next  verse.  %  Imagine. 
Our  word  imagine  does  not  precisely 
express  the  idea  here.  We  mean  by 
it,  "  to  form  a  notion  or  idea  in  the 
mind ;  to  fancy."  Webster.  The  He- 
brew word  —  '"^'7 —  Hag  ah,  is  the 
same,  which  in  Ps.  i.  2,  is  rendered 
meditate.  See  Notes  on  that  verse.  It 
means  here  that  the  mind  is  engaged 
in  deliberating  on  it;  that  it  plans, 
devises,  or  forms  a  purpose  ; — in  other 
words,  the  persons  referred  to  are 
thinking  about  some  purpose  which  is 
here  called  a  vain  purpose ;  they  are 
meditating  some  project  which  excites 
deep  thought,  but  which  cannot  be 
effectual,  ^f  A  vain- thing.  That  is, 
which  will  prove  to  be  a  vain  thing, 
or  a  thing  which  they  cannot  accom- 
plish. It  cannot  mean  that  they  were 
engaged  in  forming  plans  which  they 
supposed  would  be  vain — for  no  per- 
sons would  form  such  plans ;  but  that 
they  were  engaged  in  designs  which  the 
result  would  show  to  be  unsuccessful. 
The  reference  here  is  to  the  agitation 
among  the  nations  in  respect  to  the 
Divine  purpose  to  set  up  the  Messiah 
as  king  over  the  world,  and  to  the 
opposition  which  this  would  create 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  2.  An  ample  fulfilment 
of  this  occurred  in  the  opposition  to 
him  when  he  came  in  the  flesh,  and  in 
the  resistance  everywhere  made  since 
his  death  to  his  reign  upon  the  earth. 
Nothing  has  produced  more  agitation 
in  the  world  (comp.  Acts  xvii.  6),  and 


nothing  still  excites  more  determined 
resistance.  The  truths  taught  in  this 
verse  are(l)  that  sinners  are  opposed 
— even  so  much  as  to  produce  violent 
agitation  of  mind,  and  a  fixed  and 
determined  purpose — to  the  plans  and 
decrees  of  God,  especially  with  respect 
to  the  reign  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  (2) 
that  their  plans  to  resist  this  will  be 
vain  and  ineffectual ;  wisely  as  their 
schemes  may  seem  to  be  laid,  and  de- 
termined as  they  themselves  are  in 
regard  to  their  execution,  yet  they  must 
find  them  vain.  What  is  implied  here 
of  the  particular  plans  against  the 
Messiah,  is  true  of  all  the  purposes  of 
sinners,  when  thev  arrav  themselves 
against  the  government  of  God. 

2.  The  kings  of  the  earth.  This 
verse  is  designed  to  give  a  more 
specific  form  to  the  general  statement 
in  ver.  1.  In  the  first  verse  the  psalm- 
ist sees  a  general  commotion  among 
the  nations  as  engaged  in  some  plan 
that  he  sees  must  be  a  vain  one;  here 
he  describes  more  particularly  the 
cause  of  the  excitement,  and  gives  a 
nearer  view  of  what  is  occurring. 
He  now  sees  kings  and  rulers  engaged 
in  a  specific  and  definite  plot  against 
Jehovah  and  against  his  Anointed. 
The  word  kings  here  is  a  general 
term,  which  would  be  applicable  to 
all  rulers, — as  the  kingly  government 
was  the  only  one  then  known,  and 
the  nations  were  under  the  control  of 
absolute  monarchs.  A  sufficient  fulfil- 
ment would  be  found,  however,  if  any 
rulers  were  engaged  in  doing  what  is 
here  described.  *j[  Set  themselves.  Or, 
take  their  stand.  The  latter  expres- 
sion would  perhaps  better  convey  the 
sense  of  the  original.  It  is  the  idea 
of  taking  a  stand,  or  of  setting  them- 
selves in  array,  which  is  denoted  by 
the  expression  ; — they  combine ;  they 
resolve ;  they  are  fixed  in  their  pur- 
pose. Comp.  Exod.  ii.  4;  xix.  17; 
xxxiv.  5.  The  attitude  here  is  that 
of  firm  or  determined  resistance. 
%  And  the  rulers.  A  slight  addition 
to  the  word  kings.  The  sense  is,  that 
there     was    a    general    combination 


14 


PSALM  II. 


counsel    together,    against    the 
Lord,  and  against  his  m  anointed, 

m  Vs.  xlv.  7- 


saying, 
3  "Let 


us  break  their  bands 

n  Luke  xix.  14. 


among  all  classes  of  rulers  to  accom- 
plish what  is  here  specified.  It  was 
not  confined  to  any  one  class.  %  Take 
counsel  together.  Consult  together. 
Comp.  Ps.  xxxi.  13;  "  While  they  took 
counsel  together  against  me."  The 
word  here  used — "TD^,  yasad — means 
properly  to  found,  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of,  to  establish;  then,  to  be 
founded  (Niph.);  to  support  one's 
self;  to  lean  upon — as,  for  example, 
to  lean  upon  the  elbow.  Thus  used, 
it  is  employed  with  reference  to  per- 
sons reclining  or  leaning  upon  a  couch 
or  cushion,  especially  as  deliberating 
together,  as  the  Orientals  do  in  the 
divan  or  council.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  lxxxiii.  3.  The  idea  here  is  that 
of  persons  assembled  to  deliberate  on 
an  important  matter.  %  Against  the 
Loed.  Against  Jefiovah — the  small 
capitals  in  our  common  version  indi- 
cating that  the  original  word  is 
Jehovah.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
were  engaged  in  deliberating  against 
Jehovah  in  respect  to  the  matter  here 
referred  to — to  wit,  his  purpose  to 
place  the  "Anointed  One,"  his  King 
(ver.  6),  on  the  hill  of  Zion.  It  is  not 
the  design  that  they  were  in  other 
respects  arrayed  against  him,  though 
it  is  true  in  fact  that  opposition  to 
God  in  one  respect  may  imply  that 
there  is  an  aversion  to  him  in  all  re- 
spects, and  that  the  same  spirit  which 
would  lead  men  to  oppose  him  in  anj7 
one  of  his  purposes  would,  if  carried 
out,  lead  them  to  oppose  him  in  all 
things.  %  And  against  his  Anointed 
— inslT72 — his  Messiah  :  hence  our 
word  Messiah,  or  Christ.  The  word 
means  Anointed,  and  the  allusion  is  to 
the  custom  of  anointing  kings  and 
priests  with  holy  oil  when  setting 
them  apart  to  office,  or  consecrating 
them  to  their  work.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Matt.  i.  1;  Dan.  ix.  26.  The  word 
Messiah,  or  Anointed,  is  therefore  of 
so  general  a  character  in  its  signifi- 
cation that  its  mere  use  would  not 
determine  to  whom  it  was  to  be  ap- 


plied— whether  to  a  king,  to  a  priest, 
or  to  the  Messiah  properly  so  called. 
The  reference  is  to  be  determined  by 
something  in  the  connexion.  All  that 
the  word  here  necessarily  implies  is, 
that  therewas  some  one  whom  Jehovah 
regarded  as  his  Anointed  one,  whether 
king  or  priest,  against  whom  the 
rulers  of  the  earth  had  arrayed 
themselves.  The  subsequent  part  of 
the  psalm  (vers.  6,  7)  enables  us  to  . 
ascertain  that  the  reference  here  is  to 
one  who  was  a  King,  and  that  he 
sustained  to  Jehovah  the  relation  of 
a  Son.  The  New  Testament,  and  the 
considerations  suggested  in  the  intro- 
duction to  the  psalm  (§  4),  enable  us 
to  understand  that  the  reference  is  to 
the  Messiah  properly  so  called — Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  This  is  expressly  de- 
clared (Acts  iv.  25-27)  to  have  had  its 
fulfilment  in  the  purposes  of  Herod, 
Pontius  Pilate,  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
people  of  Israel,  in  rejecting  the 
Saviour  and  putting  him  to  death. 
No  one  can  doubt  that  all  that  is  here 
stated  in  the  psalm  had  a  complete 
fulfilment  in  their  combining  to  reject 
him  and  to  put  him  to  death ;  and  we 
are,  therefore,  to  regard  the  psalm  as 
particularly  referring  to  this  transac- 
I  tion.  Their  conduct  was,  however, 
j  an  illustration  of  the  common  feelings 
'  of  rulers  and  people  concerning  him, 
and  it  was  proper  to  represent  the 
nations  in  general  as  in  commotion 
in  regard  to  him. 

3.  Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder. 
i  The  bands  of  Jehovah  and  of  his 
Anointed.  They  who  are  engaged  in 
this  combination  or  conspiracy  regard 
Jehovah  and  his  Anointed  as  one,  and 
as  having  one  object — to  set  up  a 
dominion  over  the  world.  Hence  they 
take  counsel  against  both ;  and,  with 
the  same  purpose  and  design,  en- 
deavour to  cast  off  the  authority  of 
each.  The  word  bands  here  refers  to 
the  restraints  imposed  by  their  autho- 
rity. The  figure  is  probably  taken 
from  fastening  a  yoke  on  oxen,  or  the 


asunder,    and    cast    away   their 
cords  from  us. 


PSALM  II.  15 

4  He  that  sitteth  in  the  hea- 


bands  or  cords  which  were  used  in 
ploughing — the  hands  of  the  yoke 
being  significant  of  their  subjection 
to  the  authority  or  will  of  another. 
The  same  figure  is  used  by  the  Saviour 
in  Matt.  xi.  29  :  "Take  my  yoke  upon 
you."  The  idea  here  is,  that  it  was 
the  purpose  of  Jehovah  and  his 
Anointed  to  establish  a  dominion  over 
men,  and  that  it  was  equally  the  pur- 
pose of  the  kings  and  rulers  here  re- 
ferred to  that  it  should  not  be  done. 
%  And  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 
The  same  idea  under  another  form — 
the  cords  referring  not  to  that  which 
would  bind  them  as  prisoners,  but  to 
the  ropes  or  thongs  which  bound  oxen 
to  the  plough;  and,  hence,  to  that 
which  would  bind  men  to  the  service 
of  God.  The  word  translated  cords 
is  a  stronger  word  than  that  which  is 
rendered  bands.  It  means  properly 
what  is  twisted  or  interlaced,  and  re- 
fers to  the  usual  manner  in  which 
ropes  are  made.  Perhaps,  also,  in  the 
words  "  let  us  cast  away  "  there  is  the 
expression  of  an  idea  that  it  could  be 
easily  done :  that  they  had  only  to 
will  it,  and  it  would  be  done.  To- 
gether, the  expressions  refer  to  the 
purpose  among  men  to  cast  off  the 
government  of  God,  and  especially 
that  part  of  his  administration  which 
refers  to  his  purpose  to  establish  a 
kingdom  under  the  Messiah.  It  thus 
indicates  a  prevalent  state  of  the 
human  mind  as  being  impatient  of 
the  restraints  and  authority  of  God, 
and  especially  of  the  dominion  of  his 
Son,  anointed  as  King. 

The  passage  (vers.  1 — 3)  proves — 
(1)  that  the  government  of  Jehovah, 
the  true  God,  and  the  Messiah  or 
Christ,  is  the  same;  (2)  that  opposi- 
tion to  the  Messiah,  or  to  Christ,  is  in 
fact  opposition  to  the  purposes  of  the 
true  God ;  (3)  that  it  may  be  expected 
that  men  will  oppose  that  government, 
and  there  will  be  agitation  and  com- 
motion in  endeavouring  to  throw  it 
off.  The  passage,  considered  as  re- 
ferring to  the  Messiah,  had  an  ample 


fulfilment  (a)  in  the  purposes  of  the 
high  priests,  of  Herod,  and  of  Pilate, 
to  put  him  to  death,  and  in  the  general 
rejection  of  him  by  his  own  country- 
men; (h)  in  the  general  conduct  of 
mankind — in  their  impatience  of  the 
restraints  of  the  law  of  God,  and 
especially  of  that  law  as  promulgated 
by  the  Saviour,  demanding  submission 
and  obedience  to  him ;  and  (c)  in  the 
conduct  of  individual  sinners — in  the 
opposition  of  the  human  heart  to  the 
authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The 
passage  before  us  is  just  as  applicable 
to  the  world  now  as  it  was  to  the 
time  when  the  Saviour  personally  ap- 
peared on  the  earth. 

4.  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens. 
God,  represented  as  having  his  home, 
his  seat,  his  throne  in  heaven,  and 
thence  administering  the  affairs  of 
the  world.  This  verse  commences  the 
second  strophe  or  stanza  of  the  psalm; 
and  this  strophe  (vers.  4 — 6)  corre- 
sponds with  the  first  (vers.  1 — 3)  in 
its  structure.  The  former  describes 
the  feelings  and  purposes  of  those  who 
would  cast  off  the  government  of  God; 
this  describes  the  feelings  and  pur- 
poses of  God  in  the  same  order,  for  in 
each  case  the  psalmist  describes  what 
is  done,  and  then  what  is  said :  the 
nations  rage  tumultously  (vers.  1,  2), 
and  then  say  (ver.  3),  "  Let  us  break 
their  bands."  God  sits  calmly  in  the 
heavens,  smiling  on  their  vain  at- 
tempts (ver.  4),  and  then  solemnly 
declares  (vers.  5,  6)  that,  in  spite  of 
all  their  opposition,  he  "  has  set  his 
King  upon  his  holy  hill  of  Zion."  There 
is  much  sublimity  in  this  description. 
While  men  rage  and  are  tumultuous 
in  opposing  his  plans,  he  sits  calm 
and  undisturbed  in  his  own  heaven. 
Compare  the  Notes  on  the  similar 
place  in  Isa.  xviii.  4.  %  Shall  laugh. 
Will  smile  at  their  vain  attempts; 
will  not  be  disturbed  or  agitated  by 
their  efforts ;  Avill  go  calmly  on  in  the 
execution  of  his  purposes.  Comp.  as 
above  Isa.  xviii.  4.  See  also  Prov.  i. 
26 ;   Ps.  xxxvii.  13 ;    lix.  8.     This  is, 


16 


PSALM  II. 


vens 


shall    langh  :    the    Lord 


shall  have  them  in  o  derision. 

o  Prov.  i.  2G.  1  Or,  trouble. 


5  Then  shall  he  speak  nnto 
them  in  his  wrath,  and  l  vex  them 
in  his  sore  displeasure. 


of  course,  to  be  regarded  as  spoken 
after  the  manner  of  men,  and  it  means 
that  God  will  go  steadily  forward  in 
the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes. 
There  is  included  also  the  idea  that 
he  will  look  with  contempt  on  their 
vain  and  futile  efforts.  %  The  Lord 
shall  have  them  in  derision.  The 
same  idea  is  expressed  here  in  a  varied 
form,  as  is  the  custom  in  parallelism 
in  Hebrew  poetry.  The  Hebrew  word 
*!^y,  laag,  means  properly  to  stam- 
mer ;  then  to  speak  in  a  barbarous  or 
foreign  tongue ;  then  to  mock  or  de- 
ride, by  imitating  the  stammering 
voice  of  any  one.  Gesenius,  Lex.  Here 
it  is  spoken  of  God,  and,  of  course,  is 
not  to  be  understood  literally,  any 
more  than  when  eyes,  and  hands,  and 
feet  are  spoken  of  as  appertaining  to 
him.  The  meaning  is,  that  there  is  a 
result  in  the  case,  in  the  Divine  mind, 
as  if  he  mocked  or  derided  the  vain 
attempts  of  men;  that  is,  he  goes 
calmly  forward  in  the  execution  of 
his  own  purposes,  and  he  looks  upon 
and  regards  their  efforts  as  vain,  as 
we  do  the  efforts  of  others  when  we 
mock  or  deride  them.  The  truth 
taught  in  this  verse  is,  that  God  will 
carry  forward  his  own  plans  in  spite 
of  all  the  attempts  of  men  to  thwart 
them.  This  general  truth  may  be 
stated  in  two  forms  :  (1)  He  sits  un- 
disturbed and  unmoved  in  heaven 
while  men  rage  against  him,  and 
while  they  combine  to  cast  off  his 
authority.  (2)  He  carries  forward 
his  own  plans  in  spite  of  them.  This 
he  does  (a)  directly,  accomplishing 
his  schemes  without  regard  to  their 
attempts;  and  (b)  by  making  their 
purposes  tributary  to  his  own,  so  mak- 
ing them  the  instruments  in  carrying 
out  his  own  plans.  Comp.  Acts  iv.  28. 
5.  Then  shall  he  speak  unto  them. 
That  is,  this  seeming  indifference  and 
unconcern  will  not  last  for  ever.  He 
will  not  always  look  calmly  on,  nor 
will  he  suffer  them  to  accomplish  their 
purposes  without  interposing.    When 


he  has  shown  how  he  regards  their 
schemes — how  impotent  they  are — 
how  much  they  are  really  the  objects 
of  derision,  considered  as  an  attempt 
to  cast  off  his  authority — he  will  in- 
terpose and  declare  his  own  purposes 
— his  determination  to  establish  his 
king  on  the  hill  of  Zion.  This  is  im- 
plied in  the  word  "  then."  %  In  Jiis 
wrath.  In  anger.  His  contempt  for 
their  plans  will  be  followed  by  indig- 
nation against  themselves  for  forming 
such  plans,  and  for  their  efforts  to  exe- 
cute them.  One  of  these  things  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  other;  for  the 
purpose  of  the  rebels  may  be  very 
weak  and  futile,  and  yet  their  wicked- 
ness in  forming  the  plan  may  be  very 
great.  The  weakness  of  the  scheme, 
and  the  fact  that  it  will  be  vain,  does 
not  change  the  character  of  him  who 
has  made  it;  the  fact  that  he  is  fool- 
ish does  not  prove  that  he  is  not 
wicked.  God  will  treat  the  scheme 
and  those  who  form  it  as  they  de- 
serve— the  one  with  contempt,  the 
other  with  his  wrath.  The  word 
wrath  here,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say,  should  be  interpreted  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  word  "  laugh"  in  ver. 
4,  not  as  denoting  a  feeling  precisely 
like  that  which  exists  in  the  human 
mind,  subject  as  man  is  to  unreason- 
able passion,  but  as  it  is  proper  to 
apply  it  to  God — the  strong  convic- 
tion (without  passion  or  personal 
feeling)  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  ex- 
pression of  his  purpose  in  a  manner 
adapted  to  show  that  evil,  and  to  re- 
strain others  from  its  commission.  It 
means  that  he  will  speak  to  them 
as  if  he  were  angry;  or  that  his  treat- 
ment of  them  will  be  such  as  men  ex- 
perience from  others  when  they  are 
angry.  ^[  And  vex  them.  The  word 
here  rendered  vex — 'Hr>  Bahal — 
means  in  the  original  or  Kal  form,  to 
tremble;  and  then,  in  the  form  here 
used,  the  Piel,  to  cause  to  tremble,  to 
terrify,  to  strike  with  consternation. 
This  might  be  done  either  by  a  threat 


PSALM  II. 


17 


6  Tet  have 

1  anointed. 


I  '  set  my  king  p 

jj  Acts  v.  31. 


upon  2  my  holy  hill  of  Zion. 

2  Zion,  the  hill  of  my  holiness. 


or  by  some  judgment  indicative  of 
displeasure  or  anger.  Ps.  lxxxiii.  15 ; 
Dan.  xi.  44;  Job  xxii.  10.  The  idea 
here  is  that  he  would  alarm  them,  or 
make  them  quake  with  fear,  by  what 
is  specified  ot  his  purpose ;  to  wit,  by 
his  determination  to  set  his  King  on 
his  holy  hill,  and  by  placing  the  scep- 
tre of  the  earth  in  his  hands.  Their 
designs,  therefore,  would  be  frustrated, 
and  if  they  did  not  submit  to  him 
they  must  perish  (see  vers.  9 — 12). 
^[  In  his  sore  displeasure.  Literally, 
in  his  heat  or  burning,  that  is,  in  his 
anger;  as  we  speak  of  one  that  is 
inflamed  with  anger,  or  that  burns 
with  indignation  ;  or,  as  we  speak  of 
the  passions,  kindling  into  aflame.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  God  would  be 
displeased  with  their  purposes,  and 
that  the  expression  of  his  design  would 
be  adapted  to  fill  them  with  the  deep- 
est alarm.  Of  course,  all  such  words 
are  to  be  interpreted  in  accordance 
with  what  we  know  to  be  the  nature 
of  God,  and  not  in  accordance  with 
the  same  passions  in  men.  God  is 
opposed  to  sin,  and  will  express  his 
opposition  as  if  he  felt  angry,  but  it 
will  be  in  the  most  calm  manner,  and 
not  as  the  result  of  passion.  It  will 
be  simply  because  it  ought  to  be  so. 

6.  Yet  have  I  set  my  king.  The 
word  get  is  merely  the  translation  of 
the  conjunction  and.  It  is  rendered 
in  the  Vulgate  but — autem  ;  and  so 
in  the  LXX.,  ce.  It  would  be  better 
rendered  perhaps  by  the  usual  word 
and:  "And  I  have  set  or  constituted 
my  king,"  &c.  This  is  properly  to  be 
regarded  as  the  expression  of  God 
himself;  as  what  he  sags  in  reply  to 
their  declared  purposes  (ver.  3),  and 
as  what  is  referred  to  in  ver.  5.  The 
meaning  is,  he  would  speak  to  them 
in  his  anger,  and  say,  "  In  spite  of  all 
your  purposes  and  all  your  opposition, 
I  have  set  my  king  on  the  hill  of 
Zion."  That  is,  they  had  their  plans 
and  God  had  his;  they  meant  to  cast 
off  his  authority,  and  to  prevent  his 
purpose  to  set  up  the  Messiah  as  king; 


he  resolved,  on  the  contrary,  to  carry 
out  his  purposes,  and  he  would  do  it. 
The  word  rendered  set — "^C^  na- 
sach — means,  literally,  to  pour,  to 
pour  out,  as  in  making  a  libation  to 
the  Deity,  Ex.  xxx.  9;  Hos.  ix.  4; 
Isa.  xxx.  1;  then,  to  pour  out  oil  in 
anointing  a  king  or  priest,  and  hence 
to  consecrate,  to  inaugurate,  &c.  See 
Josh.  xiii.  21;  Ps.  lxxxiii.  11;  Mic. 
v.  5.  The  idea  here  is,  that  he  had 
solemnly  inaugurated  or  constituted 
the  Messiah  as  king ;  that  is,  that  he 
had  formed  the  purpose  to  do  it,  and 
he  therefore  speaks  as  if  it  were 
already  done.  The  words  my  King 
refer,  of  course,  to  the  anointed  One, 
the  Messiah,  ver.  2.  It  is  not  simply 
a  king,  or  the  king,  but  "  my  king," 
meaning  that  he  derived  his  appoint- 
ment from  God,  and  that  he  was 
placed  there  to  execute  his  purposes. 
This  indicates  the  very  near  relation 
which  the  anointed  One  sustains  to 
him  who  had  appointed  him,  and  pre- 
pares us  for  what  is  said  in  the  sub- 
sequent verse,  where  he  is  called  his 
Son.  %  Upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion, 
Zion  was  the  southern  hill  in  the  city 
of  Jei-usalem.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  8. 
It  was  the  highest  of  the  hills  on 
which  the  city  was  built.  It  was 
made  by  David  the  capital  of  his 
kingdom,  and  was  hence  called  the 
city  of  David,  2  Chron.  v.  2.  By  the 
poets  and  prophets  it  is  often  put  for 
Jerusalem  itself,  Isa.  ii.  3;  viii.  18; 
x.  24;  xxxiii.  14,  et  al.  It  did  not 
obtain  this  distinction  until  it  was 
taken  by  David  from  the  Jebusites, 
2  Sam.  v.  5 — 9;  1  Chron.  xi.  4 — 8. 
To  that  place  David  removed  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  and  there  he  built 
an  altar  to  the  Lord  in  the  threshing- 
floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  2  Sam. 
xxiv.  15 — 25.  Zion  became  thence- 
forward the  metropolis  of  the  king- 
dom, and  the  name  was  transferred  to 
the  entire  city.  It  is  to  this  that  the 
passage  here  refers;  and  the  meaning 
is,  that  in  that  metropolis  or  capital 
God  had  constituted  his  Messiah  king, 


18 


PSALM  II. 


7  I  will  declare   l  the  decree : 
the  Lord  hath    said   unto  me, 

1  Or,  for  a. 


Thou «  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have 
I  begotten  thee. 

q  Matt.  hi.  17;  xvii.  5  ;  Acts  xiii.  33. 


or  had  appointed  him  to  reign  over 
his  people.  This  cannot  refer  to  David 
himself,  for  in  no  proper  sense  was  he 
constituted  or  inaugurated  king  in 
Jerusalem ;  that  is,  there  was  no  such 
ceremony  of  inauguration  as  is  re- 
ferred to  here.  Zion  was  called  the 
"  holy  hill,"  or  "  the  hill  of  my  holi- 
ness" (Heb.),  "because  it  was  set  apart 
as  the  seat  of  the  Theocracy,  or  the 
residence  of  God,  from  the  time  that 
David  removed  the  ark  there.  That 
became  the  place  where  God  reigned, 
and  where  his  worship  was  celebrated. 
This  must  refer  to  the  Messiah,  and 
to  the  fact  that  God  had  set  him  apart 
to  reign  over  his  people,  and  thence 
over  all  the  earth.  The  truth  taught 
in  this  passage  is,  that  God  will  carry 
forward  his  own  purposes  in  spite  of 
all  the  opposition  which  men  can 
make,  and  that  it  is  his  deliberate 
design  to  make  his  anointed  One — 
the  Messiah — King  over  all. 

7.  I  will  declare  the  decree.  We 
have  here  another  change  in  the 
speaker.  The  Anointed  One  is  him- 
self introduced  as  declaring  the  great 
purpose  which  was  formed  in  regard 
to  him,  and  referring  to  the  promise 
which  was  madeto him,  as  the  founda- 
tion of  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  (ver.  6) 
to  set  him  on  the  hill  of  Zion.  The 
first  strophe  or  stanza  (vers.  1-3)  is 
closed  with  a  statement  made  by  the 
rebels  of  their  intention  or  design; 
the  second  (vers.  4-6)  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  purpose  of  Jehovah ;  the 
third  is  introduced  by  this  declara- 
tion of  the  Messiah  himself.  The 
change  of  the  persons  speaking  gives 
a  dramatic  interest  to  the  whole 
psalm.  There  can  he  no  doubt  that 
the  word  "J"  here  refers  to  the 
Messiah.  The  word  decree  —  pn 
hhohk — means  properly  something 
decreed,  prescribed,  appointed.  See  j 
Job  xxiii.  14.  Comp.  Gen.  xlvii.  26 ;  | 
Exod.  xii.  24.  Thus  it  is  equivalent  to  j 
law,  statute,  ordinance.  Here  it  re- ! 
fers  not  to  a  law  which  he  was  to  I 


obey,  but  to  an  ordinance  or  statute 
respecting  his  reign :  the  solemn  pur- 
pose of  Jehovah  in  regard  to  the  king-- 
dom  which  the  Messiah  was  to  set  up ; 
the  constitution  of  his  kingdom.   This, 
as  the  explanation  shows,  implied  two 
things— (a)  that  he  was  to  be  regarded 
and  acknowledged  as  his  Son,  or  to 
have  that  rank  and  dignity  (ver.  7) ; 
and  (b)  that  the  heathen  and  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  were  to  be 
1  given  him  for  a  possession,  or  that  his 
reign  was  to  extend  over  all  the  world 
(ver.  8).     The  word  "declare"  here 
means  that  he  would  give  utterance 
to,    or   that   he  would   now   himself 
make  a  statement  in  explanation  of 
the  reason  why  Jehovah  had  deter- 
mined to  establish  him  as  King  on  his 
holy   hill  of  Zion.      There  is   great 
beauty     in     thus     introducing     the 
Messiah  himself  as  making  this  de- 
claration,  presenting  it  now  in  the 
form  of  a  solemn  covenant  or  pledge. 
The  determination  of  Jehovah  (ver.  6) 
to  establish  him  as  King  on  his  holy 
hill  is  thus  seen  not  to  be  arbitrary, 
hut  to  be  in  fulfilment  of  a  solemn 
promise    made   long   before,    and    is 
therefore  an  illustration  of  his  cove- 
nant faithfulness  and  truth.     ^  The 
Loed  hath  said  unto  me.     Jehovah 
hath  said.     See  vers.  2,  4.     He  does 
not  intimate  tchen  it  was  that  he  had 
said  this,  but  the  fair  interpretation 
is,  that  it  was  before  the  purpose  was 
to  be  carried  into  execution  to  place 
him  as  King  in  Zion ;  that  is,  as  ap- 
plicable  to   the    Messiah,   before    he 
became  incarnate  or  was  manifested 
to  execute  his  purpose  on  earth.     It 
is  implied,  therefore,  that  it  was  in 
some  previous  state,  and  that  he  had 
come  forth  in  virtue  of  the  pledge 
that  he  would  be  recognised  as  tbe 
Son  of  God.     The  passage  cannot  be 
understood    as    referring    to    Christ 
without  admitting  his  existence  pre- 
vious to  the  incarnation,  for  all  that 
follows  is  manifestly  the  result  of  the 
exalted  rank  which  God  purposed  to 


PSALM  II. 


19 


give  him  as  his  Son,  or  as  the  result 
of  the  promise  made  to  him  then. 
%  Thou  art  my  Son.  That  is,  Jeho- 
vah had  declared  him  to  he  his  Son ; 
he  bad  conferred  on  him  the  rank 
and  dignity  fairly  involved  in  the 
title  the  Son  of  God.  In  regard  to 
the  general  meaning  of  tbis,  and  what 
is  implied  in  it,  see  notes  on  Matt.  i. 
1;  Heb.  i.  2,  5;  Rom.  i.  4;  and  John 
v.  18.  The  phrase  "  sons  of  God"  is 
elsewhere  used  frequently  to  denote 
the  saints,  the  children  of  God,  or 
men  eminent  for  rank  and  power 
(comp.  Gen.  vi.  2,  4;  Job  i.  6;  Hos. 
i.  10 ;  John  i.  12 ;  Rom.  viii.  14,  19 ; 
Phil.  ii.  15;  1  John  iii.  1);  and  once 
to  denote  angels  (Job  xxxviii.  7);  but 
the  appellation  "  the  Son  of  God"  is 
not  appropriated  in  the  Scriptures  to 
any  one  but  the  Messiah.  It  does 
not  occur  before  this  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  it  occurs  but  once  after 
this,  Dan.  iii.  25.  See  Notes  on  that 
passage.  This  makes  its  use  in  the 
case  before  us  the  more  remarkable, 
and  justifies  the  reasoning  of  the  au- 
thor of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
(i.  5)  as  to  its  meaning.  The  true 
sense,  therefore,  according  to  the 
Hebrew  usage,  and  according  to  the 
proper  meaning  of  the  term,  is,  that 
he  sustained  a  relation  to  God  which 
could  be  compared  only  with  that 
which  a  son  among  men  sustains  to 
his  father;  and  that  the  term,  as  thus 
used,  fairly  implies  an  equality  in 
nature  with  God  himself.  It  is  such 
a  term  as  would  not  be  applied  to  a 
mere  man ;  it  is  such  as  is  not  applied 
to  the  angels  (Heb.  i.  5) ;  and  there- 
fore it  must  imply  a  nature  superior 
to  either.  ^[  This  day.  On  the  ap- 
plication of  this  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, see  Notes  on  Acts  xiii.  33  and 
Heb.  i.  5.  The  whole  passage  has 
been  often  appealed  to  in  support  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  "  eternal  genera- 
tion "  of  Christ,  meaning  that  he  was 
"begotten"  from  eternity;  that  is, 
that  his  Divine  nature  was  in  some 
sense  an  emanation  from  the  Father, 
and  that  this  is  from  eternity.  What- 
ever may  be  thought  of  that  doctrine, 
however,  either  as  to  its  intelligibility 


or  its  truth,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
use  of  the  phrase  '*  this  day/'  or  in 
the  application  of  the  passage  in  the 
New  Testament  (Acts  xiii.  33 ;  Heb. 
i.  5),  to  sustain  it.  The  language, 
indeed,  in  the  connexion  in  which  it 
is  found,  does,  as  remarked  above, 
demonstrate  that  he  had  a  pre- exist- 
ence, since  it  is  addressed  to  him  as 
the  result  of  a  decree  or  covenant 
made  with  him  by  Jehovah,  and  as 
the  foundation  of  the  purpose  to  set 
him  as  King  on  the  hill  of  Zion.  The 
words  "  this  day "  would  naturally 
refer  to  that  time  when  this  "decree  " 
was  made,  or  this  covenant  formed; 
and  as  that  was  before  the  creation  of 
the  world,  it  must  imply  that  he  had 
an  existence  then.  The  time  referred 
to  by  the  meaning  of  the  word  is,  that 
when  it  was  determined  to  crown  him 
as  the  Messiah.  This  is  founded  on 
the  relation  subsisting  between  him 
and  Jehovah,  and  implied  when  iii 
that  relation  he  is  called  his  "  Son ;" 
but  it  determines  nothing  as  to  the 
time  ivhen  this  relation  commenced. 
Jehovah,  in  the  passage,  is  regarded 
as  declaring  his  purpose  to  make  him 
King  in  Zion,  and  the  language  is  that 
of  a  solemn  consecration  to  the  kingly 
office.  He  is  speaking  of  this  as  a 
purpose  before  he  came  into  the 
world;  it  was  executed,  or  carried 
into  efiect,  by  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  and  by  the  exaltation  con- 
sequent on  that.  Comp.  Acts  xiii. 
33  and  Eph.  i.  20—22.  Considered, 
then,  as  a  promise  or  purpose,  this 
refers  to  the  period  before  the  incar- 
nation; considered  as  pertaining  to 
the  execution  of  that  purpose,  it  refers 
to  the  time  when  he  was  raised  from 
the  dead  and  exalted  over  all  things 
as  King  in  Zion.  In  neither  case  can 
the  words  "this  day"  be  construed  as 
meaning  the  same  as  eternity,  or  from 
eternity ;  and  therefore  they  can  de- 
termine nothing  respecting  the  doc- 
trine of  "eternal  generation."  ^f  Have 
I  begotten  thee.  That  is,  in  the  matter 
referred  to,  so  that  it  would  be  proper 
to  apply  to  him  the  phrase  "my  Son," 
and  to  constitute  him  "King"  in 
Zion.     The  meaning  is,  that  he  had 


20 


PSALM  II. 


so  constituted  the  relationship  of 
Father  and  Son  in  the  case,  that  it  was 
proper  that  the  appellation  Son  should 
he  given  him,  and  that  he  should  be 
regarded  and  addressed  as  such.  So 
Prof.  Alexander  :  "  The  essential 
meaning  of  the  phrase  I  have  begotten 
thee  is  simply  this,  I  am  thy  Father." 
This  is,  of  course,  to  be  understood  in 
accordance  with  the  nature  of  God, 
and  we  are  not  to  bring  to  the  inter- 
pretation the  ideas  which  enter  into 
that  human  relationship.  It  means 
fcbat  in  some  proper  sense — some 
sense  appropriate  to  the  Deity — such 
a  relation  was  constituted  as  would 
justify  this  reference  to  the  most 
tender  and  important  of  all  human 
relationships.  In  what  sense  that  is, 
is  a  fair  subject  of  inquiry,  but  it  is 
not  proper  to  assume  that  it  is  in  any- 
thing like  a  literal  sense,  or  that 
there  can  be  no  other  sense  of  the 
passage  than  that  which  is  implied  in 
the  above-named  doctrine;  for  it  can- 
not be  literal,  and  there  are  other 
ideas  that  may  be  conveyed  by  the 
phrase  than  that  of  "eternal  genera- 
tion." The  word  rendered  "begotten" 
(l^"1  —  Yalad)  determines  nothing 
certainly  as  to  the  mode  in  which  this 
relationship  was  formed.  It  means 
properly — (1)  to  bear,  to  bring  forth 
as  a  mother,  Gen.  iv.  1 ;  (2)  to  beget, 
as  a  father,  Gen.  iv.  18 ;  and  then  (3) 
as  applied  to  God  it  is  used  in  the 
sense  of  creating — or  of  so  creating 
or  forming  as  that  the  result  would 
be  that  a  relation  would  exist  which 
might  be  compared  with  that  of  a 
father  and  a  son.  Deut.  xxxii.  18 : 
"  Of  the  Eock  that  begat  thee  thou 
art  unmindful."  Comp.  Jer.  ii.  27 : 
"Saying  to  a  block  [idol],  Thou  art 
my  father,  thou  hast  begotten  me." 
So  Paul  says,  1  Cor.  iv.  15 :  "  In 
Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten  you 
through  the  Gospel."  The  full  mean- 
ing, therefore,  of  this  word  would  be 
met  if  it  be  supposed  that  Jehovah 
had  given  the  Messiah  this  place  and 
rank  in  such  a  sense  that  it  was 
proper  to  speak  of  himself  as  the 
Father  and  the  Anointed  One  as  the 
Son.     And  was  there  not  enough  in 


designating  him  to  this  high  office; 
in  sending  him  into  the  world;  in 
raising  him  from  the  dead  ;  in  placing 
him  at  his  own  right  hand — appoint- 
ing him  as  King  and  Lord — to  justify 
this  language  ?  Is  not  this  the  very 
thing  under  consideration  ?  Is  it 
proper,  then,  in  connexion  with  this 
passage,  .to  start  the  question  about 
his  eternal  generation  ?  Comp.  Notes 
on  Rom.  i.  4.  On  this  passage  Calvin 
says  (mb  loc),  "  I  know  that  this  pas- 
,  sage  is  explained  by  many  as  referring 
'  to  the  eternal  generation  of  Christ, 
who  maintain  that  in  the  adverb  to- 
day there  is,  as  it  were,  a  perpetual 
act  beyond  the  limits  of  time,  denoted. 
But  the  Apostle  Paul  is  a  more  faith- 
ful and  competent  interpreter  of  this 
prophecy,  who  in  Acts  xiii.  33  recalls 
us  to  that  which  I  have  called  a 
glorious  demonstration  of  Christ.  He 
was  said  to  be  begotten,  therefore, 
not  that  he  might  be  the  Son  of  God, 
by  which  he  might  begin  to  be  such, 
but  that  he  might  be  manifested  to 
the  world  as  such.  Finally,  this  be- 
getting ought  to  be  understood  not 
of  the  mutual  relation  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  but  it  signifies  merely 
that  he  who  was  from  the  beginning 
hidden  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
[.and  who  was  obscurely  shadowed 
forth  under  the  law,  from  the  time 
when  he  was  manifested  with  clear 
intimation  of  his  rank,  was  acknow- 
ledged as  the  Son  of  God,  as  it  is  said 
in  John  i.  14."  So  Prof.  Alexander, 
though  supposing  that  this  is  founded 
on  an  eternal  relation  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  says,  "  This  day 
have  I  begotten  thee  may  be  considered 
as  referring  only  to  the  coronation  of 
Messiah,  which  is  an  ideal  one,"  vol.  i., 
p.  15.  The  result  of  the  exposition 
of  this  passage  may  therefore  be  thus 
stated:  (a)  The  term  Son,  as  here 
used,  is  a  peculiar  appellation  of  the 
Messiah — a  term  applicable  to  him  in 
a  sense  in  which  it  can  be  given  to  no 
other  being,  (b)  As  here  used,  and 
as  elsewhere  used,  it  supposes  his 
existence  before  the  incarnation,  (c) 
Its  use  here,  and  the  purpose  formed, 
imply  that  he  had  an  existence  before 


PSALM  II. 


21 


8  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  |  ance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
Seethe  heathen  for  thine  inherit-  'the  earth  for  thy  possession. 


this  purpose  was  formed,  so  that  he 
could  be  personally  addressed,  and  so 
that  a  promise  could  be  made  to  him. 
(d)  The  term  Son  is  not  here  used  in 
reference  to  that  anterior  relation, 
and  determines  nothing  as  to  the 
mode  of  his  previous  being — whether 
from  eternity  essentially  in  the  nature 
of  God;  or  whether  in  some  myste- 
rious sense  begotten ;  or  whether  as 
an  emanation  of  the  Deity ;  or  whether 
created.  (e)  The  term,  as  Calvin 
suggests,  and  as  maintained  by  Prof. 
Alexander,  refers  here  only  to  his 
being  constituted  King — to  the  act 
of  coronation  —  whenever  that  oc- 
curred, (f)  This,  in  fact,  occurred 
when  he  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
ami  when  he  was  exalted  to  the  right 
hand  of  God  in  heaven  (Acts  xiii.  33), 
so  that  the  application  of  the  passage 
by  Paul  in  the  Acts  accords  with  the 
result  to  which  we  are  led  by  the  fair 
interpretation  of  the  passage,  (g) 
The  passage,  therefore,  determines 
nothing,  one  way  or  the  other,  re- 
specting the  doctrine  of  eternal  gene- 
ration, and  cannot,  therefore,  be  used 
in  proof  of  that  doctrine. 

8.  Ask  of  me.  That  is,  of  God. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  "  decree"  or  pur- 
pose, as  mentioned  in  ver.  7.  That 
decree  embraced  not  only  the  design 
to  constitute  him  as  his  Son,  in  the 
sense  that  he  was  to  be  king  in  Zion, 
but  also  the  purpose  to  give  him  a 
dominion  embracing  "  the  heathen" 
and  "  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth."  This  wide  dominion  was  to 
be  given  him  on  condition  that  he 
would  "  ask"  for  it,  thus  keeping  up 
the  idea  that  Jehovah,  as  such,  is  the 
great  source  of  authority  and  empire, 
and  that  the  Messiah,  as  such,  occu- 
pies a  rank  subordinate  to  him.  This 
relation  of  the  Father  and  Son  is 
everywhere  recognised  in  the  New 
Testament.  As  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  Messiah  will  ask  for  this,  it  fol- 
lows that  the  world  will  yet  be 
brought  under  his  sceptre.  It  may 
be  added  that  as  this  wide  dominion 


is  promised  to  the  Messiah  only  on 
condition   that  he  "  asks"  for   it   or 
prays  for  it,  much  more  is  it  true  that 
we  can  hope  for  this  and  for  no  favour 
from  God,  unless  we  seek  it  by  earn- 
est prayer.     ^  And  I  shall  give  thee. 
I  will  give  thee.     That  is,  he  would 
ultimately  give  him   this  possession. 
No  time  is  specified  when  it  would  be 
done,  and  the  prophecy  will  be  ful- 
filled if  it  shall  be  accomplished  in 
any  period  of  the  history  of  the  world. 
^[  The  heathen.     The  nations  (Notes, 
ver.  1);  that  is,  the  world.     In  the 
time  of  the  writer  of  the  psalm,  the 
world  would  be  spoken  of  as  divided 
into  Hebrews  and  other  nations ;  the 
people  of  God   and  foreigners.     The 
same  division  is  often  referred  to  in 
the  New  Testament  under  the  terms 
Jew  and  Gentile,  as  the  Greeks  di- 
vided all  the  world  into  Greeks  and 
barbarians.      The  word    would    now 
embrace  all  the  nations  which  are  not 
under  the  influence  of  the  true  reli- 
gion.    ^[  For  thine  inheritance.     Thy 
heritage;    thy  portion    as    my    Son. 
There  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  fact 
that  he  had  constituted  him  as  his 
Son,  and  hence  it  was  proper  to  speak 
of  him  as  the  heir  of  all  things.     See 
Notes  on  Heb.  i.  4.    %  And  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth.    The  farthest 
regions  of  the  world.     This  promise 
would  properly  embrace  all  the  world 
as  then  known,  as  it  is  now  known, 
as  it  shall  be  hereafter  known,    ^f  For 
thy  possession.   That  is,  as  king.    This, 
on  the  earth,  was  be  to  his  possession 
as  the  Son  of  Jehovah,  constituted  as 
king.     It  may  be  remarked  here,  (a) 
that  this  can  have  its  fulfilment  only 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    It  was  not 
true  of  David  nor  of  any  other  Hebrew 
monarch  that  he  had  conceded  to  him, 
in  fact,  any  such  possession.     Their 
dominions  extended,  at  any  time,  but 
little  beyond  the  bounds  of  Palestine, 
and  embraced  a  very  limited  part  of 
the  earth — but  a  small  territory,  even 
as  compared  with  many  then  existing 
kingdoms.  The  phrase  here  used  could 


22  PSALM  II 

9  Thou  shalt  break  them  with 


a  rod  of  iron ;  thou  shalt  dash 

r  Rev.  ii.  27. 


never  have  been  applied  to  the  limited 
and  narrow  country  of  Palestine,  (b) 
The  promise  is  to  be  understood  as 
still  in  full  force.  It  has  never  been 
cancelled  or  recalled,  and  though  its 
fulfilment  has  seemed  to  be  long  de- 
layed, yet  as  no  time  was  specified,  its 
spirit  and  meaning  have  not  been  dis- 
regarded. Events  have  shown  that  it 
was  not  intended  that  it  should  be 
speedily  accomplished;  and  events, 
when  no  time  is  specified,  should  be 
allowed  to  be  interpreters  of  the  ori- 
ginal meaning  of  the  prophecy,  (e) 
The  promise  will  yet  be  fulfilled.  It 
is  evidently  supposed  in  the  promise 
that  the  Messiah  would  ask  for  this; 
and  it  is  solemnly  affirmed  that  if  he 
did,  this  wide  inheritance  would  be 
granted  to  him.  The  world,  then,  is 
to  be  regarded  as  given  by  covenant 
to  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  due  time  he 
will  set  up  his  dominion  over  the 
earth,  and  rule  over  mankind.  The 
period  is  coining  -when  the  actual 
sceptre  swayed  over  the  nations  of  the 
earth  will  be  that  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  when  his  right  to  give  laws  and 
to  reign  will  be  acknowledged  from 
the  rising  to  the  setting  sun.  This 
is  the  only  thing  in  the  future  that  is 
certainly  known  to  us,  and  this  is 
enough  to  make  everything  in  that 
future  bright. 

9.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  That  is,  evidently,  thine 
enemies ;  for  it  cannot  be  supposed  to 
be  meant  that  he  would  sway  such  a 
sceptre  over  his  own  people.  The 
idea  is  that  he  would  crush  and  sub- 
due all  his  foes.  He  would  have  ab- 
solute power,  and  the  grant  which 
had  been  made  to  him  would  be  ac- 
companied with  authority  sufficient 
to  hold  it.  That  dominion  which  was 
to  be  conceded  to  him  would  be  not 
only  one  of  protection  to  his  friends, 
but  also  of  punishment  on  his  ene- 
mies ;  and  the  statement  here  is  made 
prominent  because  the  former  part  of 
the  psalm  had  respect  to  rebels,  and 
the   Messiah  is  hero  represented  as 


being  invested  with  power  sufficient 
to  punish  and  restrain  them.  The 
Vulgate  renders  this  "  thou  shalt 
rule;"  the  Septuagint,  "thou  shalt 
feed  " — TroijxavCLQ ;  that  is,  thou  shalt 
feed  them  as  a  shepherd  does  his 
flock;  thou  shalt  exercise  over  them 
the  care  and  protection  of  a  shepherd. 
This  rendering  occurs  by  a  slight 
change  in  the  pointing  of  the  Hebrew 
word,  though  the  most  approved  mode 
of  pointing  the  word  is  that  which  is 
followed  in  our  common  translation. 
De  Wette,  Hengstenberg,  Alexander, 
Horsley,  adopt  the  common  reading. 
What  is  said  in  this  verse  has  been 
urged  as  an  objection  to  referring 
it  to  the  Messiah.  The  remark  of 
De  Wette  on  this  matter  has  been 
quoted  in  the  introduction  to  this 
psalm,  §  4  (3).  But  it  may  be  ob- 
served, while  it  is  everywhere  repre- 
sented that  the  sceptre  of  the  Messiah 
over  the  earth  will  be  a  mild  sceptre, 
it  is  also  everywhere  stated  that  he 
will  ultimately  crush  and  overthrow 
all  his  foes.  Thus  in  Isa.  xi.  4 :  "  Ho 
shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of 
his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of  his 
lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked."  So 
Ps.  ex.  6 :  "  He  shall  judge  among 
the  heathen;  he  shall  fill  the  places 
with  the  dead  bodies."  So,  likewise, 
Eev.  xix.  15  :  "And  out  of  his  mouth 
goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations;  and  he 
shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron; 
and  he  treadeth  the  winepress  of 
the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty 
God."  So  also  in  Matt,  xxv.,  and 
elsewhere,  it  is  said  that  he  will  come 
to  judgment,  and  will  consign  all  his 
foes  to  appropriate  punishment.  AVhile 
it  is  said  that  the  reign  of  the  Messiah 
would  be  a  mild  reign,  and  that  his 
kingdom  would  not  be  of  this  world, 
and  while  he  is  represented  as  the 
Prince  of  peace,  it  is  also  said  that  he 
would  be  invested  with  all  the  autho- 
rity of  a  sovereign.  While  he  would 
have  power  to  protect  his  friends,  he 
would  also  have  power  to  humble  and 


PSALM  ir. 


23 


them   in 

vessel. 


pieces  like  a  potter's 


10  Be  wise  now  therefore,  O 
ye  kings  :  be  instructed,  ye  judges 
of  the  earth. 


crush  his  foes.  The  expression  with  a 
rod  of  iron  refers  to  the  sceptre  which 
he  would  bear.  A  sceptre  was  some- 
times made  of  wood,  sometimes  of 
gold,  sometimes  of  ivory,  and  some- 
times of  iron.  The  idea,  when  the 
last  was  the  case,  was,  that  the  do- 
minion was  absolute,  and  that  there 
was  nothing  that  could  resist  it. 
Perhaps  the  idea  of  justice  or  severity 
would  be  that  which  would  be  most 
naturally  suggested  by  this.  As  ap- 
plicable to  the  Messiah,  it  can  only 
mean  that  his  enemies  would  be 
crushed  and  subdued  before  him. 
%  Thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces. 
The  same  idea  is  here  expressed  in 
another  form,  but  indicating  more 
particularly  the  ease  with  which  it 
would  be  done.  The  word  rendered 
"dash  them  in  pieces"  means  to 
break  in  pieces  as  an  earthen  vessel, 
Judges  vii.  20;  Jer.  xxii.  28.  It  is 
used  to  denote  the  crushing  of  infants 
on  stones,  Ps.  cxxxvii.  9.  The  word 
shiver  would  well  express  the  idea 
here  — "  thou  shalt  shiver  them." 
If  Like  a  'potter's  vessel.  A  vessel  or 
instrument  made  by  a  potter;  a  vessel 
made  of  clay.  This  is  easily  broken, 
and  especially  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and 
the  idea  here  is  that  he  would  crush 
and  subdue  his  enemies  as  easily  as 
this  could  be  done.  No  image  could 
more  happily  express  the  ease  with 
which  he  would  subdue  his  foes;  and 
this  accords  with  all  the  representa- 
tions of  the  New  Testament — that 
with  infinite  ease — with  a  ivord — 
Christ  can  subdue  his  enemies,  and 
consign  them  to  ruin.  Comp.  Matt. 
xxv.  41,  46;  Luke  xix.  27.  The 
sense  here  is,  simply,  that  the  Messiah 
would  be  absolute;  that  he  would 
have  power  to  quell  all  rebellion 
against  God,  and  to  punish  all  those 
that  rise  up  against  him  ;  and  that  on 
those  who  are  incorrigibly  rebellious 
he  would  exercise  that  power,  and 
take  effectual  means  to  subdue  them. 
This  is  merely  what  is  done  by  all 


just  governments,  and  is  by  no  means 
inconsistent  with  the  idea  that  such  a 
government  would  be  mild  and  gentle 
towards  those  who  are  obedient.  The 
protection  of  the  righteous  makes  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked  necessary 
in  all  governments,  and  the  one  can- 
not be  secured  without  the  other. 
This  verse  is  applied  to  the  Messiah 
in  the  Book  of  Revelation,  ch.  ii.  27 ; 
xix.  15;  comp.  xii.  5.  See  Notes  on 
these  passages. 

10.  Be  wise  noto,  therefore,  0  ye 
kings.  This  is  to  be  understood  as 
the  language  of  the  psalmist.  See 
introduction  to  the  psalm,  §  3.  It  is 
an  exhortation  addressed  to  the  rulers 
and  princes  whom  the  psalmist  saw 
engaged  in  opposition  to  the  purpose 
of  Jehovah  (vers.  1 — 3) — and  hence 
to  all  rulers  and  princes — to  act  the 
part  of  wisdom,  by  not  attempting  to 
resist  the  plans  of  God,  but  to  submit 
to  him,  and  secure  his  friendship. 
The  psalmist  cautions  them  to  take 
warning,  in  view  of  what  must  cer- 
tainly come  upon  the  enemies  of  the 
Messiah ;  to  cease  their  vain  attempts 
to  oppose  his  reign,  and,  by  a  timely 
submission  to  him,  to  ensure  his  friend- 
ship, and  to  -escape  the  doom  that 
must  come  upon  his  foes.  The  way 
of  wisdom,  then,  was  not  to  engage  in 
an  attempt  in  which  they  must  cer- 
tainly be  crushed,  but  to  secure  at 
once  the  friendship  of  one  appointed 
by  God  to  reign  over  the  earth.  ^  Be 
instructed.  In  your  duty  to  Jehovah 
and  his  Anointed  One  ;  that  is,  in  the 
duty  of  submitting  to  this  arrange- 
ment, and  lending  your  influence  to 
promote  it.  The  word  here  used,  and 
rendered  he  instructed,  means  pro- 
perly to  chastise,  chasten,  correct; 
and  it  here  means,  be  admonished, 
exhorted,  or  warned.  Comp.  Prov.  ix. 
7;  Job  iv.  3;  Ps.  xvi.  7.  ^  Ye  judges 
of  the  earth.  Ye  who  administer  jus- 
tice; that  is,  ye  rulers.  This  was 
formerly  done  by  kings  themselves,  as 
it  is  now  supposed  to  be  in  monarchical 


24 


PSALM  II. 


11  Serve  the  Lord  with  fear, 
and  rejoice  with  trembling. 

12  'Kiss   the  Son,  lest  he  be 


angry,  and  ye 
way.  when  his 

s  IIeb.xii.28. 


perish  from  the 
wrath  is  kindled 

t  Johu  v.  23. 


governments,  where  the  judges  act  in 
the  name  of  the  king.  In  Republics, 
justice  is  supposed  to  be  administered 
by  the  people  through  those  whom 
they  have  appointed  to  execute  it. 
The  word  here  is  equivalent  to  rulers, 
and  the  call  is  on  those  who  occupy 
posts  of  office  and  honour  not  to  op- 
pose the  purposes  of  Jehovah,  but  to 
bring  their  influence  to  the  promotion 
of  his  designs.  At  the  same  time,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  it  is  implied 
that  they  should  seek  to  be  interested 
personally  in  his  reign. 

11.  Serve  the  Lord  icithfear.  With 
reverence,  and  with  deep  apprehen- 
sions of  the  consequences  of  not  serving 
and  obeying  him.  That  is,  serve  him 
in  not  opposing,  but  in  promoting  his 
purpose  of  establishing  a  kingdom 
under  the  Messiah,  with  the  deep  ap- 
prehension that  if  you  do  not  do  it, 
he  will  arise  and  crush  you  in  his 
wrath.  Tf  And  rejoice.  Prof.  Alex- 
ander renders  this  shout,  and  supposes 
that  it  refers  J;o  the  customary  recog- 
nition of  a  present  sovereign.  The 
word  used — 5S3,  gil — means  properly 
to  move  in  a  circle,  to  revolve;  and 
then  to  dance  in  a  circle,  to  exult,  to 
rejoice.  Then,  according  to  Gesenius, 
it  means  to  tremble,  to  fear,  from  the 
leaping  or  palpitation  of  the  heart 
(Job  xxxvii.  1  j  Hos.  x.  5 ;  Ps.  xxix. 
6).  Gesenius  renders  it  here  "fear 
with  trembling."  The  common  trans- 
lation, however,  better  expresses  the 
sense.  It  means  that  they  should 
welcome  the  purposes  of  Jehovah,  and 
exult  in  his  reign,  but  that  it  should 
be  done  with  a  suitable  apprehension 
of  his  majesty  and  power,  and  with 
the  reverence  which  becomes  the  pub- 
lic acknowledgment  of  God.  %  With 
trembling.  With  reverence  and  awe, 
feeling  that  he  has  almighty  power, 
and  that  the  consequences  of  being 
found  opposed  to  him  must  be  over- 
whelming and  awful.  The  duty  here 
enjoined  on  kings  and  rulers  is  that 
of  welcoming  the  purposes  of  God, 


and  of  bringing  their  influence — de- 
rived from  the  station  which  they 
occupy — to  bear  in  promoting  the 
reign  of  truth  upon  the  earth — a  duty 
binding  on  kings  and  princes  as  well 
as  on  other  men.  The  feelings  with 
which  this  is  to  be  done  are  those 
which  belong  to  transactions  in  which 
the  honour  and  the  reign  of  God  are 
concerned.  They  are  mingled  feelings, 
derived  from  the  mercy  of  God  on 
the  one  hand,  and  from  his  wrath  on 
the  other;  from  the  hope  which  his 
promise  and  purpose  inspires,  and 
from  the  apprehension  derived  from 
his  warnings  and  threatenings. 

12.  Kiss  the  Son.  Him  whom  God 
hath  declared  to  be  his  Son  (ver.  7), 
and  whom,  as  such,  he  has  resolved  to 
set  as  King  on  his  holy  hill  (ver.  6). 
The  word  kiss  here  is  used  in  accord- 
ance with  Oriental  usages,  for  it  was 
in  this  way  that  respect  was  indicated 
for  one  of  superior  rank.  This  was 
the  ancient  mode  of  doing  homage  or 
allegiance  to  a  king,  1  Sam.  x.  1.  It 
was  also  the  modeof  rendering  homage 
to  an  idol,  1  Kings  xix.  18;  Hos.  xiii. 
2;  Job  xxxi.  27.  The  mode  of  render- 
ing homage  to  a  king  by  a  kiss  was 
sometimes  to  kiss  his  hand,  or  his 
dress,  or  his  feet,  as  among  the  Per- 
sians. De  Wette.  The  practice  or 
kissing  the  hand  of  a  monarch  is  not 
uncommon  in  European  courts  as  a 
token  of  allegiance.  The  meaning 
here  is  that  they  should  express  their 
allegiance  to  the  Son  of  God,  or  re- 
cognise him  as  the  authorized  King, 
with  suitable  expressions  of  submission 
and  allegiance ;  that  they  should  re- 
ceive him  as  King,  and  submit  to  his 
reign.  Applied  to  others,  it  means 
that  they  should  embrace  him  as  their 
Saviour.  %  Lest  he  be  angry.  If 
you  do  not  acknowledge  his  claims, 
and  receive  him  as  the  Messiah. 
%  And  ye  perish  from  the  way.  The 
word  from  in  this  place  is  supplied  by 
the  translators.  It  is  literally,  "And 
ye  pcribh  the  way."     See  Notes  on 


but  a  little.   Blessed  M  are  all  they 

m  Psa.  lxxxiv.  12. 


PSALM    III.  25 

that  put  their  trust  in  him. 


'  % 


Ps.  i.  6.  The  meaning  here  seems  to 
be  either  "  lest  ye  are  lost  in  respect 
to  the  way,"  that  is,  the  way  to 
happiness  and  salvation;  or  "lest  ye 
fail  to  find  the  way  "  to  life ;  or  "  lest 
ye  perish  by  the  way,"  to  wit,  before 
you  reach  your  destination,  and  ac- 
complish the  object  you  have  in  view. 
The  design  seems  to  be  to  represent 
them  as  pursuing  a  certain  journey  or 
path — as  life  is  often  represented 
(comp.  Ps.  i.  1) — and  as  being  cut 
down  before  they  reached  the  end  of 
their  journey,  if  When  his  ivrath  is 
kindled.  When/  his  wrath  burns. 
Applying  to  anger  or  wrath  a  term 
which  is  common  now,  as  when  we 
speak  of  one  whose  anger  is  heated,  or 
who  is  hot  with  wrath.  %  But  a 
little.  Prof.  Alexander  renders  this, 
"For  his  wrath  will  soon  burn."  This, 
it  seems  to  me,  is  in  accordance  with 
the  original ;  the  word  "  little  "  pro- 
bably referring  to  time,  and  not  to 
the  intensity  of  his  anger.  This  ac- 
cords better  also  with  the  connection, 
for  the  design  is  not  to  state  that 
there  will  be  degrees  in  the  manifest- 
ation of  his  anger,  but  that  his  anger 
would  not  long  be  delayed.  In  due 
time  he  would  execute  judgment  on 
his  enemies ;  and  whenever  his  anger 
began  to  burn,  his  enemies  must  perish. 
^[  Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their 
trust  in  him.  Kings,  princes,  people ; 
— all,  of  every  age  and  every  land; 
the  poor,  the  rich,  the  bond,  the  free ; 
white,  black,  copper  -  coloured,  or 
mixed;  all  in  sickness  or  health,  in 
prosperity  or  adversity,  in  life  or  in 
death;  all,  of  every  condition,  and 
in  all  conceivable  circumstances, — are 
blessed  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 
All  need  him  as  a  Saviour;  all  will 
find  him  to  be  a  Saviour  adapted  to 
their  wants.  All  who  do  this  are 
happy  (comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1) ;  all 
are  safe  in  time  and  in  eternity.  This 
great  truth  is  stated  everywhere  in 
the  Bible ;  and  to  induce  the  children 
of  men — weak,  and  guilty,  and  help- 

YOL.  I. 


less — to  put  their  trust  in  the  Son  of 
God,  is  the  great  design  of  all  the 
communications  which  God  has  made 
to  mankind. 

PSALM  III. 

§  1.  The  author. — This  psalm  pur- 
ports in  the  title  to  be  "A  Psalm  of 
David,"  and  is  the  first  one  to  which  a 
title  indicating  authorship,  or  the  occa- 
sion on  which  a  psalm  was  composed,  is 
prefixed.  The  title  is  found  in  the 
Chaldee  Paraphrase,  the  Latin  Vulgate, 
the  Septuagint,  the  Syriac,  the  Arabic, 
and  the  Ethiopic  versions.  It  is  not, 
indeed,  certain  by  whom  the  title  was 
prefixed,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
its  correctness.  The  sentiments  in  the 
psalm  accord  with  the  circumstances  in 
which  David  was  more  than  once  placed, 
and  are  such  as  we  may  suppose  he 
would  express  in  those  circumstances. 

§  2.  The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm 
was  composed. — The  psalm,  according  to 
the  title,  purports  to  have  been  written 
by  David,  "when  he  fled  from  Absalom 
his  son."  That  is,  it  was  composed  at 
the  time  when  he  fled  from  Absalom — or 
in  view  of  that  event,  and  as  expressive 
of  his  feelings  on  that  occasion,  though 
it  might  have  been  penned  afterwards. 
Neither  of  these  suppositions  has  any  in- 
trinsic improbability  in  it ;  for  though 
at  the  time  when  he  fled  there  was,  of 
course,  much  tumult,  agitation,  and 
anxiety,  yet  there  is  no  improbability  in 
supposing  that  these  thoughts  passed 
through  his  mind,  and  that  while  these 
events  were  going  forward,  during  some 
moments  taken  for  rest,  or  in  the  night- 
watches,  he  may  have  given  vent  to 
these  deep  feelings  in  this  poetic  form. 
Kimchi  says  that  it  was  the  opinion  of 
the  ancient  Eabbins  that  the  psalm  was 
actually  composed  when  David  with 
naked  feet,  and  with  his  head  covered, 
ascended  the  Mount  of  Olives,  as  he  fled 
from  Jerusalem,  2  Sam.  xv.  30.  It  is 
not  necessary,  however,  to  suppose  that 
in  these  circumstances  he  would  actually 
give  himself  to  the  task  of  a  poetic  com- 
position ;  yet  nothing  is  more  probable 
than  that  such  thoughts  passed  through 
his  mind,  and  nothing  would  be  more 
natural  than  that  he  should  seize  the 
first  moment  of  peace  and  calmness — 
when  the  agitation  of  the  scene  should 
C 


26 


PSALM    III. 


be  in  some  measure  over — to  embody 
these  thoughts  in  verse.  Indeed,  there  is 
evidence  in  the  psalm  itself  that  it  was 

actually  penned  on  some  such  occasion. 
There  is  (vers.  1,  2)  an  allusion  to  the 
great  number  of  his  foes,  and  to  those 
who  had  risen  up  against  him,  and  an 
expression  of  his  agitation  and  anxiety 
in  view  of  that ;  and  there  is  then  a 
statement  that  he  had,  in  these  circum- 
stances, cried  unto  the  Lord,  and  that 
God  had  heard  Mm  out  of  his  holy  hill, 
and  that,  notwithstanding  these  alarms, 
he  had  been  permitted  to  lie  down  and 
sleep,  for  the  Lord  had  sustained  him 
(vers.  4,  5).  In  these  circumstances — 
after  preservation  and  peace  during  what 
he  had  apprehended  would  be  a  dreadful 
night— what  was  more  proper,  or  more 
natural,  than  the  composition  of  such  a 
psalm  as  the  one  before  us  ? 

If  the  psalm  was  composed  by  David, 
it  was  most  probably  at  the  time  sup- 
posed in  the  title — the  time  when  he 
tied  from  Absalom  his  son.  There  is  no 
other  period  of  his  life  to  which  it  could 
be  regarded  as  fitted,  unless  it  were  the 
time  of  Saul,  and  the  persecutions  which 
he  waged  against  him.  Ilitzig  indeed 
supposes  that  the  latter  was  the  occasion 
on  which  it  was  written ;  but  to  this  it 
may  be  replied — (a)  That  there  is  no 
direct  evidence  of  this,  (b)  That  the 
title  should  be  regarded  as  good  evidence, 
unless  it  can  be  set  aside  by  some  clear 
proofs,  (c)  That  the  contents  of  the 
psalm  are  no  more  applicable  to  the 
time  of  Saul  than  to  the  time  of  Absalom. 
(d)  That  in  the  time  of  the  persecutions 
of  Saul,  David  had  not  been  in  such  cir- 
cumstances as  are  implied  in  ver.  4, 
"he  heard  me  out  of  his  holy  hill." 
This,  according  to  the  fair  construction 
of  the  language,  must  be  understood  as 
referring  to  Mount  Zion  (comp.  Xotes, 
Ps.  ii.  6),  and  implies  that  David  at  the 
time  referred  to  was  the  established  king, 
and  had  made  that  the  seat  of  his  autho- 
rity. This  had  not  occurred  in  the  time 
of  Saul ;  and  there  can  be  no  reason  for 
supposing,  as  Hitzig  does,  that  Mount 
Horeb  is  intended. 

The  flight  of  David,  which  is  supposed 
to  be  referred  to  hei-e,  is  described  in 
2  Sam.  xv — xviii.  Absalom  rebelled 
against  his  father  ;  gathered  together  a 
great  number  of  the  disaffected  in  the 
kingdom ;  and  under  pretence  of  per- 
forming a  vow  which  he  had  made,  ob- 
tained permission  to  go  to  Hebron,  having 
given  instructions  to  his  followers  to 
meet   him,  and  having  made  arrange- 


ments to  be  proclaimed  king  there.  So 
artful  had  he  been,  so  numerous  were 
his  followers,  so  extensive  seemed  to  be 
the  defection,  and  so  little  prepared  was 
David  to  meet  it,  that  the  only  prospect 
of  safety  seemed  to  be  in  flight.  With  a 
few  attendants  David  left  Jerusalem,  and 
passed  over  the  Mount  of  Olives,  design- 
ing to  seek  a  place  of  refuge.  This  was 
to  him  the  great  trial  of  his  life ;  for 
there  is  no  greater  trial  than  the  in- 
gratitude of  a  son  when  he  seeks  the  life 

|  of  his  father.     All  the  circumstane 
this  case  are  such  that  we  should  sup- 
pose that  David  icould  cry  to  God  in 
some  such  language  as  is  found  in  this 
psalm. 

It  is  indeed  objected  by  Horsley  that 
there  is  "  nothing  in  the  psalm  that  had 
any  particular  reference  to  this  event," 
and  hence  he  supposes  that  the  title 
should  be,  "-Prayer  of  a  Believer  for 
Deliverance  from  the  Atheistical  Con- 
spiracy." But  there  is  nothing  in  the 
original  title  that  corresponds  with  this  ; 
and  there  is  no  need  for  departing  from 
the  common  supposition.  It  is  true  that 
there  is  in  the  psalm  no  express  mention 
of  Absalom ;  but  the  same  remark  may 
be  made  of  nearly  all  the  psalms.  A 
considerable  portion  of  David's  psalms 
were  doubtless  composed  in  view  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  writer  was 
placed,  and  were  designed  to  be  expres- 
sive of  his  own  feelings  on  the  occasion, 
but  they  were  also  designed  for  the 
Church  at  large,  and  were  intended  to 
be  used  in  the  Church  in  all  times  to 
come,  and  hence  a  general  form  is  given 
to  the  sentiments,  and  the  local  allusion 
is  barely  referred  to,  or  omitted  alto- 
gether. It  is,  perhaps,  also  an  indication 
of  the  nature  of  true  devotion,  that  it 
will  turn  away  from,  or  forget,  for  the 
time,  the  personal  and  local  circum- 
stances of  distress,  and  give  utterance  to 
sentiments  of  piety  that  will  express  the 
feelings  of  the  children  of  God  in  all 
ages  and  in  all  circumstances.  The 
psalm  thus  becomes  one  of  general  use  ; 

:  and  the  language  is  such  as  is  adapted  to 
the  use  of  the  Church  in  all  generations. 
It  is  also  objected  by  De  Wette  that 
the  psalm  is  devoid  of  all  the  tender 
feelings  which  we  should  suppose  the 
heart  of  a  father  would  pour  out  on  such 
an  occasion.  But  to  this  it  may  be  re- 
plied, that  this  was  not  the  occasion  to 
pour  out  such  feelings.  The  thoughts 
are  fixed  on  his  own  danger;  on  the 
number  of  his  enemies ;  on  the  sudden- 
ness of  the  peril ;  on  the  great  ingrati- 


PSALM    III. 


27 


PSALM  III. 

A.  Psulni  of  David,  when  lie  fled  r  from  Absalom 
Ins  son. 

I"  ORD,  how  are  tliey  increased 


that  trouble  me  ?  many  are  they 
that  rise  up  against  me. 

2  Many  there  be  which  say  of 


0  2  Sam.  xv.,  xviii. 


tude  and  crime  of  those  who  had  risen 
up  against  him.  It  is  a  time  to  look  to 
God  for  help ;  not  a  time  to  express 
affection  for  an  ungrateful  and  rebellious 
son.  When  this  sun  died — when  he  was 
put  to  death  in  violation  of  the  com- 
mands and  entreaties  of  himself  as  a 
king  and  a  father  (2  Sam.  xviii.  o,  12, 
14) — he  poured  forth  all  his  heart  in 
language  such  as  had  never  been 
used  before,  and  has  never  been  equalled 
since,  2  Sam.  xviii.  33. 

£  3.  Analysis  of  the  psalm.  —  The 
psalm  is  naturally  and  regularly  divided 
into  four  strophes  or  parts,  each  one  em- 
bracing two  verses ;  and  in  three  of  them 
closed  by  the  word  ISelah,  indicating  a 
pause  either  in  the  sense,  in  the  melody, 
or  in  both.     See  Xotes  on  ver  2. 

I.  The  first  is  expressive  of  the  anxiety 
of  the  psalmist  from  the  fact  that  many 
enemies  had  risen  up  against  him,  vers. 
1,2. 

II.  The  second  expresses  Ms  confi- 
dence in  God  hi  the  midst  of  his  troubles, 
vers.  3,  I.  He  was  his  shield  and  his 
helper,  and  he  heard  his  prayer  out  of 
his  holy  hill. 

III.  The  third  refers  to  the  fact  that 
in  his  troubles  he  had,  contrary  to  what 
there  had  been  reason  to  apprehend,  been 
permitted  to  he  down  calmly  and  to 
sleep,  and  to  arise  again  in  the  morning. 
In  view  of  this,  refreshed  and  invigor- 
ated by  rest,  and  having  this  new  proof 
of  the'  Divine  favour  and  protection,  he 
says  that  he  would  not  be  afraid  though 
ten  thousands  of  people  should  set  them- 
selves against  him  round  about,  vers. 
5,  6. 

IV.  In  the  fourth  part,  the  psalmist 
calls  upon  God  to  arise  and  save  Mm ; 
for  in  other  times  he  had  smitten  his 
enemies  upon  their  cheek  bone,  and  had 
broken  the  teeth  of  the  ungodly,  and 
salvation  belonged  only  unto  Mm,  vers. 
7,8. 

\  A  Psalm  of  David.  Literally, 
belonging  to  David  ;  that  is,  belong- 
ing to  him  as  the  author.  This  is 
marked  in  the  Hebrew  as  the  first 
verse,  and  so  in  the  Syriac  version,  the 
Latin  Vulgate,  and  the   Septuagiut, 


making  in  the  Hebrew,  and  in  each 
of  these  versions,  nine  verses  in  the 
psalm  instead  of  eight*  as  in  our 
translation.  This  may  have  been 
prefixed  to  the  psalm  by  the  author 
himself,  for  it  was  not  uncommon  in 
ancient  times  for  an  author  to  prefix 
his  name  to  his  own  composition,  as  is 
commonly  done  by  the  apostle  Paul 
in  his  epistles.  It  is  not  absolutely 
certain,  however,  that  this  Mas  done 
in  the  Psalms  by  the  authors  them- 
selves, but  it  may  liave  been  done  by 
him  who  collected  and  arranged  the 
Psalms,  indicating  the  prevalent  belief 
in  regard  to  the  authorship,  and  under 
the  Spirit  of  inspiration.  %  When  he 
fled.  On  the  occasion  of  his  fleeing. 
That  is,  it  was  composed  at  that 
time,  or  was  subsequently  composed 
in  remembrance  of  it.  See  Introd., 
§  2.  %  From  Absalom  his  son.  See 
Introd.,  §  2. 

1.  LoiiD,  hoiv  are  they  increased. 
How  are  they  multiplied;  or,  how 
numerous  they  are.  Perhaps  the  idea 
is,  that  at  first  they  seemed  to  be 
comparatively  few  in  number,  but  had 
now  so  multiplied  as  to  endanger  his 
crown  and  life.  This  is  an  appropriate 
expression  on  the  supposition  that  it 
refers  to  Absalom.  At  first  the  num- 
ber of  these  who  adhered  to  Absalom 
was  not  so  great  as  to  excite  much 
alarm ;  but  by  the  arts  of  a  dema- 
gogue, by  complaining  of  the  govern- 
ment, by  saying  that  if  he  were  made 
a  judge  in  the  land,  every  man  would 
have  justice  done  him  (2  Sam.  xv.  4, 
5),  he  won  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  gathered  so  many  under  his  stan- 
dard as  to  make  it  necessary  that  the 
king  should  flee  from  Jerusalem  to  a 
place  of  safety.  ^  That  trouble  me. 
Literally,  my  enemies.  The  allusion  is 
to  those  who  were  now  enlisted  under 
Absalom,  and  who  were  engaged  in 
endeavouring  to  overthrow  the  govern- 


28 


my  soul,  There »  is  no  help  for 

w  Psa.  lxxi.  11. 

ment.  ^[  Maui/  are  ^<?y  £Aa£  mr  up 
against  me.  That  is,  that  have  be- 
come 1113*  enemies. 

2.  Many  there  be  ivhich  say  of  my 
soul.  Or  rather,  perhaps,  of  his  "life," 
for  so  the  word  here  used — U?p3>  ne- 
phesh — frequently  means  (Lev.  xvii. 
11;  Deut.  xii.  23;  Gen.  ix.  4;  xxxv. 
IS;  1  Kings  xvii.  21).  The  object  of 
their  persecution,  as  here  stated,  was 
not  his  soid,  as  such,  in  the  sense  in 
which  we  now  understand  the  word, 
but  his  life ;  and  they  now  said  that 
they  were  secure  of  that,  and  that  all 
things  indicated  that  God  would  not 
now  interfere  to  save  him.  They  were 
perfectly  sure  of  their  prey.  Compare 
2  Sam.  xvii.  1 — 1.  %  There  is  no  help 
for  Aim  in  God.  He  is  entirely  for- 
saken. He  has  no  power  of  defending 
himself,  and  no  hope  of  escaping  from 
us  now,  and  all  the  indications  are, 
that  God  does  not  intend  to  interpose 
and  deliver  him.  Circumstances,  in 
the  rebellion  of  Absalom  (2  Sam.  xvi. 
seq.),  were  such  as  to  seem  to  justify 
this  taunt.  David  had  been  driven 
away  from  his  throne  and  his  capital. 
God  had  not  protected  him  when  he 
had  his  armed  men  and  his  friends 
around  him,  and  wheti  he  was  en- 
trenched in  a  stronsr  city:  and  now 
he  was  a  forsaken  fugitive,  fleeing 
almost  alone,  and  seeking  a  place  of 
safety.  If  God  had  not  defended  him 
on  bis  throne  and  in  his  capital ;  if  he 
had  suffered  him  to  be  driven  away 
without  interposing  to  save  him,  much 
less  was  there  reason  to  suppose  that 
he  would  now  interpose  in  his  behalf; 
and  hence  they  exultingly  said  that 
there  was  no  hope  for  his  life,  even  in 
that  God  in  whom  he  had  trusted.  It 
is  no  uncommon  thing  in  this  world 
for  good  men  to  be  in  similar  circum- 
stances of  trial,  when  they  seem  to  be 
so  utterly  forsaken  by  God  as  well  as 
men,  that  their  foes  exultingly  say 
they  are  entirely  abandoned.  \  Selah. 
1%  D.  Much  has  been  written  on  this 
word,  and  still  its  meaning  does  not 


PSALM    III. 

him  in  God.     Selah. 


appear  to  be  wholly  determined.  It 
is  rendered  in  the  Targum,  or  Chaldee 
Paraphrase,  ")s?p5^!?,  lealmin,for  ever, 
or  to  eternity.  In  the  Latin  Vulgate 
it  is  omitted,  as  if  it  were  no  part  of 
the  text.  In  the  Septuagint  it  is  ren- 
dered Aia^aXpa,  supposed  to  refer  to 
some  variation  or  modulation  of  the 
voice  in  singing.  Schleusuer,  Lex. 
The  word  occurs  seventy-one  times 
in  the  Psalms,  and  three  times  in  the 
book  of  Habakkuk,  iii.  3,  9,  13.  It 
is  never  translated  in  our- version,  but 
in  all  these  places  the  original  word 
Selah  is  retained.  It  occurs  only  in 
poetry,  and  is  supposed  to  have  had 
some  reference  to  the  singing  or  can- 
tillation  of  the  poetry,  and  to  be  pro- 
bably a  musical  term.  In  general, 
also,  it  indicates  a  pause  in  the  sense, 
as  well  as  in  the  musical  performance. 
Gesenius  {Lex.)  supposes  that  the 
most  probable  meaning  of  this  mu- 
sical term  or  note  is  .silence,  or  pause, 
and  that  its  use  was,  in  chanting  the 
words  of  the  psalm,  to  direct  the  singer 
to  be  silent,  to  pause  a  little,  while  the 
instruments  played  an  interlude  or 
harmony.  Perhaps  this  is  all  that  can 
now  be  known  of  the  meaning  of  the 
word,  and  this  is  enough  to  satisfy  every 
reasonable  inquiry.  It  is  probable, 
if  this  was  the  use  of  the  term,  that 
it  would  commonly  correspond  with 
the  sense  of  the  passage,  and  be  in- 
serted where  the  sense  made  a  pause 
suitable;  and  this  will  doubtless  be 
found  usually  to  be  the  fact.  But 
any  one  acquainted  at  all  with  the 
character  of  musical  notation  will 
perceive  at  once  that  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  this  would  be  invariably 
or  necessarily  the  fact,  for  the  musical 
pauses  by  no  means  always  correspond 
with  pauses  in  the  sense.  This  word, 
therefore,  can  furnish  very  little  as- 
sistance in  determining  the  meaning 
of  the  passages  where  it  is  found. 
Ewald  supposes,  differing  from  this 
view,  that  it  rather  indicates  that  in 
the  places  where  it  occurs  the  voice  is 


PSALM    III. 


29 


3  But  thou,  O  Lord,  art  a 
shield  1  for  me ;   my  glory,   and 

1  Or,  about. 


to  be  raised,  and  that  it  is  synonymous 
with  up,  hie/her,  loud,  or  distinct,  from 
*p,  sal,  5~Di  salal,  to  ascend.  Those 
who  are  disposed  to  inquire  further 
respecting  its  meaning,  and  the  uses 
of  musical  pauses  in  general,  may  be 
referred  to  Ugolin.,  '  Thesau.  Antiq. 
Sacr.,'  torn.  xxii. 

3.  But  thou,  O  Loed,  art  a  shield 
for  me.  Not  only  in  these  dangers, 
but  in  all  dangers.  The  declaration 
h«re  has  a  general  form,  as  if  he  could 
trust  in  him  at  all  times.  It  shows 
what  his  feelings  were  on  the  occa- 
sion here  referred  to,  when  dansrers 
stood  thick  around  him,  and  what  his 
feelings  habitually  were  in  times  of 
peril.  The  shield  was  a  well-known 
part  of  ancient  armour,  of  use,  ac- 
cording to  the  ancient  modes  of  war- 
fare, when  swords,  and  spears,  and 
arrows  were  employed,  but  of  use  only 
then,  since  they  would  constitute  no 
defence  against  a  musket  or  cannon- 
ball.  They  were  usually  made  of 
tough  and  thick  hides,  fastened  to  a 
rim,  and  so  attached  to  the  left  arm 
that  they  could  be  readily  thrown 
before  the  body  when  attacked,  or  so 
that,  as  they  were  usually  held,  the 
vital  parts  of  the  body  would  be  pro- 
tected. See  Xotes  on  Eph.  vi.  14 — 16. 
From  this  use  of  the  shield  it  was 
natural  to  speak  of  God  as  the  shield, 
or  the  Protector  of  his  people — an 
appellation  which  is  often  given  to 
him  in  the  Scriptures  (Gen.  xv.  1 ; 
Deut.  xxxiii.  29;  2  Sam.  xxii.  3;  Ps. 
xxviii.  7;  cxix.  Ill;  cxliv.  2;  xxxiii. 
20;  lxxxiv.  11;  Prov.  xxx.  5.  ^  My 
glory.  My  honour,  or  the  source  of 
my  honour.  That  i3,  he  bestows  upon 
me  all  the  honour  that  I  have,  and  it 
is  my  glory  that  I  rnay  put  my  trust 
in  him.  I  regard  it  as  an  honour  to 
be  permitted,  in  times  of  danger  and 
trouble,  to  rely  on  him — a  sentiment 
in  which  every  true  child  of  God  will 
unite.  ^[  And  the  lifter  up  of  my 
head.  The  head,  in  time  of  trouble 
and  sorrow,  is  naturally  bowed  down, 


the  lifter  up  of  mine  head. 

1  I  cried  unto  the  Lord  with 


as  if  overpowered  with  the  w  ight  of 
affliction.  See  Ps.  xxxv.  14 :  "  I 
bowed  down  heavily  as  one  that 
mourneth  for  his  mother ;"  Ps.  xxxviii. 
6  :  "I  am  bowed  down  greatly;  I  go 
mourning  all  the  day."  Comp.  Ps. 
xlii.  5;  xliv.  25;  lvii.  6;  John  xix.  30. 
To  lift  up  the  head,  therefore,  or  to 
raise  one  up,  is  to  relieve  his  distresses, 
or  to  take  awav  his  troubles.  Such 
a  helper,  David  says,  he  had  always 
found  God  to  be,  and  he  looks  to  him 
as  one  who  is  able  to  help  him  still. 
That  is,  he  feels  that  God  can  so  en- 
tirely take  away  his  present  griefs  as 
to  reinstate  him  in  his  former  happy 
and  honourable  condition. 

4.  I  cried  unto  the  Loed.  That  is, 
in  these  troubles,  as  he  had  always 
done  in  affliction.  The  form  of  the 
verb  here  is  future — **  I  will  cry"  or 
call  unto  the  Lord;  probably,  how- 
ever, designed  to  state  a  general  habit 
with  him,  that  when  troubles  came 
he  always  called  on  the  Lord.  He 
speaks  now  of  himself  as  if  in  the 
midst  of  the  trouble;  gives  utterance 
to  the  feeling  which  he  has  always 
had  in  his  sorrows;  and  says,  "  I  trill 
call  upon  the  Lord,"  thus  declaring 
his  purpose  to  make  his  appeal  con- 
fidently to  him.  Thus,  the  language 
is  not  so  much  retrospective  as  it  is 
indicative  of  the  uniform  state  of  his 
mind  in  the  midst  of  afflictions.  If 
With  my  voice.  Xot  merely  mentally^ 
but  he  gave  utterance  to  the  deep 
anguish  of  his  soul  in  words.  So  the 
Saviour  did  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane  (Matt.  xxvi.  39) ;  and  so,  per- 
haps, most  persons  do  in  deep  afflic- 
tion. It  is  natural  then  to  cry  out 
for  help;  and  besides  the  fact  that  we 
may  hope  that  any  prayer  then,  though 
mental  only,  would  bring  relief  by 
being  answered,  there  is  a  measure  of 
relief  found  by  the  very  act  of  giving 
utterance  or  vent  to  the  deep  and,  as 
it  were,  pent-up  feelings  of  the  soul. 
In  calmer  times  we  are  satisfied  with 
unuttered    aspirations,    with    gentle 


30 


PSALM    III. 


my  voice,  and  lie  heard  me  out  of 
Lis  holy  hill.     Selah. 

5   I  laid  me  down  and  slept; 


ejaculations,  with  sweet  mental  com- 
munion with  God;  in  overwhelming- 
trials  we  give  utterance  to  our  feel- 
ings in  the  earnest  language  of  plead- 
ing, f  And  he  heard  vie.  Or,  "  then 
he  hears  me ;"  that  is,  when  I  call. 
The  psalmist  refers  to  what  he  had 
constantly  found  to  be  true,  that  God 
was  a  hearer  of  prayer.  %  Out  of  his 
holy  hill.  Zion.  See  Xotes  on  Ps.  ii. 
6.  That  was  the  place  to  which  Da- 
vid had  removed  the  ark,  and  which 
was  regarded,  therefore,  as  the  pe- 
culiar dwelling-place  of  the  Most 
High.  To  him,  as  dwelling  in  Zion, 
prayer  was  accustomed  to  be  offered, 
and  there  he  was  accustomed  to  an- 
swer prayer.  To  this  fact  David  here 
refers  as  one  that  had  been  illustrated 
in  his  former  days.  To  that  God  who 
had  thus  answered  him  he  felt  that 
he  might  confidently  appeal  now. 
r  Selah.  Indicating  another  strophe 
or  musical  pause.  See  Xotes  on  ver.  2. 
5.  I  laid  medovrn  and  slept.  Not- 
withstanding these  troubles  and  dan- 
gers I  had  such  confidence  that  God 
hears  prayer,  and  such  calm  trust  in  his 
protection,  that  I  laid  me  down  gently 
and  slept  securely.  The  psalmist 
mentions  this  as  a  remarkable  proof 
of  the  Divine  protection  and  favour. 
He  was  driven  from  his  capital,  his 
throne,  and  his  home.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  wander  as  a  poor  fugitive, 
accompanied  by  only  a  few  friends. 
He  was  pursued  by  enemies,  who 
were  numbered  by  thousands.  He  was 
made  an  exile,  and  persecuted  by  his 
own  son  ;  and  with  this  son  there  were 
men  of  age  and  of  experience  in  war. 
The  forces  of  his  enemies  might  come 
upon  him  at  any  moment.  In  these 
circumstances,  persecuted  as  he  was, 
and  under  all  the  anxiety  and  distress 
which  he  felt  in  view  of  the  ungrateful 
conduct  of  his  own  son,  he  regarded  it 
as  a  singular  proof  of  the  Divine  fa- 
vour, and  as  an  illustration  of  the 
peace  which  confidence  in  God  gives 


I   awaked :  for  the  Lord   sus- 
tained me. 

x  Psa.  cxvvii.  2. 


to  those  who  pxit  their  trust  in  him, 
that  on  such  a  dreadful  night  he  was 
permitted  to  lie  calmly  down  and 
sleep.  As  such  a  proof  and  illustra- 
tion it  may  be  regarded  here:— a 
proof  of  the  unspeakable  value  of  the 
Divine  favour,  and  an  illustration  of 
the  effect  of  confidence  in  God  in  giv- 
ing calmness  and  peace  of  mind  in 
time  of  trouble.  Ps.  cxxvii.  2.  r  I 
aivaJced.  Still  safe  and  secure.  He 
had  not  been  suddenly  attacked  by 
his  foes,  and  made  to  sleep  the  sleep  of 
death ;  he  had  not  been  crushed 
by  anguish  of  spirit.  That  we  are 
M  awaked "  in  the  morning  after  a 
night's  refreshing  slumber;  that  we 
are  raised  up  again  to  the  enjoyments 
of  life;  that  we  are  permitted  again 
to  greet  our  friends  and  to  unite  with 
them  in  the  privileges  of  devotion, 
should  alwavs  be  regarded  as  a  new 
proof  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and 
should  lead  to  acts  of  prabe.  AVe 
have  no  power  to  awake  ourselves; 
and  when  we  remember  how  many  are 
taken  away  from  our  world  each 
night — how  many  there  are  who  lie 
down  to  sleep  to  wake  no  more,  we 
should  never  rise  from  a  bed  of  repose 
without  giving  our  first  thoughts  in 
gratitude  to  our  Great  Preserver. 
*~  For  the  Loed  sustained  me.  He  kept 
me  from  danger;  he  preserved  me  from 
death.  And  it  is  as  true  now  as  it  was 
then,  that  God  is  the  supporter  of  life 
when  men  sleep.  He  guards  us  ;  he 
causes  the  action  of  the  heart  to  be 
continued  as  it  propels  the  blood 
through  our  frame;  he  secures  the 
gentle  heaving  of  the  lungs,  both 
when  we  slumber  and  when  we  wake. 
6.  1  will  not  be  afraid.  As  the  result 
of  this  new  proof  of  the  Divine  protec- 
tion, and  in  view  of  all  that  God  has 
done  and  has  promised,  the  psalmist 
now  says  that  he  would  not  be  afraid 
though  any  number  of  foes  should  rise 
up  against  him.  Perhaps  this  confiding 
and  exulting  spirit  may  be  regarded 


PSALM    III. 


31 


6  I  v  will  not  be  afraid  of  ten 
thousands  of  people,  that  have 
set  themselves  against  me  round 

y  Psa.  xxvii.  1,  etc. 


in  some  measure  as  the  result  of  the 
calm  and  refreshing  slumher  which  he 
had  enjoyed.  The  mind  as  well  as  the 
body  had  been  refreshed  and  invi- 
gorated. With  the  bright  light  of  a 
new  morning  he  looked  with  more 
cheerful  views  and  hopes  on  the 
things  around  him,  and  felt  new 
strength  to  meet  the  dangers  to  which 
he  was  exposed.  Who  in  trouble  and 
sorrow  has  not  felt  this  ?  Who  has 
not  experienced  the  influence  of  the 
slumbers  of  a  night  and  of  the  light 
of  the  morning,  in  giving  new  vigour 
and  inspiring  new  hopes,  as  if  the 
returning  day  was  an  emblem  of 
brighter  scenes  in  life,  and  the  passing 
away  of  the  shades  of  night  a  token 
that  all  trouble  and  sorrow  would  flee 
away?  ^~  Of  ten  thousands  of  people. 
Myriads: — Though  myriads  are  ar- 
rayed against  me.  He  does  not,  of 
course,  pretend  to  any  exactness 
here ;  but  he  felt  that  the  number  of 
his  enemies  was  very  great.  This 
was  the  case  in  the  rebellion  of  Absa- 
lom. Ahithophel  proposed  to  Absa- 
lom to  "choose  out  twelve  thousand 
men  "  with  whom  he  might  pursue 
after  David,  implying  that  the  num- 
ber with  him  was  actually  much 
greater  than  that,  (2  Sam.  xvii.  1.) 
%  That  have  set  themselves  against 
me.  That  have  arrayed  themselves 
against  me ;  or  that  have  risen  up  in 
rebellion  against  me.  ^  Round  about. 
Intending  to  hem  me  in  on  every 
side.  Of  course  this  was  to  be  ap- 
prehended in  such  a  rebellion ;  yet 
David  says  that  he  could  now  look  with 
calmness  on  all  this,  for  he  had  confi- 
dence in  God.     Comp.  Ps.  lvi.  3. 

7.  Arise,  O  Lokd.  This  is  a  com- 
mon mode  of  calling  upon  God  in  the 
Scriptures,  as  if  he  had  been  sitting 
still,  or  had  been  inactive.  It  is,  of 
course,  language  taken  from  human 
conceptions,  for  in  the  intervals  of  ac- 
tive effort,  in  labour  or  in  battle,  we 


about. 

7  Arise,  O  Lord  ;  save  me,  O 
my  God ;  for  thou  hast  smitten 
all  mine  enemies  upon  the  cheek- 
sit  or  lie  down,  and  when  we  engage 
in  toil  we  arise  from  our  sitting  or 
recumbent  posture.  So  the  mind  ac- 
customs itself  to  think  of  God.  The 
idea  is  simply  that  David  now  calls 
upon  God  to  interpose  in  his  behalf 
and  to  deliver  him.  ^[  Save  me,  O 
my  God.  He  was  still  surrounded  by 
numerous  enemies,  and  he,  therefore, 
calls  earnestly  upon  God  to  help  him. 
In  accordance  with  a  common  usage 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  with  what  is 
right  for  all  the  people  of  God,  he 
calls  him  his  God : — "  O  my  God." 
That  is,  he  was  the  God  whom  he 
recognised  as  his  God  in  distinction 
from  all  idols,  and  who  had  manifested 
himself  as  his  God  by  the  many  mer- 
cies which  he  had  conferred  on  him. 
*~  For  thou  hast  smitten  all  mine 
enemies.  That  is,  in  former  exigencies, 
or  on  former  occasion?.  In  his  con- 
flicts with  Saul,  with  the  Philistines, 
and  with  the  surrounding  nations,  he 
had  done  this ;  and  as  the  result  of  all 
he  had  established  him  on  the  throne, 
and  placed  him  over  the  realm.  In 
the  remembrance  of  all  this  he  appeals 
with  the  full  confidence  that  what 
God  had  done  for  him  before  He  would 
do  now,  and  that,  notwithstanding  he 
was  surrounded  with  numerous  foes, 
He  would  again  interpose.  So  we  may 
derive  comfort  and  assurance  in  pre- 
sent trouble  or  danger  from  the  recol- 
lection of  what  God  has  done  for  us 
in  former  times.  He  who  has  saved 
us  in  former  perils  can  still  save  us ; 
we  may  believe  that  he  who  did  not 
forsake  us  in  those  perils  will  not  leave 
us  now.  ■[j*  Upon  the  cheek-bone. 
This  lans;ua2:e  seems  to  be  taken  from 
a  comparison  of  his  enemies  with  wild 
beasts ;  and  the  idea  is,  that  God  had 
disarmed  them  as  one  would  a  lion  or 
tiger  by  breaking  out  his  teeth.  The 
cheek-bone  denotes  the  bone  in  which 
the  teeth  are  placed ;  and  to  smite 
that,  is  to  disarm  the  animal.     The 


32 


PSALM    III. 


bone ;  thou  hast  broken  the  teeth 
of  the  ungodly. 

8  Salvation  z  belongeth  unto  the 


idea  here  is  not  that  of  insult,  there- 
fore ;  but  the  meaning  is  simply  that 
he  had  deprived  them  of  the  power 
of  doing  him  wrong.  ■[[  Thou  hast 
broken  the  teeth  of  the  ungodly.  The 
same  idea  is  here  expressed  under 
another  form,  as  if  the  teeth  of  wild 
animals  were  broken  out,  rendering 
them  harmless.  As  God  had  thus 
disarmed  his  enemies  in  times  past, 
the  psalmist  hoped  that  he  would  do 
the  same  thing  now,  and  he  confi- 
dently called  on  him  to  do  it. 

8.  Salvation  belongeth  unto  the 
Loed.  That  is,  it  appertains  to  God 
alone  to  save.  The  psalmist  had  no 
expectation  of  saving  himself;  he  had 
no  confidence  in  the  unaided  prowess 
of  his  own  arm.  If  he  was  to  be  saved 
he  felt  that  it  was  to  be  only  by  God, 
and  the  p"  >.ise  of  this  was  to  be  given  to 
Him.  The  particular  reference  here  is 
to  temporal  deliverance,  or  deliverance 
from  the  dangers  which  surrounded 
him  then;  but  the  declaration  is  as 
true  of  spiritual  deliverance — of  the 
salvation  of  the  soul — as  it  is  of 
deliverance  from  temporal  danger.  In 
both  cases  it  is  true  that  God  only 
saves,  and  that  all  the  praise  is  due  to 
him.  %  Thy  blessing  is  upon  thy 
people.  Or  perhaps,  rather, "  thy  bless- 
ing be  upon  thy  people,"  regarding 
this  as  a  prayer  rather  than  an  affir- 
mation. It  is  true,  indeed,  as  an  affir- 
mation (comp.  Ps.  ii.  12)  ;  but  it 
accords  better  with  the  connection 
here,  and  is  a  more  appropriate  con- 
clusion of  the  psalm  to  regard  it  as  a 
petition,  expressing  an  earnest  desire 
that  the  blessing  of  God  might  ever 
rest  upon  his  own  people.  Then  the 
thoughts  of  the  psalmist  are  turned 
away  from  his  own  perils  to  the  con- 
dition of  others  ;  from  his  individual 
case  to  that  of  the  Church  at  large  ; 
and  he  prays  that  all  others  may  find 
the  same  favours  from  God  which  he 
had  so  richly  enjoyed,  and  which  he 
hoped  still  to  enjoy.  It  is  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  true  piety  thus  to 


Lord  :  thy  blessing  °  is  upon  thy 
people.     Selah. 

z  Isa.  xliii.  II.  a  Ysn.  cxv.  13. 


turn  from  our  own  condition  to  that 
of  others,  and  to  desire  that  what  we 
enjoy  may  be  partaken  of  by  the  peo- 
ple of  God  everywhere. 

PSALM  rv. 

§  1.  The  title  of  the  psalm. — The  title 
of  this  psalm  is  "  To  the  chief  Musician 
on  Neginoth.  A  psalm  of  David."  This 
phrase  in  the  title,  "  To  the  chief  Musi- 
cian," occurs  at  the  beginning  of  fifty- 
three  psalms,  and  at  the  close  of  the  hymn 
in  Hab.  iii.  19.  It  is  uniformly  rendered 
"  to  the  chief  Musician,"  and  means  that 
the  psalm  was  intended  for  him,  or  was 
to  be  given  to  him,  probably  to  regulate 
the  manner  of  performing  it.  In  no  one 
instance  does  the  title  imply  that  he 
was  the  author.  The  Avoid  rendered 
''Chief  Musician,"  rftJ!73 — menatzzaiahhy 
is  derived  from  nX2 — natzahh,  properly 
meaning  to  shine,  but  not  used  in  kaL 
In  the  Piel  form  it  means  to  be  conspicu- 
ous ;  to  be  over  anything ;  to  be  chief ; 
to  be  superintendent  (2  Chron.  ii.  2,  18  ; 
xxxiv.  12),  and  then  it  means  to  lead  in 
music.  The  meaning  of  the  form  used 
here,  and  in  the  other  places  where  ife 
occurs  as  a  title  to  a  psalm,  is  "  Chief 
Musician,"  or  precentor ;  and  the  idea 
is,  that  the  psalm  is  to  be  performed 
under  his  direction;  or  that  the  music 
is  to  be  directed  and  adapted  by  him. 
In  the  case  before  us  there  is  a  particu- 
lar designation  of  the  instrument  that 
was  to  be  employed  in  the  music  ;  which 
occurs  also  in  Ps.  vi.,  liv.,  It.,  lxi.,  lxvii., 
lxxvi. ;  where  the  same  instrument  is 
mentioned  as  here.  In  Ps.  viii.,  lxxxi., 
lxxxiv.,  another  instrument  is  men- 
tioned;  and  in  Ps.  xlv.,  lx.,  lxxx., 
another  instrument  still.  It  would  seem 
that  the  author  of  the  psalm  frequently 
adapted  his  poem  to  a  particular  kind  of 
instrument,  but  left  the  further  arrange- 
ment of  the  music  to  the  precentor  him- 
self. The  wordNeginoth,  plural  ofXegtnah 
— Hip  2  3 — means  jxoyerlystringedinstrth 
merits.  It  occurs  in  the  title  of  the  follow- 
ing psalms,  iv.,  vi.,  liv.,  lv.,  lxvii.,  lxxvi. 
It  means  in  these  cases  that  the  psalm 
was  designed  to  be  sung  with  the  accom- 
paniment of  some  stringed  instrument, 
or  under  the  direction  of  the  musician, 
who  presided  ever  the  department  of 


TSALM  IV. 


33 


stringed  instruments.  It  designates  no- 
thing as  to  the  kind  of  stringed  instru- 
ments which  were  to  be  employed. 

§  2.  The  author  of  the  psalm. — This 
psalm,  like  the  preceding,  purports  to  be 
a  psalm  of  David,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  the  correctness  of  this  opinion. 
Indeed,  there  is  some  internal  proba- 
bility that,  if  the  former  psalm  was  com- 
posed by  him,  this  was  also ;  for  as  that 
appears  to  be  a  morning  psalm  (Ps.  iii. 
5),  so  this  seems  to  be  its  counterpart, 
and  to  be  designed  to  bean  evening  psalm, 
vers.  4,  8.  The  general  resemblance  in 
the  structure,  and  the  reference  in  the 
one  to  the  morning,  and  in  the  other  to 
the  evening,  show  that  the  two  were 
designed,  probably,  to  be  a  kind  of 
double  psalm,  to  be  used  on  the  same  day, 
the  one  in  the  morning,  and  the  other  in 
the  evening.  If  this  is  so,  and  if  David 
was  the  author  of  the  third  psalm,  then 
there  is  the  same  reason  to  suppose  that 
he  was  the  author  also  of  this.  It  may 
be  added  there  has  been  a  general  con- 
currence of  opinion  in  the  belief  that 
the  psalm  was  written  by  David. 

§  3.  The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm 
was  composed  — There  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm,  or  in  the  title,  to  determine  this 
question,  and  it  is  now  impossible  to  set- 
tle it  with  certainty.  The  Jewish  in- 
terpreters generally,  and  most  Christian 
expositors,  suppose  that  it  was  composed 
on  the  same  occasion  as  the  preceding,  in 
relation  to  the  rebellion  of  Absalom.  But 
there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  itself  which 
will  certainly  determine  this,  or  which 
would  make  it  improbable  that  it  might 
have  been  composed  at  some  other  time 
in  the  life  of  David.  It  should  be  said, 
however,'  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm  which  is  inconsistent  with  that 
supposition,  especially  as  the  manifest 
purpose  of  the  psalm  is  to  make  the  occa- 
sion, whatever  it  was.  one  on  which  to 
utter  great  thoughts  that  would  be  valu- 
able at  all  times.  There  is  some  internal 
evidence  that  this  psalm  was  composed 
in  reference  to  the  same  circumstances  as 
the  preceding,  with  this  ■difference,  that 
that  was  when  the  writer  Avas  in  the 
midst  of  his  troubles,  and  when  he 
thought  it  a  great  mercy  that  he  had 
been  permitted  to  enjoy  a  night  of  quiet 
rest  (Ps.  iii.  5)  ;  this,  when  he  had  ob- 
tained deliverance  from  those  troubles, 
and  now  felt  that  he  could  give  himself 
to  calm  repose  "without  anxiety  and  fear, 
ver.  8. 

§  4.  The  contents  of  the  psalm.— The 
psalm  expresses  general  confidence  in 


God,  and  a  general  sense  of  security. 
The  writer  is  conscious,  indeed,  that  he 
has  enemies,  and  that  they  would  "  turn" 
his  "glory  into  shame"  if  they  could; 
that  they  are  false  men  who  seek  his 
ruin  by  detractions  (ver.  2),  but  still  he 
has  confidence  in  God  that  all  will  be 
well.  Though  he  has  enemies  who  are 
seeking  to  destroy  him,  yet  his  mind  is 
so  calm  that  he  feels  that  he  can  commit 
himself  confidently  to  God,  and  lie  down 
and  slumber.  The  general  subject, 
therefore,  of  the  psalm  is  the  fact  that 
confidence  in  God  will  make  the  mind 
calm  in  the  midst  of  troubles,  and  that 
reliance  on  his  protecting  care  will  ena- 
ble us  to  give  ourselves  at  night  to  un- 
disturbed repose.  The  following  points 
occur  in  the  psalm  on  this  general  subject. 

(a)  The  writer  calls  on  God  to  hear 
him,  and  makes  it  the  ground  of  his 
petition  that  he  had  formerly  heard  him 
— that  he  had  enlarged  him  when  he  was 
in  distress,  ver.  1. 

{b)  He  addresses  directly  his  enemies, 
and  gives  them  counsel  as  to  what  they 
ought  to  do,  vers.  2 — 5.  He  solemnly 
appeals  to  them,  and  asks  them  how  long 
they  would  persevere  in  attempting  to 
turn  his  glory  into  shame,  ver.  2 ;  he 
conjures  them  to  remember  that  all  their 
efforts  must  be  in  vain,  since  the  Loi'd 
had  set  apart  him  that  was  godly  for 
himself,  and  would  protect  him,  ver.  3 ; 
he  exhorts  them  to  stand  in  awe,  and  to 
fear  the  consequences  of  the  course  which 
they  were  pursuing,  and  exhorts  them  to 
take  proper  time  to  reflect  upon  it — to, 
think  on  it  in  the  night,  when  alone  with 
God,  and  when  away  from  the  excite- 
ments of  the  day,  ver.  4  ;  and  he  entreats 
them  to  become  themselves  true  wor- 
shippers of  God,  and  to  offer  to  him  the 
sacrifices  of  righteousness,  ver.  5. 

(<?)  He  contrasts  the  sources  of  his  own 
joy  and  theirs,  vers.  6,  7-  They  were 
seeking  worldly  good,  and  endeavoured 
.  to  find  their  happiness  in  that  alone  ;  he 
desired  more  than  that,  and,  as  the  chief 
source  of  his  joy,  asked  that  God  would 
lift  upon  him  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance. He  had  experienced  this,  and  he 
says  that  God  "had  put  gladness  into 
his  heart  more  than  in  the  time  that  their 
corn  and  wine  increased."  He  had  more 
real  happiness  in  the  conscious  favour  of 
God  than  the  greatest  worldly  prosperity 
without  that  could  afford.  Religion  will, 
in  time  of  trouble,  give  more  true  hap- 
piness than  all  that  the  world  can  be- 
stow. 

(d)  As  the  result  of  all,  and  in  view 
C  2 


34 


PSALM  IV. 


PSALM  IV. 

To  the  l  chief  Musician  on  Keginoth. 
A  Psalm  ot  David. 

"HEAR  ine  when  I  call,  O  God 
•*--*-  of  my   righteousness  :    tliou 

1  Or,  overseer,  Hah.  m.  19. 


Last  enlarged  me  when  I  was  in 
distress ;  2  have  mercy  upon  me, 
and  hear  my  prayer. 

^  0  ye  sons  of  men,  how  long 

2  Or,  be  gracious  unto. 


of  all  these  mercies  and  comforts,  he  says 
that  lie  will  lie  calmly  down  and  sleep. 
Though  he  had  enemies,  his  mind  is 
composed  and  calm ;  though  there  may 
he  dangers,  he  can  confide  in  God ;  and 
though  lie  may  he  less  prospered  in 
worldly  things  than  others,  he  has  a  joy 
in  religion  superior  to  all  that  the  world 
can  give  ;  and  that  makes  the  mind  calm 
as  the  body  is  committed  to  rest  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  rer.  8. 

1.  Sear  me  when  I  call.  When  I 
pray.  The  word  hear  in  such  cases  is 
always  used  iu  the  sense  of ''listen 
to," '"hear  favourably,"  or  "attend 
to ;  '  hence  in  the  literal  sense  it  is 
always  true  that  God  hears  all  that  is 
said.  The  meaning  is,  "  hear  and 
answer  me,"  or  grant  me  what  I 
ask.  *~  O  God  of  my  righteousness. 
That  is,  O  my  righteous  God.  This  is 
a  common  mode  of  expression  in 
Hebrew.  Thus,  in  Ps.  ii.  6,  "  hill  of 
nay  holiness,"  meaning  "  inv  holy 
hill ;"  Ps.  iii.  4,  "  his  hill  of  holine 
meaning  "his  holy  hill."  The  psalmist 
here  appeals  to  God  as  his  God — the 
God  in  whom  he  trusted ;  and  as  a 
righteous  God — a  God  who  would  do 
that  which  was  right,  and  on  whom, 
therefore,  he  might  rely  as  one  who 
would  protect  his  own  people.  The 
appeal  to  God  as  a  righteous  God  im- 
plies a  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the 
psalmist  of  the  justice  of  his  cause; 
and  he  asks  God  merely  to  do  right  in 
the  case.  It  is  not  on  the  ground  of 
his  own  claim  as  a  righteous  man, 
but  it  is  that,  in  this  particular  case, 
he  was  wrongfully  persecuted;  and  he 
nsks  God  to  interpose,  and  to  cause 
justice  to  be  done.  This  is  always  a 
proper  ground  of  appeal  to  God.  A 
man  may  be  sensible  that  in  a  par- 
ticular case  he  has  justice  on  his  side, 
though  he  has  a  general  conviction 
that  he  himself  is  a  sinner ;  and  he 
may  pray  to  God  to  cause  his  enemies 


to  do  right,  or  to  lead  those  whose 
office  it  is  to  decide  the  case,  to  do 
what  ought  to  be  done  to  vindicate 
his  name,  or  to  save  him  from  wrong. 
*~  Thou  hast  enlarged  me  when  I  was 
in  distress.  That  is,  on  some  former 
occasion.  When  he  was  pressed  or 
confined,  and  knew  not  how  to  escape, 
God  had  interposed  and  had  given 
him  room,  so  that  he  felt  free.  He 
now  implores  the  same  mercy  again. 
He  feels  that  the  God  who  had  done 
it  in  former  troubles  could  do  it 
again  ;  and  he  asks  him  to  repeat  his 
mercy.  The  prayer  indicates  confi- 
dence in  the  power  and  the  un- 
changeableness  of  God,  and  proves 
that  it  is  right  in  our  prayers  to 
recall  the  former  instances  of  the 
Divine  interposition,  as  an  argument, 
or  as  a  ground  of  hope  that  God 
would  again  interpose.  %  Hare  mercy 
upon  me.  In  my  present  troubles. 
That  is,  Pity  me,  and  have  compassion 
on  me,  as  thou  hast  done  in  former 
times.  Who  that  has  felt  the  assur- 
ance that  God  has  heard  his  prayer  iu 
former  times,  and  has  delivered  him 
from  trouble,  will  not  go  to  him  with 
the  more  confident  assurance  that  he 
will  hear  him  again  ? 

2.  O  ye  sons  of  men.  Turning  from 
God  to  men ;  from  Him  in  whom  he 
hoped  for  protection  to  those  who 
were  engaged  in  persecuting  him. 
We  are  not,  of  course,  to  suppose  that 
they  were  present  with  him,  but  this 
is  an  earnest,  poetic  remonstrance,  as 
if  they  were  with  him.  The  reference 
is  doubtless  to  Absalom  and  his  fol- 
lowers ;  and  he  calls  them  "  sons  of 
men,"  as  having  human  feelings, 
pas-ions,  and  purposes,  in  strong  dis- 
tinction from  that  righteous  God  to 
whom  he  had  just  made  his  solemn 
appeal.  God  was  holy,  true,  and  just, 
and  he  might  appeal  to  Him;  they 


PSALM  IV. 


35 


will  ye  turn  my  glory  into  shame ; 
how  long  will  ye  love  vanity,  and 


were  ambitious  and  wicked,  and  from 
them  lie  had  nothing  to  hope.  He 
looked  upon  God  as  righteous  alto- 
gether; he  looked  upon  them  as  alto- 
gether depraved  and  wicked.  God  he 
regarded  as  his  just  Protector;  them 
he  regarded  as  seeking  only  to  wrong 
and  crush  him.  *j"  How  long.  The 
phrase  here  used  might  refer  either 
to  time  or  to  extent.  How  long  in 
regard  to  time, — or  to  what  degree  or 
extent  will  you  thus  persecute  me  ? 
The  former,  however,  seems  to  he  the 
true  signification.  ^|  Will  ye  turn 
my  glorg  into  shame.  My  honour,  or 
what  becomes  my  rank  and  station. 
If  this  refers  to  the  rebellion  in  the 
time  of  Absalom,  the  allusion  is  to  the 
fact  that  his  enemies  were  endeavour- 
ing to  rob  him  of  his  sceptre  and 
his  crown,  and  to  reduce  him  to  the 
lowest  condition  of  beggary  and  want  ; 
and  he  asks  with  earnestness  how 
long  they  intended  to  do  him  so  great 
injustice  and  wrong,  ^f  Will  ye  love 
vanity.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  1. 
That  is,  how  Ions;  will  vou  act  as  if 
you  were  in  love  with  a  vain  and  im- 
practicable thing  ;  a  thing  which 
must  be  hopeless  in  the  end.  The 
idea  is,  that  God  had  chosen  him,  and 
anointed  him,  and  had  determined 
that  he  should  be  king  (ver.  3),  and 
therefore  that  their  efforts  must  be 
ultimately  unsuccessful.  The  object 
at  which  they  were  aiming  could  not 
be  accomplished,  and  he  asks  how  long 
they  would  thus  engage  in  what  must, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  fruit- 
less. %  And  seek  after  leasing.  The 
word  leasing  is  the  old  English  word 
for  lie.  The  idea  here  is,  that  they 
were  pursuing  a  course  which  would 
yet  prove  to  be  a  delusion — the  hope  of 
overturning  his  throne.  The  same 
question,  in  other  respects,  may  be 
asked  now.  Men  are  seeking  that 
which  cannot  be  accomplished,  and  are 
acting  under  the  influence  of  a  lie. 
What  else  are  the  promises  of  perma- 
nent happiness  in  the  pursuits  of 
pleasure  and  ambition  ?     What  else 


seek  after  leasing?     Selah. 

3  But   know   that   the   Lokd 


are  their  attempts  to  overthrow  reli- 
gion and  virtue  in  the  world  ? 
If  Selah.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  2. 

3.  But  know.  This  is  addressed  to 
those  whom,  in  the  previous  verse,  he 
had  called  the  "sous  of  men  /'  that 
is,  his  foes.  This  is  designed  to  show 
them  that  their  opposition  to  him 
must  be  vain,  since  God  had  deter- 
mined to  set  him  apart  for  his  own 
service,  and  would  therefore  hear  his 
prayer  for  relief  and  protection. 
^f  That  the  Loed  hath  set  apart.  That 
Jehovah  had  done  this ;  that  is,  that 
he  had  designated  him  to  accomplish 
a  certain  work,  or  that  he  regarded 
him  as  an  instrument  to  perforin  it. 
He  would,  therefore,  protect  him 
whom  he  had  thus  appointed;  and 
their  efforts  were  really  directed 
against  Jehovah  himself,  and  must 
be  vain,  ^f  Him  that  is  godly  for 
himself.  For  his  own  purposes,  or  to 
accomplish  his  own  designs.  The 
reference  is  here  undoubtedly  to  the 
psalmist  himself;  that  is,  to  David. 
The  word  "  godly,"  as  applied  to 
himself,  is  probably  used  in  contrast 
with  his  enemies  as  being  engaged  in 
wicked  designs,  to  wit,  in  rebellion, 
and  in  seeking  to  dispossess  him  of 
his  lawful  throne.  The  psalmist  felt 
that  his  cause  was  a  righteous  cause, 
that  he  had  done  nothing  to  deserve 
this  treatment  at  their  hands;  and 
that  he  had  been  originally  exalted  to 
the  throne  because  God  regarded  him 
as  a  friend  of  himself  and  of  his  cause; 
and  because  he  knew  that  he  would 
promote  the  interests  of  that  cause. 
The  word  here  rendered  "godly," 
l^DTl,  hhasid,is  derived  from  Tpn,  he- 
sed,  which  means  desire,  ardour,  zeal ; 
and  then  kindness,  benignity,  love 
toward  God  or  man.  Here  the  word 
properly  denotes  one  who  has  love  to 
God,  or  one  who  is  truly  pious ;  and 
it  is  correctly  rendered  godly.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxx.  4,  5  ;  xxxi.  23  ;  xxxvii.  28. 
The  idea  is,  that  as  God  had  appointed 
him  for  his  own  great  purposes,  the 
real  aim  of  the  rebels  was  to  oppose 


36 


PSALM  IV. 


hath,  set  apart  him  that  is  godly 
for  himself :  the  Lord  will  hear 


when  I  call  unto  him. 

4  Stand  in  awe,  and  sin  not ; 


Jehovah ;  and  the  purposes  in  which 
they  were  engaged  could  not,  there- 
fore, be  successful.  ^[  The  Lord  will 
hear  when  I  call  unto  him.  As  I  am 
engaged  in  his  service ;  as  I  am 
'appointed  to  accomplish  a  certain 
purpose  for  him,  I  may  confidently 
believe  that  he  will  hear  me,  and  will 
deliver  me  out  of  their  hands.  Is  not 
this  always  the  true  ground  of  en- 
couragement to  pray — that  if  God  has 
a  purpose  to  accomplish  by  us  he  will 
hear  our  prayer,  and  save  us  from 
danger,  and  deliver  us  out  of  the  hand 
of  our  enemies  ?  And  should  not  this 
be  the  main  design  in  our  prayers — 
that  God  would  thus  spare  us  that  we 
may  accomplish  the  work  which  he 
has  given  us  to  do  ? 

4.  Stand  in  awe.  Still  addressed 
to  those  who  in  ver.  2  are  called  "  sons 
of  men;"  that  is,  to  his  enemies. 
This  is  rendered  by  Prof.  Alexander, 
"Rage  and  sin  not."  The  Chaldee 
Paraphrase  renders  it,  "  Tremble  be- 
fore him,  and  sin  not."  The  Latin 
Vulgate,  Irascimini —  "be  angry." 
TheLXX.  opyi&aQt.  icai  fi))  afiaprdve-e, 
"  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not" — a  render- 
ing which  Paul  seems  to  have  had  in 
his  eye  in  Eph.iv.  26,  where  the  same 
language  is  found.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary, however,  to  suppose  that,  in  this 
case,  or  by  so  quoting  this  language, 
Paul  meant  to  give  his  sanction  to 
the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  pas- 
sage. The  truth  doubtless  is,  that  he 
found  this  language  in  that  version, 
and  that  he  quoted  it,  not  as  a  correct 
translation,  but  as  exactly  expressing 
an  idea  which  he  wished  to  convey, — 
in  the  same  way  as  he  would  have 
quoted  an  expression  from  a  Greek 
classic.  It  was  made  to  convey  an 
inspired  sentiment  by  his  use  of  it; 
whether  it  was  a  fair  translation  of 
the  original  Hebrew  was  another 
question.  For  the  meaning  of  the 
sentiment,  see  Notes  on  Eph.  iv.  26. 
The  original  word  here— ]:n,  ragaz, 
— means  to  be  moved,  disturbed,  dis- 
quieted, thrown  into  commotion ;  and 


as  this  may  be  by  anger,  fear,  or  grief, 
so  the  word  comes  to  be  used  with 
reference  to  any  one  of  these  things. — 
Gesenius,  Lex.  The  connection  here 
would  seem  to  require  that  it  should 
be  understood  with  reference  to  fear 
— since  we  cannot  suppose  that  the 
writer  would  counsel  them  to  be 
moved  or  agitated  by  wrath  or  anger, 
and  since  there  was  no  ground  for 
exhorting  them  to  be  moved  by  grief. 
The  true  idea  is,  doubtless,  that  which 
is  conveyed  in  our  translation — that 
they  were  to  fear ;  to  stand  in  awe ; 
to  reflect  on  the  course  which  they 
were  pursuing,  and  on  the  conse- 
quences of  that  course,  and  by  so 
doing  to  cease  from  their  plans,  and 
to  sin  no  further.  God  had  deter- 
mined to  protect  him  whom  they 
were  engaged  in  persecuting,  and,  in 
prosecuting  their  plans,  they  must 
come  into  conflict  with  His  power, 
and  be  overcome.  The  counsel,  there- 
fore, is  just  such  as  may  properly  be 
given  to  all  men  who  are  engaged  in 
executing  plans  of  evil.  %  And  sin 
not.  That  is,  by  continuing  to  prose- 
cute these  plans.  Your  course  is  one 
of  rebellion  against  Jehovah,  since  he 
has  determined  to  protect  him  whom 
you  are  endeavouring  to  drive'  from 
his  throne,  and  any  further  prosecu- 
tion of  your  schemes  must  be  regarded 
as  additional  guilt.  They  had  indeed 
sinned  by  what  they  had  already  done; 
they  would  only  sin  the  more  unless 
they  abandoned  their  undertaking. 
^[  Commune  with  your  oivn  heart. 
Heb.,  "  Speak  with  your  own  heart ;" 
that  is,  consult  your  own  heart  on  the 
subject,  and  be  guided  by  the  result  of 
such  a  deliberation.  The  language  is 
similar  to  what  we  often  use  when  we 
say,  "  Consult  your  better  judgment," 
or  "  Consult  your  feelings,"  or  "  Take 
counsel  of  your  own  good  sense ;"  as 
if  a  man  were  divided  against  himself, 
and  his  passions,  his  ambition,  or  his 
avarice,  were  contrary  to  his  own 
better  judgment.  The  word  heart 
here  is  used  in  the  sense  in  which  we 


PSALM  IV. 


37 


commune  with  your  own  heart 
upon  your  bed,  and  be  still. 
Selah. ' 

5  Offer  the  sacrifices  &  of  right- 


eousness ;  and  put  your  trust  in 
the  Lord. 

6  There  be  many  that  say,  "Who 

b  Deut.  xxxiii.  19. 


now  use  it  as  denoting  the  seat  of  the 
affections,  and  especially  of  right 
affections ;  and  the  meaning  is,  "  Do 
not  take  counsel  of,  or  be  influenced 
by,  your  head,  your  will,  your  pas- 
sions, your  evil  advisers  and  counsel- 
lors; but  consult  your  own  better 
feelings,  your  generous  emotions,  your 
sense  of  right,  and  act  accordingly/' 
Men  would  frequently  be  much  more 
likely  to  do  right  if  they  would  con- 
sult their  hearts  as  to  what  should  be 
done  than  they  are  in  following  the 
counsels  which  actually  influence 
them.  The  secret,  silent  teachings  of 
the  heart — the  heart  when  unbiassed 
and  uninfluenced  by  bad  counsellors 
— is  often  our  best  and  safest  guide. 
%  Upon  your  bed.  Admirable  advice 
to  those  who  are  engaged  in  plans  of 
wickedness.  In  the  silence  of  night ; 
in  solitary  musings  on  our  bed ;  when 
withdrawn  from  the  world,  and  from 
all  the  promptings  of  passion  and 
ambition,  and  when,  if  at  any  time, 
we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  eye  of 
God  is  upon  us,  the  mind  is  most 
likely  to  be  in  a  proper  state  to  re- 
view its  plans,  and  to  inquire  whether 
those  plans  can  be  expected  to  meet 
the  Divine  approbation.  ^  And  be 
still.  When  you  are  thus  quiet,  reflect 
on  your  doings.  For  a  most  beauti- 
ful description  of  the  effect  of  night 
and  silence  in  recalling  wicked  men 
from  their  schemes,  see  Job  xxxiii. 
14 — 17.  Comp.  Notes  on  that  pas- 
sage, ^f  Selah.  This,  as  explained 
in  the  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  2,  marks  a 
musical  pause.  The  pause  here  would 
well  accord  with  the  sense,  and  would 
most  happily  occur  after  the  allusion 
to  the  quiet  communion  on  the  bed, 
and  the  exhortation  to  be  still. 

5.  Offer  tlie  sacrifices  of  righteous- 
ness. Offer  righteous  sacrifices  ;  that 
is,  sacrifices  prompted  by  right  mo- 
tives, and  in  accordance  with  the 
prescriptions  in  the  law  of  God.   This 


appears  to  be  addressed  also  to  those 
who  in  ver.  2  are  called  "  sons  of 
men ;"  that  is,  those  who  were  arrayed 
against  the  psalmist.  According  to 
the  common  opinion  this  psalm  was 
composed  by  David  on  occasion  of  his 
being  driven  from  his  throne  and 
kingdom;  and,  of  course,  Zion,  the 
ark,  and  the  tabernacle,  were  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  The  exhorta- 
tion here  may  be,  either  that,  as  his 
enemies  were  now  in  possession  of  the 
usual  seat  of  public  worship,  they 
would  conduct  the  worship  of  God  by 
keeping  up  the  regular  dady  sacrifice  ; 
or,  more  probably,  it  means  that  in 
view  of  their  sins,  particularly  in  this 
rebellion,  and  as  the  result  of  the  calm 
reflection  to  which  he  had  exhorted 
them  in  ver.  4,  they  should  now  mani- 
fest their  repentance,  and  their  pur- 
pose to  turn  to  God,  by  presenting  to 
him  an  appropriate  sacrifice.  They 
were  sinners.  They  were  engaged  in 
an  unholy  cause.  He  exhorts  them 
to  pause,  to  reflect,  to  turn  to  God, 
and  to  bring  a  sacrifice  for  their  sins, 
that  their  guilt  might  be  blotted  out. 
%  And  put  your  trust  in  the  Loed. 
That  is,  turn  from  your  evil  ways,  and 
confide  in  God  in  all  his  arrangements, 
and  submit  to  him.  Comp.  Ps.  ii.  12. 
6.  There  be  many  that  say.  Some 
have  supposed,  as  De  Wette  and 
others,  that  the  allusion  of  the  psalmist 
here  is  to  his  own  followers,  and  that 
the  reference  is  to  their  anxious  fears 
in  their  misfortunes,  as  if  they  were 
poor  and  forsaken,  and  knew  not  from 
whence  the  supply  of  their  wants 
would  come.  The  more  probable  in- 
terpretation, however,  is  that  the 
allusion  is  to  the  general  anxiety  of 
mankind,  as  contrasted  with  the  feel- 
ings and  desires  of  the  psalmist  him- 
self in  reference  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  desire  was  to  be  gratified. 
That  is,  the  general  inquiry  among 
mankind  is,  Who  will  show  us  good  ? 


38 


PSALM  IV. 


will  show  us  any  good?  Lord, 
lift    thou   up   the   light    of    thy 


Or,  where  shall  we  obtain  that  which 
seems  to  us  to  be  good,  or  which  will 
promote  our  happiness  ?  %  Who  u-ill 
slioiv  us  any  good  ?  The  word  "  any  " 
here  is  improperly  supplied  by  the 
translators.  The  question  is  more 
emphatic  as  it  is  in  the  original — 
"  Who  will  show  us  good  V*  That  is, 
Where  shall  happiness  be  found  ?  In 
what  does  it  consist  ?  How  is  it  to 
be  obtained  ?  What  will  contribute 
to  it  ?  This  is  the  general  question 
asked  by  mankind.  The  answer  to 
this  question,  of  course,  would  be  very 
various,  and  the  psalmist  evidently 
intends  to  place  the  answer  which  he 
would  give  in  strong  contrast  with 
that  which  would  be  given  by  the 
mass  of  men.  Some  would  place  it  in 
wealth;  some  in  honour;  some  in  pa- 
laces and  pleasure  grounds ;  some  in 
gross  sensual  pleasure ;  some  in  litera- 
ture ;  and  some  in  refined  social  en- 
joyments. In  contrast  with  all  such 
views  of  the  sources  of  true  happiness, 
the  psalmist  says  that  he  regards  it 
as  consisting  in  the  favour  and  friend- 
ship of  God.  To  him  that  was  enough  ; 
and  in  this  respect  his  views  stood  in 
strong  eontrast  with  those  of  the 
world  around  him.  Tbe  connection 
here  seems  to  be  this — the  psalmist 
saw  those  persons  who  were  arrayed 
against  him  intent  on  their  own  selfish 
aims,  prosecuting  their  purposes,  re- 
gardless of  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
rights  of  other  men  ;  and  he  is  led  to 
make  the  reflection  that  this  is  the 
general  character  of  mankind.  They 
are  seeking  for  happiness;  they  are 
actively  employed  in  prosecuting  their 
own  selfish  ends  and  purposes.  They 
live  simply  to  know  how  they  shall  be 
happy,  and  they  prosecute  any  scheme 
which  would  seem  to  promise  happi- 
ness, regardless  of  the  rights  of  others 
and  the  claims  of  religion.  %  Lord, 
lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  counte- 
nance upon  us.  That  is,  in  contrast 
with  the  feelings  and  plans  of  others. 
In  the  pursuit  of  what  they  regarded 
as  good  they  were  engaged  in  purposes 


countenance  upon  us. 

7  Thou  hast  put  gladness  in 


of  gain,  of  pleasure,  or  of  ambition; 
he,  on  the  contrary,  asked  only  the 
favour  of  God — the  light  of  the 
Divine  countenance.  The  phrase,  "  to 
lift  up  the  light  of  the  countenance  " 
on  one,  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  is  expressive  of 
favour  and  friendship.  When  we  are 
angry  or  displeased,  the  face  seems 
covered  with  a  dark  cloudj  when 
pleased,  it  brightens  up  and  expresses 
benignity.  There  is  undoubtedly 
allusion  in  this  expression  to  the  sun 
as  it  rises  free  from  clouds  and  tem- 
pests, seeming  to  smile  upon  the 
world.  The  language  here  was  not 
improbably  derived  from  the  benedic- 
tion which  the  High  Priest  was  com- 
manded to  pronounce  when  he  blessed 
the  people  of  Israel  (Nam.  vi.  24 — 26), 
'"  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee ; 
the  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon 
thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee;  the 
Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon 
thee,  and  give  thee  peace/'  It  may 
be  added  here,  that  what  the  psalmist 
regarded  as  the  supreme  good — the 
favour  and  friendship  of  God — is  ex- 
pressive of  true  piety  in  all  ages  and 
at  all  times.  While  the  world  is  busy 
in  seeking  happiness  in  other  things 
— in  wealth,  pleasure,  gaiety,  ambi- 
tion, sensual  delights — the  child  of 
God  feels  that  true  happiness  is  to  be 
found  only  in  religion,  and  in  the 
service  and  friendship  of  the  Creator; 
and,  after  all  the  anxious  inquiries 
which  men  make,  and  the  various  ex- 
periments tried  in  succeeding  ages,  to 
find  the  source  of  true  happiness,  all 
who  ever  find  it  will  be  led  to  seek  it 
where  the  psalmist  said  his  happiness 
was  found— in  the  light  of  the  counte- 
nance of  God. 

7.  Thou  hast  put  gladness  in  my 
heart.  Thou  hast  made  me  happy,  to 
wit,  in  the  manner  specified  in  ver.  6. 
Many  had  sought  happiness  in  other 
things;  he  had  sought  it  in  the  favour 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  had  given 
him  a  degree  of  happiness  which  they 
had   never  found  in  the  most  pros- 


PSALM  V. 


£9 


my  heart,  more  than  in  the  time 
that  their  corn  and  their  wine 
increased. 


8  I  will c  both  lay  me  down  in 
peace,  and  sleep  :  for  thou,  Lord, 
only  makest  me  dwell  in  safety. 


c  Psa.  iii.  5 . 


perous  worldly  condition.  This  hap- 
piness had  its  seat  in  the  "  heart," 
and  not  in  any  external  circumstances. 
All  true  happiness  must  have  its  seat 
there,  for  if  the  heart  is  sad,  of  what 
avail  are  the  most  prosperous  external 
circumstances  ?  %  More  than  in  the 
time.  More  than  they  have  had  in 
the  time  referred  to;  or,  more  than 
I  should  have  in  such  circumstances. 
r  That  their  com  and  their  wine  in- 
creased. When  they  were  most  suc- 
cessful and  prosperous  in  worldly 
things.  This  shows  that  when,  in 
ver.  6,  he  says  that  many  inquired 
who  would  show  them  any  good,  what 
they  aspired  after  was  worldly  pros- 
perity, here  expressed  by  an  increase 
of  corn  and  wine.  The  word  ren- 
dered com  means  grain  in  general; 
the  word  rendered  wine — T^lTr) 
— te'rosh — means  properly  must,  new 
trine,  Isa.  Ixv.  8.  The  reference  here 
is  prohably  to  the  joy  of  harvest, 
when  the  fruits  of  the  earth  were 
gathered  in,  an  occasion  among  the 
Hebrews,  as  it  is  among  most  people, 
of  joy  and  rejoicing. 

8.  I  will  both  lai/  me  down  in  peace, 
and  sleep.  The  word  "  both "  here 
means  at  the  same  time;  that  is,  I 
will  alike  be  in  peace,  and  I  will  lie 
down  and  will  sleep  ;  I  will  have  a 
mind  at  peace  (or,  in  tranquillity) 
when  I  lie  down,  and  will  sleep 
calmly.  This  is  said  in  view  of  his 
confidence  in  God,  and  of  his  belief 
that  God  would  preserve  him.  He  had 
put  his  trust  in  him ;  he  had  sought 
his  happiness  in  him,  and  now  he 
felt  assured  that  he  had  nothing  to 
fear,  and,  at  peace  with  God,  he  would 
lie  down  and  compose  himself  to  rest. 
This  is  the  counterpart  of  what  is  said 
in  Ps.  iii.  5.  There  he  says  in  the 
morning,  that,  though  surrounded  by 
fear,  he  had  been  permitted  to  lie 
calmly  down  and  sleep  ;  here  he  says, 
that,  though  he  is  surrounded  by  fear, 


he  has  such  confidence  in  God,  that  he 
will  give  himself  to  quiet  slumber. 
His  mind  was  free  from  anxiety  as  to 
the  result  of  the  present  troubles ; 
he  had  calm  confidence  in  God  ;  he 
committed  all  to  him  ;  and  thus  gave 
himself  to  rest.  Xo  one  can  fail  to 
admire  the  heauty  of  this ;  and  iio 
one  can  fail  to  perceive  that  entire 
confidence  in  God,  and  an  assurance 
that  all  things  are  under  his  control, 
are  best  adapted  of  all  things  to  give 
peaceful  days  and  nights.  %  For 
thou,  Lord,  only  makest  me  dwell  in 
safety.  There  are  two  ideas  here : 
(«)  One  a  confidence  that  he  would 
abide  in  safety;  (b)  the  other,  that  he 
owed  this  entirely  to  the  Lord.  He 
had  no  power  to  defend  himself,  and 
yet  he  felt  assured  that  he  would  be 
safe — for  he  put  his  trust  entirely  in 
the  Lord.  The  whole  lansruagre  im- 
plies  unwavering  trust  or  confidence 
in  God,  and  is  thus  instructive  and 
useful  for  all.  It  teaches  us  (1)  that 
in  the  midst  of  troubles  we  may  put 
our  trust  in  God;  and  (2)  that  re- 
ligion is  adapted  to  make  the  mind 
calm  in  such  circumstances,  and  to 
enable  its  possessor  to  lie  down  with- 
out anxiety  in  the  slumbers  of  the 
night,  and  to  pursue  without  anxiety 
the  duties  of  the  day. 

PSALM  V. 

§  1.  Author  of  the  psalm.— Thispsaim 
also  purports  to  be  a  psalm  of  David,  and 
there  is  nothing  in  it  to  lead  us  to  doubt 
that  this  opinion  is  correct.  It  is  ascribed 
to  him  in  all  the  versions,  and  by  all 
the  ancient  Hebrew  writers,  and  the 
contents  are  such  as  we  might  expect 
from  him. 

§  2.  The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm 
was  composed  .—This  is  not  specified  in 
the  title  to  the  psalm,  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  psalm  itself  that  can  en- 
able us  to  determine  it  with  certainty; 
There  can  be  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  there  were  some  events  in 


40 


PSALM  V. 


the  life  of  David,  or  that  there  were 
some  particular  circumstances,  which 
suggested  the  thoughts  in  the  psalm,  but. 
all  those  local  and  personal  allusions  are 
suppressed,  as  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  writer's  object  to  disclose 
private  feelings,  but  to  give  utterance  to 
sentiments,  though  perhaps  suggested 
by  private  and  personal  considerations, 
which  might  be  of  permanent  use  to  the 
church  at  all  times. 

There  is  evidence  in  the  psalm  itself 
that  the  author  at  the  time  of  its  com- 
position was  beset  by  enemies,  and  that 
he  was  in  the  midst  of  peril  from  the 
designs  of  violent  men,  vers.  6,  8,  9,  10. 
"Who  those  enemies  were,  however,  he 
does  not  specify,  for  the  object  was  to 
express  sentiments  that  would  be  of  use 
to  all  who  might  be  in  similar  circum- 
stances, by  showing  what  were  the  true 
feelings  of  piety,  and  what  was  the  real 
ground  of  trust  for  the  people  of  God  at 
such  times ;  and  this  object  would  not 
have  been  furthered  by  any  specifications 
in  regard  to  the  foes  which  surrounded 
him  at  the  time. 

Flaminius  (see  Rosenmiiller)  supposes 
that  the  psalm  was  composed  in  the  time 
of  Saul,  and  in  reference  to  the  perse- 
cutions Avhich  David  experienced  then  ; 
but  most  interpreters  have  referred  it  to 
the  time  of  Absalom's  rebellion.  Most  of 
the  Jewish  writers,  according  to  Kimchi 
(see  De  "Wette),  suppose  that  it  had  re- 
ference to  Doeg  and  Ahithophel ;  but,  as 
De  "Wette  remarks,  since  they  lived  at 
different  times,  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  the  psalm  had  reference  to  them 
both.  There  is  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  the  psalm  was  composed  with 
reference  to  the  same  circumstances  as 
the  two  preceding, —that  important  event 
in  the  life  of  David  when  his  own  son 
rose  up  in  rebellion  against  him,  and 
drove  him  from  his  throne.  In  those 
prolonged  and  fearful  troubles  it  is  by 
no  means  improbable  that  the  royal 
poet  would  give  utterance  to  his  feelings 
in  more  than  one  poetic  effusion,  or  that 
some  new  phase  of  the  trouble  would 
suggest  some  new  reflections,  and  lead 
him  anew  to  seek  consolation  in  religion, 
and  to  express  his  confidence  in  God. 
The  psalm  has  a  sufficient  resemblance 
to  the  two  preceding  to  accord  with  this 
supposition,  and  it  can  be  read  with 
profit  with  those  scenes  in  view. 

§  3.  Contents  of  the  psalm.- — The 
psalm,  so  far  as  the  sentiment  is  con- 
cerned, may  be  properly  regarded  as 
divided  into  four  parts  : — 


I.  An  earnest  prayer  of  the  author  to 
God  to  hear  him; -to  attend  to  his  cry, 
and  to  deliver  him,  vers.  1 — 3.  His 
prayer  in  the  morning  he  would  direct 
to  him,  and  with  the  returning  light  of 
day  he  would  look  up  to  him.  In  his 
troubles  his  first  act  would  be  each  day 
to  call  upon  God. 

II.  An  expression  of  unwavering  con- 
fidence in  God  as  the  protector  and  the 
friend  of  the  righteous,  and  the  enemy  of 
all  wickedness,  vers.  4—7.  God,  he  was 
assured,  had  no  pleasux*e  in  wickedness ; 
would  not  suffer  evil  to  dwell  in  Ms 
presence  ;  would  abhor  all  that  was  false 
and  deceitful,  and  he  might  therefore,  in 
all  his  troubles,  put  his  trust  in  him. 
In  view  of  this  fact — this  characteristic 
of  the  Divine  nature — he  says  that  he 
would  enter  his  holy  temple,  where 
prayer  was  accustomed  to  be  made,  with 
confidence,  and  worship  with  profound 
reference,  ver.  7. 

III.  Prayer  to  God,  in  viewNof  all  this, 
for  his  guidance  and  protection  in  his 
perplexities,  vers.  8 — 10.  He  felt  him- 
self surrounded  by  dangers;  he  was  in 
perplexity  as  to  the  true  way  of  safety  ; 
his  enemies  were  powerful,  numerous, 
and  treacherous,  and  he  beseeches  God, 
therefore,  to  interpose  and  to  deliver  him 
from  them — even  by  cutting  them  off. 
He  prays  that  they  might  fall  by  their 
own  counsels,  and  that,  as  they  had  re- 
belled against  God,  they  might  be 
checked  and  punished  as  they  deserved. 

IV.  An  exhortation,  founded  on  these 
views,  for  all  to  put  their  trust  in  God, 
vers.  11,  12.  "What  he  had  found  to  be 
true,  all  others  would  find  to  be  true ; 
and  as  he  in  his  troubles  had  seen  reason 
to  put  his  trust  in  God,  and  had  not  been 
disappointed,  so  he  exhorts  all  others,  in 
similar  circumstances,  to  do  the  same. 

To  the  chief  musician.  See  Note  on 
the  title  to  Ps.  iv.  U  Upon  Nehiloth. 
The  title  of  Psalm  iv.  is,  "  upon  Ncgi- 
noth."  As  that  refers  to  a  musical 
instrument,  so  it  is  probable  that  this 
does,  and  that  the  idea  here  is  that  this 
psalm  was  intended  particularly  for  the 
music-master  that  had  special  charge  of 
this  instrument,  or  who  presided  over 
those  that  played  o*n  it.  Perhaps  the  idea 
is  that  this  psalm  was  specially  designed 
to  be  accompanied  with  this  instrument. 
The  word  here, Nehiloth—  jVi;m3,sing. 
PTyTF-, — is  supposed  by  Gesenius,  Lex., 
to  denote  a  flute,  or  pipe,  as  being  per- 
forated, from  bbn—hhalal,tobore.  The 
word  occurs  only  in  this  place.     Very 


PSALM  V. 


41 


PSALM  V. 


To  the  chief  Musician  upou  Nehiloth. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 

H IYE  ear  to  my  wo^ds.  O  Lord  ; 
^~*   consider  my  meditation. 


2  Hearken  nnto  the  voice  of 
my  cry,  my  King,  and  my  God : 
for  unto  thee  will  I  pray. 


various  opinions  have  been  entertained 
of  its  meaning.  See  Hengstenberg,  Com. 
The  Latin  Vulgate  and  the  Septuagint 
understand  it  as  meaning  inheritance — 
the  same  as  Ttbll2 — nahhalah,  and  as 
being  somehow  designed  to  refer  to  the 
people  of  God  as  a  heritage.  Lat.  Yulg. 
In  tinem  pro  ea,  qua?  hereditatem  con- 
sequitur,  psalmus  David.  So  the  Sep- 
tuagint—  vnep  r»}5  KArjpovo/j.oucnj5.  So 
Luther,  Fur  das  Erbe.  What  was  the 
precise  idea  affixed  to  this  it  is  not  very 
easy  to  determine.  Luther  explains  it, 
"  according  to  the  title,  this  is  the  general 
idea  of  the  psalm,  that  the  author  prays 
for  the  inheritance  or  heritage  of  God, 
desiring  that  the  people  of  God  may  be 
faithful  to  him,  and  may  always  adhere 
to  him."  The  true  interpretation,  how- 
ever, is  evidently  to  regard  this  as  an 
instrument  of  music,  and  to  consider  the 
psalm  as  adapted  to  be  sung  with  the 
instrument  of  music  specified.  Why  it 
was  adapted  particularly  to  that  instru- 
ment of  music  cannot  now  be  determined. 
Horsley  renders  it  "  upon  the  flutes." 
Comp.  Ugolin.  Thesau.  Ant.  Sac.  ;  torn, 
xxxii.  pp.  158—170.  H  A  Fsalm  of 
David.    See  introd.  to  Ps.  iii. 

1.  Give  ear  to  my  icords,  0  Loed. 
We  naturally  incline  the  ear  towards 
any  one  when  we  wish  to  hear  dis- 
tinctly what  he  says,  and  we  turn 
away  the  ear  when  we  do  not.  The 
meaning  here  is,  David  prayed  that 
God  would  be  attentive  to  or  would 
regard  his  prayer.  This  form  of  the 
petition  is,  that  he  would  attend  to 
his  icords — to  what  he  was  about  to 
express  as  his  desire.  He  intended 
to  express  only  what  he  wished  to  be 
granted,  ^f  Consider  my  meditation. 
Understand;. perceive;  for  so  the  word 
rendered  consider  properly  means.  He 
desired  that  he  would  regard  the 
real  import  of  what  is  here  called  his 
meditation  ;  that  is,  he  wished  him 
not  merely  to  attend  to  his  words, 
hut  to  the  secret  and  unexpressed 
desires  of  the  soul.  The  idea  seems 
to  be  that  while  his  words  would  be 


sincere  and  truthful,  -yet  they  could 
not  express  all  his  meaning.  There 
were  desires  of  the  soul  which  no 
language  could  convey — deep,  un- 
uttered  "  groanings "  (comp.  Kom. 
viii.  26,  27),  which  could  not  be 
uttered  in  language.  There  is  a  dif- 
ference, however,  in  rendering  the 
word  translated  meditation.  Most 
interpreters  regard  it  as  derived  from 
n^i7,  ha gali,  to  meditate  (see  Notes 
on  Ps.  i.  2), — and  as  thus  denoting 
thought,  or  meditation.  Gesenius  and 
some  others  regard  it  as  derived  from 
;Qn.  hagag,  obsolete  root, — meaning 
to  set  on  fire,  to  kindle ;  and  hence, 
that  it  means  here  heat,  fervour  of  the 
mind ;  and  then,  fervent  cry,  or 
prayer.  See  Rosenmiiller  also  in  loc. 
De  Wette  concurs  with  Gesenius,  and 
supposes  that  it  should  be  rendered 
sigh  or  complaint.  Prof.  Alexander 
renders  it  thought.  Horsley  renders 
it  "  my  sighing,"  but  says  he  is  in 
doubt  whether  it  refers  to  an  "  inter- 
nal desire  of  the  mind,"  in  opposition 
to  icords  in  the  former  part  of  the 
verse,  or  to  a  "prayer  uttered  sotto 
voce,  like  the  private  prayer  usually 
said  by  every  person  before  he  takes  his 
seat  in  the  church" — the  "  internal 
motion  of  the  mind  towards  God." 
It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  true 
meaning,  but  the  probability  is  that 
it  refers  to  an  internal  emotion — a 
fervent,  ardent  feeling — perhaps  find- 
ing partial  expression  in  sighs  (Kom. 
viii.  26),  but  which  does  not  find  ex- 
pression in  words,  and  which  words 
could  not  convey.  He  prayed  that 
God  would  attend  to  the  whole  desires 
of  the  soul — whether  expressed  or 
unexpressed. 

2.  Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  my 
cry.  My  cry  for  assistance.  The 
word  voice  refers  to  the  utterance  of 
his  desires,  or  to  his  expressed  wishes 
in  a  time  of  trouble.  %  My  King, 
and  my  God.     Though  he  was  him- 


42 


PSALM  V. 


o  My  voice  shalt  thou  hear  in 
the  morning,    O   Lord  ;  in  the 


self  a  king,  yet  he  acknowledged  his 
suhjection  to  God  as  his  supreme 
Ruler,  and  looked  up  to  Him  to  pro- 
tect him  in  histlangers,  and  to  restore 
him  to  his  rights.  He  was,  at  the 
same  time,  his  God — his  covenant 
God — to  whom  he  felt  that  he  was 
permitt-id  to  come  in  the  hour  of 
trouble,  and  whose  hlessing  he  was 
permitted  to  invoke.  ^f  For  unto 
thee  will  I  pray.  He  had  no  one 
else*  to  go  to  in  his  troubles,  and  he 
felt  that  he  might  approach  the  living 
God.  It  was  his  fixed  purpose — his 
regular  habit — to  pray  to  him,  and  to 
seek  his  favour  and  friendship,  and  he 
felt  that  he  was  permitted  to  doso  now. 
3.  My  voice  shall  thou  hear  in  the 
morning,  O  Lord.  The  voice  of 
prayer.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  5. 
Probably  he  refers  here  to  a  general 
habit  of  praying  in  the  morning, 
though  he  makes  a  particular  refer- 
ence to  his  circumstances  at  that  time. 
Comp.  Ps.  lv.  17.  The  psalmist  felt, 
doubtless,  that  while  it  was  a  general 
duty  and  privilege  to  call  upon  God, 
with  the  return  of  each  morning, 
there  was  a  special  reason  for  it  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  then 
was.  See  the  introduction  to  the 
psalm.  He  was  then  surrounded  by 
enemies,  and  was  in  danger,  and  it 
was  only  in  God  that  he  could  hope 
for  protection  even  for  a  single  day. 
The  propriety  of  looking  to  God  in 
the  morning  by  prayer  commends 
itself  to  any  reflecting  mind.  Who 
knows  what  a  day  may  bring  forth  ? 
Who  knows  what  temptations  may 
await  him  ?  WTho  can  protect  himself 
from  the  dangers  which  may  encom- 
pass him  ?  Who  can  enable  us  to 
discharge  the  duties  which  are  incum- 
bent on  us  every  day  ?  Feeble,  help- 
less, sinful,  prone  to  err,  in  a  world  of 
temptation,  and  surrounded  by  dan- 
gers alike  when  we  see  them  and  when 
we  do  not,  there  is  an  obvious  fitness 
in  looking  to  God  each  morning  for 
his  guidance  and  protection;  and  the 
resolution  of  the  psalmist  here  should 


morning  will  I  direct  my  prayer 
unto  thee,  and  will  look  up. 


vice- 
to  the  great  God 


be  the  firm  purpose  of  every  man. 
^[  In  the  morning.  Regularly ;  each 
morning,  ^f  Will  I  direct  my  prayer 
unto  thee.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  set  in 
order.  The  word  here  used — Tpy, 
arach — means  properly  to  place  in  a 
row,  to  put  in  order,  to  arrange,  e.g., 
to  place  wood  upon  the  altar  (Gen. 
xxii.  9;  Lev.  i.  7);  to  arrange  the 
showbread  on  the  table  (Ex.  xl.  23; 
Lev.  xxiv.  6,  8).  There  is,  not  im- 
probably, an  allusion  to  these  customs 
in  the  use  of  the  word  here ;  and  the 
meaning  may  be,  that  his  prayer 
would  be  a  regularly  arranged  service 
before  God.  It  would  be  a  kind  of 
morning  sacrifice,  and  it  would  be 
arranged  and  performed  with  a  suit- 
able regard  to  the  nature  of  the  ser- 
the  fact  that  it  was  rendered 
There  would  be  a 
devout  regard  to  propriety — a  serious 
and  solemn  attention  to  the  duties 
involved  in  the  act  as  the  worship  of 
a  holy  God.  Prayer  should  not  be 
rash ;  it  should  not  be  performed 
negligently  or  with  a  light  spirit ;  it 
should  engage  the  profound  thought 
of  the  soul,  and  it  shoujd  be  performed 
with  the  same  serious  regard  to  time 
and  to  propriety  which  was  demanded 
in  the  solemn  and  carefully  prescribed 
rites  of  the  ancient  temple-service. 
^  And  ivill  look  tip.  The  word  here 
used — nD"2,  tzaphah — means,  pro- 
perly, to  look  about,  to  view  from  a 
distance.  In  Isa.  xxi.  5,  it  refers  to 
a  tower  which  has  a  wide  prospect. 
Comp.  Cant.  vii.  4.  The  idea  here  is 
properly  that  he  would  watch,  nar- 
rowly and  carefully  (as  one  does  who 
is  stationed  on  a  tower),  for  some 
token  of  Divine  favour — for  some 
answer  to  his  prayer — for  some  Divine 
interposition — for  some  intimation  of 
the  Divine  will.  This  is,  perhaps, 
equivalent  to  the  Saviour's  repeated 
command  to  "  watch  and  pray."  The 
notion  of  looking  up  is  not  necessarily 
in  the  word  here  used,  but  it  indicates 
the  state  of  mind  wheiv  there  is  deep 


PSALM  V. 


4  d  For  thou  art  not  a  God  that 
hatli  pleasure  in  wickedness; 
neither  shall  evil  dwell  with  thee. 

5  The  foolish  shall  not  stand  3 

and  careful  solicitude  as  to  the  answer 
to  prayer. 

4.  For  thou  art  not  a  God  that 
hath   pleasure    in    wickedness.     The 

psalmist  here  refers  to  a  well-known 
and  well-understood  characteristic  of 
the  Divine  Being-,  that  he  was  holy 
and  pure,  and  that  he  could  not  have 
any  pleasure  in  furthering  the  designs 
of  wicked  men.  This  is  said  with  re- 
ference to  his  enemies,  who  were  thus 
wicked ;  and  the  idea  is  that  God 
would  not,  and  could  not,  consistently 
with  his  nature,  further  their  designs. 
This  is  the  ground  of  encouragement 
which  he  had  to  pray — that  he  was 
conscious  that  his  own  aims  were 
right,  and  that  his  cause  was  justr  and 
that  God  could  not  favour  the  cause 
of  the  ungodly.  This  is  still,  and 
always  will  be,  a  ground  of  encou- 
ragement in  prayer.  If  we  know 
that  our  cause  is  right,  we  may  look 
to  God  to  favour  it ;  if  a  cause  is 
wrong,  we  cannot  look  to  him  to  in- 
terpose to  advance  it.  Good  men, 
therefore,  pray  ;  wicked  men  do  not. 
*"  Neither  shall  evil  dwell  with  thee. 
The  same  idea  is  here  expressed  in 
another  form.  If  God  should  show 
favour  to  the  wicked,  it  would  seem 
:  he  admitted  them  to  his  habita- 
tion, as  we  do  our  friends  and  those 
in  whom  we  delight.  But  as  God 
would  not  do  this,  the  psalmist  feels 
that  it  was  proper  for  him  to  call  upon 
Him  to  deliver  him  from  wicked  men. 

5.  The  foolish.  Referring  still  to 
his  enemies,  as  having  this  character, 
and  urging  the  fact  that  they  had 
such  a  character  as  a  reason  why  God 
should  hear  him,  and  deliver  him. 
The  word  foolish  here,  D^^blTl  hole- 
Urn,  is  used  to  denote  the  wicked, 
under  the  common  idea  in  the  Scrip- 
tures that  sin  is  folly.  Comp.  Ps.  xiv. 
1.  It  is  rendered  by  Professor  Alex- 
ander, the  proud  or  insolent.  The 
Chaldee    renders    it    deriders ;    La:. 


i:3 
all 


in   thy    sight  :    thou   hatest 
workers  of  iniquity. 

6  Thou  shalt  destroy  them  that 

</  Hab.  i.  13.  *  Or,  before  thine  eyes. 

Vulg.  unjust;  Sept.  transgressors ; 
Gesenius,  Lex.,  proud.  So  L)e  Wette. 
The  common  idea,  however,  is  the 
correct  one,  referring  to  the  wicked 
under  the  idea  that  they  were  fools, 
as  all  sin  is  supreme  folly.  r.  Shall 
not  stand  in  thy  sight.  Shall  not  be 
allowed  to  be  in  thy  presence  ;  that 
is,  thou  wilt  not  approve  their  cause, 
or  favour  them.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  5. 
Tf  Thou  hatest  all  icorJcers  of  iniquity. 
All  that  do  wrong.  He  refers  here, 
also,  to  a  general  characteristic  of 
God,  but  still  with  an  implied  and 
immediate  reference  to  his  enemies  as 
sustaining  this  character,  and  as  a 
reason  why  he  appealed  to  God  to 
defend  his  cause.  Nothing  is  more 
constantly  affirmed  in  the  Scriptures 
than  that  God  hates  all  forms  of  evil. 
6.  Thou  shalt  destroy.  Thou  wilt 
bring  to  ruin ;  thou  wilt  cause  to 
perish ;  that  is,  cause  to  perish  as 
the  wicked  are  caused  to  perish,  by 
being  punished.  The  idea  is  that 
God  could  not  approve  their  cause; 
could  not  favour  them ;  could  not 
give  them  prosperity,  and  that  they 
must  be  overthrown  and  punished. 
As  in  the  previous  verses,  so  here, 
David  refers  to  this  as  a  general 
characteristic  of  God,  hut  with  an 
implied  reference  to  his  enemies. 
*~  Them  that  speak  leasing.  Lies; 
the  word  leasing  being  the  old  Saxon 
word  to  denote  falsehood.  Ste  Ps. 
iv.  2.  It  is  not  found  elsewhere  in 
our  common  version.  The  allusion 
here  is  to  his  enemies,  and  the  idea  is 
that  they  were  false  and  treacherous; 
a  description  which  will  weli  apply  to 
them  on  the  supposition  that  this 
refers  to  the  rebellion  of  Absalom. 
See  the  introduction  to  the  psalm. 
*~  The  Loed  will  abhor.  Will  hate; 
will  hold  in  abomination.  That  is, 
he  will  show  his  abhorrence  by  punish- 
ing such  as  are  here  referred  to. 
*~  The  bloody  and  deceitful  man.  The 


44 


PSALM  V. 


speak  leasing  :  the  Lord  -will 
abhor  the  l  bloody  and  deceitful 
man. 

7  But  as  for  me,  I  will  come 

1      an  of  bloods  and  deceit. 


into  thy  house  in  the  multitude 
of  thy  mercy  ;  and  in  thy  fear  will 
I  worship  toward  2  thy  holy  tem- 
ple. 

9  the  temple  of  thy  holiness. 


man  of  blood  and  fraud  ;  the  man  who 
sheds  blood,  and  is  guilty  of  treachery 
and  fraud.  Marg.,  man  of  bloods  and 
deceit.  The  "man  of  bloods;'— "the 
plural  form  being  commonly  used 
where  there  is  reference  to  blood- 
guiltiness  or  murder." — Prof.  Alex- 
ander. See  Gen.  iv.  10;  Ps.  li.  14.  The 
idea  seems  to  be  that  of  shedding:  much 
blood.  The  reference  here,  as  before, 
is  to  a  general  characteristic  of  the 
Divine  mind,  with  a  special  reference 
to  the  character  of  David's  enemies, 
as  being  distinguished  for  fraud  and 
blood-guiltiness.  On  the  supposition 
(see  introduction)  that  this  refers  to 
the  rebellion  of  Absalom,  there  can  be 
no  difficulty  in  seeing  the  propriety  of 
the  application.  It  was  on  these 
grounds  that  the  psalmist  directed 
his  prayer  to  God.  He  was  confident 
that  his  was  a  righteous  cause;  he 
was  as  sure  that  his  enemies  were  en- 
gaged in  a  wicked  cause  ;  and  he  felt, 
therefore,  that  he  might  go  before 
God  and  seek  his  interposition,  with 
the  assurance  that  all  his  attributes, 
as  a  righteous  and  holy  God,  would 
be  enlisted  in  his  favour.  God  has  no 
attribute  which  can  take  part  with  a 
sinner,  or  on  which  a  sinner  can  rely  ; 
the  righteous  can  appeal  to  every  attri- 
bute in  the  Divine  nature  as  a  ground 
of  confidence  and  hope. 

7.  But  as  for  me.  While  it  is  their 
characteristic  that  they  are  wicked, 
and  have  no  desire  to  serve  God ;  and 
while  with  such  characteristics  they 
can  have  no  hope  of  access  to  God, 
and  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  will 
hear  their  cry,  I  am  inclined  to  enter 
his  house,  and  I  feel  the  assurance 
that  he  will  listen  to  my  prayer.  In 
character  and  in  feelings  he  was 
wholly  unlike  them.  *H  I  will  come 
into  thy  house.  Indicating  his  expec- 
tation and  his  hope  that  he  would  yet 
be  permitted  to  enter  the  courts  of 


the  Lord,  from  which  he  was  now 
driven  away  (see  the  introduction  to 
the  psalm),  and  his  purpose  thus  to 
acknowledge  God.  The  word  house 
here  refers  to  the  tabernacle,  which 
was  regarded  as  the  house  or  dwelling 
place  of  God.  The  word  was  applied 
to  the  entire  structure,  embracing 
all  the  courts,  as  being  sacred  to  God, 
as  the  word  was  subsequently  to  the 
whole  of  the  temple.  It  was  the  Holy 
of  Holies,  however,  which  was  re- 
garded as  the  peculiar  dwelling-place 
of  God,  and  that  none  were  permitted 
to  enter  but  the  high  priest,  and  he 
but  once  in  the  vear.  (See  Notes  on 
Heb.  ix.  1-7).  v  I;/  the  multitude  of 
thy  mercy:  In  thine  abundant  mercy. 
He  expected  to  be  delivered  from  his 
present  troubles,  and  he  felt  assured 
that  God  would  permit  him  again  to 
enter  his  earthly  courts,  and  to  offer 
his  vows  and  thanksgivings  there. 
■~  And  in  thy  fear.  In  profound  reve- 
rence for  thee.  Fear,  or  reverence,  is 
often  employed  to  denote  devotion  or 
worship.  11  Will  I  icorship  toicard 
thy  holy  temple.  The  worshippers 
were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  tem- 
ple, but  worshipped  toicards  it ;  that 
is,  looking  towards  it.  or  prostrating 
themselves  towards  it  as  the  peculiar 
dwelling-place  of  God.  If  they  were 
in  the  courts  around  the  temple,  they 
worshipped  with  their  faces  towards 
the  place  where  God  was  supposed  to 
reside  ;  if  thev  were  far  away,  even  in 
distant  lands,  they  still  directed  their 
faces  towards  Jerusalem  and  the  tem- 
ple, as  the  Mohammedans  now  do  to- 
wards Mecca.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vi. 
10.  It  has  been  objected,  from  the 
use  of  the  word  temple  here,  that  this 
psalm  could  not  have  been  written  by 
David,  as  the  temple  was  not  built 
until  the  time  of  Solomon.  But  in 
reply  to  this  it  may  be  observed  that 
the  word  here  used — ^D*rT>  haikal — 


PSALM  V. 


45 


8  Lead  me,  0  Lord,  in  thy 
righteousness  because  of  imine 
enemies  ;  make  thy  way  straight 
before  my  face. 

9  For  there  is  no  2  faithfulness 

1  those  which  observe  me,  Fsa.  xxvii.  11. 


in  3  their  mouth ;  their  inward 
part  is  4  very  wickedness ;  their 
throat  is  an  open  sepulchre ;  they 
natter  with  their  tongue. 

3  Or,  steadfastness.         3  his,  i.e.,  in  the  mouth 
of  any  of  them.        *  wickednesses. 


is  a  word  of  large  signification,  and 
might  be  applied  to  any  place  of  wor- 
ship. It  means,  properly,  a  large  and 
magnificent  building,  a  palace,  Prov. 
xxx.  28;  Isa.  xxxix.  7;  Dan.  i.  4; 
and  then,  the  place  where  Jehovah 
was  supposed  to  reside,  or  the  place 
of  his  worship ;  and  might  be  applied 
to  the  tabernacle  as  well  as  to  the 
temple.  In  fact,  it  is  often  applied  to 
the  tabernacle  that  was  in  use  before 
the  building  of  the  temple,  1  Sam.  i. 
9;  iii.  3;  2  Sam.  xxii.  7.  Comp. 
Gesenius,  Lex. 

8.  Lead  me,  O  Lord,  in  thy  righ- 
teousness. That  is,  conduct  me  safely 
in  the  manifestation  of  the  principles 
of  justice  or  righteousness  which  be- 
long to  thy  nature.  David  felt  assured 
that  his  was  a  righteous  cause,  and 
that  he  might  make  his  appeal  to  God 
on  the  ground  of  the  justness  of  that 
cause.  Such  a  ground  of  appeal  is 
always  proper  when  we  are  in  danger 
or  in  trouble  from  the  injustice  of 
others,  for  we  may  always  ask  of  God 
to  interpose,  and  to  cause  that  which 
is  right  to  be  done.  ^[  Because  of 
mine  enemies.  On  account  of  my 
enemies,  or  in  respect  to  them ;  that 
is,  that  they  may  not  triumph,  but 
that  I  may  be  vindicated  and  may  be 
delivered  from  them.  %  Make  thy 
ivay  straight  before  my  face.  The 
way  in  which  thou  wouldst  have  me 
to  walk.  That  is,  mark  out  or  make 
plain  before  me  the  path  for  me  to 
tread — the  path  in  which  thou  wilt 
deliver  me.  He  was  in  perplexity, 
and  knew  not  which  way  to  go,  and 
he  looks  up  to  God  for  guidance  and 
direction. 

9.  For  there  is  no  faithfulness  in 
their  mouth.  There  is  nothing  in 
them  which  can  be  confided  in ;  no- 
thing in  their  promises  and  declara- 
tions.  They  are  false  and  treacherous, 


and  I  can,  therefore,  only  appeal  to 
thee.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  propriety 
of  this  statement,  and  of  those  which 
follow,  on  the  supposition  that  this 
refers  to  the  rebellion  of  Absalom. 
Absalom  had  gone  to  Hebron  on  a 
false  pretence  (2  Sam.  xv.  7 — 10),  and 
every  act  of  his  in  this  whole  transac- 
tion had  been  treacherous  and  false. 
^  Their  inward  part.  Not  only  their 
external  conduct,  but  their  hearts, 
their  principles,  their  motives.  This 
was  fairly  to  be  inferred  from  their 
conduct.  The  object  of  the  psalmist 
is  to  show  that  they  were  wholly  de- 
praved in  all  that  properly  constitutes 
character  or  that  entered  into  moral 
conduct.  ^[  Their  throat  is  an  open 
sepulchre.  That  is,  as  the  grave  is 
open  to  receive  its  victim,  so  is  their 
throat  open  to  devour  or  swallow  up 
the  peace  and  happiness  of  others.  The 
main  idea  is  that  they  are  false,  trea- 
cherous, not  to  be  confided  in,  slan- 
derous. This  passage,  with  the  fol- 
lowing, is  employed  by  the  apostle 
Paul  to  demonstrate  the  universal  de- 
pravity of  man.  See  Notes  on  Rom. 
iii.  13.  ^[  They  flatter  with  their 
tongue.  He  had  referred  to  the  "  in- 
ward part/'  or  the  heart,  and  to  the 
throat  as  being  depraved  and  evil;  he 
now  refers  to  another  member  of  the 
body  as  being  equally  depraved — the 
tongue.  Instead  of  being  employed 
to  utter  truth,  and  to  give  expression 
to  the  real  feelings  of  the  heart,  it 
was  employed  to  flatter  others,  with 
a  view  to  lead  them  astray,  or  to 
make  use  of  them  for  base  and  selfish 
purposes.  The  propriety  of  this  re- 
presentation as  applicable  to  Absalom 
and  his  coadjutors  no  one  can  fail  to 
see  (comp.  2  Sam.  xv.  1 — 6).  It  is 
also  to  an  eminent  degree  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  wicked  in  general.  On 
this,  also,  see  Notes  on  Rom.  iii.  13, 


46 


PSALM  V. 


10  destroy  thou  them,  O  God ; 
let  them  fall  -by  their  own  coun- 
sels ;  cast  them  out  in  the  niulti- 

1  Make  them  guilty.     2  Or,  from  their  counsels. 


tnde  of  their  transgressions  ;  for 
they  have  rebelled  against  thee. 
11  e  But  let  all  those  that  put 

e  Is  i.  Ixv.  13—16. 


10.  Destroy  thou  them,  O  God. 
The  word  here  rendered  destroy  is 
translated  by  Prof.  Alexander  "  con- 
demn"— li  condemn  them  ;  literally, 
make  them  guilty ;  that  is,  recognise 
and  treat  them  as  such."  The  He- 
brew word  ElD'X,  asham,  means  to 
fail  in  duty,  to  transgress,  to  be  guilty; 
in  Hiph.,  the  form  used  here,  accord- 
ing to  Gesenius,  to  "  punish ;  and 
hence  to  destroy,"  {Lex.)  The  idea 
in  the  mind  of  the  psalmist  seems 
to  have  been  that  he  desired,  since 
they  were  undoubtedly  guilty,  that 
God  would  regard  and  treat  them  as 
such.  It  is  not  that  he  wished  that 
God  would  make  them  guilty  ;  or  that, 
in  itself  considered,  he  desired  that 
they  should  be  found  to  be  so,  or  that, 
in  itself  considered,  he  wished  them 
to  be  punished  or  cut  off;  but  it  is 
that,  as  they  were  guilty,  and  as  they 
were  pursuing  a  course  which  tended 
to  overthrow  the  government  of  the 
land,  and  as  they  were  at  war  with 
God  and  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
people,  God  would  interpose  and  stay 
their  progress, — that  he  would  show 
himself  to  be  a  righteous  and  just 
God.  There  is  no  evidence  of  any 
private  malignity  in  this  prayer,  or 
of  any  spirit  of  private  revenge.  It 
is  a  prayer  which  corresponds  with 
all  the  efforts,  and  consequently  with 
all  the  wishes  of  every  good  man,  that 
the  violators  of  law  may  be  arrested 
and  punished.  In  this,  assuredly, 
there  is  no  wrong.  %  Let  them  fall 
by  their  own  counsels.  So  as  to  show 
that  they  brought  this  judgment 
upon  themselves.  The  wish  is,  that 
their  plans,  which  were  evil,  might 
come  to  nought,  and  tend  to  their  own 
overthrow.  That  is,  the  psalmist  did 
not  wish  to  imbrue  his  hands  in  their 
blood,  or  to  be  made  the  agent  in  their 
destruction;  but  he  desired  that  God 
would  himself  interpose,  so  that  their 
own  plans  might  be  made  the  means 


of  quelling  the  rebellion.  If  men  are 
so  wicked  that  they  must  perish,  it  is 
desirable  that  it  should  be  seen  that 
they  perish  by  their  own  guilt  and 
folly.  %  Cast  them  out.  Expel  them; 
drive  them  away ;  let  them  not  be 
successful  in  taking  possession  of  the 
throne,  and  in  overturning  the  govern- 
ment. ^|  In  the  multitude  of  their 
transgressions.  In  the  abundance  of 
their  sins,  or  as  a  consequence  of  the 
number  and  the  aggravation  of  their 
offences.  The  design  of  the  psalmist 
is  to  fix  the  attention  on  the  great 
number  of  their  sins  as  a  reason  why 
they  should  not  be  successful.  Such 
a  prayer  is  not  wrong,  for  it  would 
not  be  right  to  pray  that  sinners  in 
the  abundance  of  their  sins,  or  in  eon- 
sequence  of  the  multitude  of  their 
sins,  should  be  successful  and  pros- 
perous. The  fact  that  they  are  such 
sinners  is,  under  a  righteous  adminis- 
tration, a  reason  why  they  should  not 
be  successful,  not  why  they  should  be. 
%  For  they  have  rebelled  against  thee. 
This  is  given  as  a  reason  why  the 
psalmist  prayed  that  they  should  be 
cut  off.  It  was  not  that  they  had 
wronged  him;  it  was  because  they 
had  rebelled  against  God ;  and  it  was 
right,  therefore,  to  hope  and  to  pray 
that  he  would  interpose  and  vindicate 
his  government  and  law.  There  is  no 
spirit  of  private  revenue  manifested 
here,  and  nothing  said  that  would  en- 
courage or  foster  such  a  spirit.  All 
that  is  said  here  is  but  carrying  out 
what  every  magistrate  must  feel  who 
executes  the  laws,  and  is  what  he  en- 
deavours himself  to  do ;  for  it  is  de- 
sirable that  the  wicked — the  violators 
of  the  law — the  enemies  of  their  coun- 
try— should  be  arrested  and  prose- 
cuted. See  General  Introduction,  S  6. 
11.  But  let  all  those  that  put  their 
trust  in  thee  rejoice.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  ii.12.  That  is,  they  have  occasion  to 
rejoice  in  thee  and  in  thy  protection. 


PSALM  VI. 


■17 


their  trust  in  tliee  rejoice ;  let 
them  ever  shout  for  joy,  because 
thou  l  def  endest  them  :  let  them 
also  that  love  thy  name  be  joyful 
in  thee. 


The  wicked  have  everything1  to  dread, 
for  they  must  be  cut  off;  but  the 
righteous  have  every  reason  to  be 
happy,  for  they  shall  partake  of  the 
favour  of  God.  This  is,  at  the  same 
time,  the  earnest  expression  of  a  de- 
sire that  they  might  rejoice,  and  that 
the  dealings  of  God  with  them  might 
be  such  that  they  would  ever  have 
occasion  for  joy.  1[  Let  them  even 
shout  f 07'  joy.  Internal  joy  or  happi- 
ness is  often  expressed  by  shouting, 
or  singing,  as  the  word  here  used  fre- 
quently signifies.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  should  give  every  proper 
expression  to  their  feeling  of  joy.  This 
may  bS"  done  by  singing,  or  by  grate- 
ful ascriptions  of  praise  and  gratitude. 
^[  Because  thou  defendest  them.  While 
the  wicked  are  cut  off  (ver.  10).  The 
psalmist,  in  this  expression,  doubtless 
had  a  primary  reference  to  himself, 
and  to  those  who  adhered  to  him  in 
his  righteous  cause;  but,  as  is  com- 
mon in  the  Psalms,  he  gives  to  the 
sentiment  a  general  form,  that  it 
might  be  useful  to  all  who  fear  and 
love  God.  *[[  Let  them  also  that  love 
thy  name.  That  love  thee — the  name 
being  often  put  for  the  person.  This 
is  but  another  form  of  designating  the 
righteous,  for  it  is  one  of  their  cha- 
racteristics that  they  love  the  name 
of  God.  ^[  Be  joyful  in  thee.  Rejoice' 
in  thee — in  thine  existence,  thy  per- 
fections, thy  government,  thy  law,  thy 
dealings, thy  service; — in  all  that  thou 
hast  revealed  of  thyself,  and  in  all  that 
thou  doest^Comp.  Notes  on  Phil.  iii. 
1;  iv.  4.  It  is  one  of  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  truly  pious  that  they  do 
find  their  happiness  in  God.  They 
rejoice  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that 
he  is  just  such  a  being  as  he  is ;  and 
they  take  delight  in  contemplating 
his  perfections,  in  the  evidences  of  his 
favour  and  friendship,  in  communion 
with  him,  in  doing  his  will. 


12  For  thou,  Lord,  wilt  bless 
the  righteous ;  with  favour  wilt 
thou  compass  him  as  with  a 
shield. 

1  coverest  over,  or,  proteclest. 

12.  For  thou,  Lord,  xoilt  bless  the 
righteous.  It  is  one  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  God  that,  while  he  will 
punish  the  wicked,  he  will  show  fa- 
vour to  the  righteous  ;  while  he  brings 
deserved  punishment  upon  the  one,  he 
will  show  his  favour  to  the  other. 
^[  With  favour  wilt  thou  compass  him 
as  with  a  shield.  That  is,  as  a  shield 
is  thrown  round  or  before  one  in  the 
day  of  battle  to  protect  him,  so  wilt 
thou  throw  thy  protection  around  the 
righteous.  For  a  description  of  a 
shield,  see  Notes  on  Eph.  vi.  16. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  3.  On  these 
accounts,  David  felt  that  he  might 
trust  in  God  in  the  day  of  trouble 
and  danger;  and,  on  the  same  ac- 
count, all  who  are  righteous  may  put 
their  trust  in  him  now. 

PSALM  VI. 

§  1.  Title  of  the  psalm.— This  psalm 
is  inscribed  "  To  the  chief  Musician  on 
Neginoth  upon  Sheminith."  On  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase  "  Chief  Musician 
on  Neginoth,"  see  Notes  on  the  title  to 
Ps.  iv.  The  phrase  "upon  Sheminith" 
occurs  here  for  the  first  time,  and  modi- 
fies the  meaning  .of  the  title.  The  word 
Sheminith — IV  3"*??^? — means  properly 
the  eighth,  and  corresponds  exactly  to 
our  word  octave,  the  eighth.  It  means  in 
modern  music  an  interval  of  seven  degrees, 
or  twelve  semitones.  It  contains  fi  ve  full 
tones,  and  two  semitones.  Itis  supposed  by 
Gesenius  {Lex.)  here  to  denote  "  the  lowest 
and  gravest  notes  of  the  scale,  sung  by 
men,  the  modern  bass  or  basso."  The 
word  occurs,  in  the  musical  use,  in 
1  Chron.  xv.  21,  in  enumerating  various 
names  of  musicians,  "  Mattithiah,  and 
Elipheleh,  etc.,  with  harps  on  the  Shemi- 
nith to  excel ;"  marg.,  "  or  eighth."  It  is 
also  found  hi  the  title  to  Ps.  xii.  It  does 
not  elsewhere  occur  in  reference  to  music 
in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  probably  not 
possible  now  to  ascertain  the  precise 
moaning  of  the  word  as  applicable  to 
ancient  music,  and  it  is  not  important. 
The  phrase   "upon  the  octave"  would 


48 


PSALM  VI. 


properly  be  the  true  rendering  of  it ;  and 
this  was  doubtless  quite  intelligible  at 
the  time.  It  would  be  difficult  to  ex- 
plain many  of  the  musical  terms  now  in 
use,  after  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  thou- 
sand years.  If  the  term,  however,  was 
used,  as  is  supposed  by  Gesenius,  to 
denote  the  bass,  its  meaning  is  not  diffi- 
cult. It  would  then  mean  that  the 
psalm  was  designed  to  be  sung,  accom- 
panied with  the  instruments  designated  by 
Xeginoth,  and  with  the  voices  appropri- 
ate to  this  octave—  the  bass  voices.  The 
usual  bass  voice  might  be  supposed  to  be 
adapted  to  the  sentiment  in  the  psalm. 

$  2.  The  author  of  the  psalm.— The 
psalm  purports  to  have  been  written  by 
David,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm  to  lead  us  to  doubt  the  truth  of 
this  representation.  It  may  be  assumed, 
therefore,  to  be  his. 

$  3.  The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm 
was  written. — In  the  running  title  in 
the  English  version  this  psalm  is  called 
"David's  complaint  in  his  sickness." 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  these 
running  titles  were  prefixed  by  the 
translators,  and  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  Hebrew  that  corresponds  with 
this.  Still,  this  has  been  a  very  prevail- 
ing tradition  as  to  the  occasion  on  which 
this  psalm  was  composed.  Bishop  Hors- 
ley  prefixes  this  title  to  it: — "A  peni- 
tential prayer  in  the  character  of  a  sick 
person,"  and  in  the  exposition  of  this 
psalm  supposes  that  the  suppliant  is  a 
mystical  personage,  and  that  the  object 
is  to  represent  the  feelings  of  a  penitent 
under  the  image  of  such  a  personage,  or 
that  "the  sick  person  is  the  believer's 
soul  labouring  under  «a  sense  of  its  in- 
firmities and  anxiously  expecting  the 
promised  redemption ;  the  sickness  is 
the  depravity  and  disorder  occasioned  by 
the  fall  of  man."  Luther  entitles  it 
"  A  penitential  prayer  (Bussgebct),  for 
the  health  of  the  bod}'  and  the  soul." 
De  "Wette  regards  it  as  the  prayer  of  one 
oppressed  or  in  trouble,  under  the 
image  of  a  sick  person  ;  and  in  this 
opinion  Kosenmuller  concurs.  Others 
regard  it  as  a  psalm  composed  in  view 
of  sickness,  and  suppose  it  was  written 
in  consequence  of  sickness  brought  upon 
David  in  consequence  of  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom.  Indeed,  there  has  been  a 
pretty  general  concurrence  ftmong  expo- 
sitors in  the  sentiment  that,  as  the  two 
previous  psalms  were  composed  in  view 
of  that  rebellion,  so  this  was  also.  Cal- 
vin supposes  that  it  was  not  composed 
specificall}-  in  view  of  sickness,  but  of 


some  great  calamity  that  brought  David 
to  feel  that  he  was  near  the  borders  of 
the  grave,  and  that  was  thus  the  means 
of  bringing  the  sins  of  his  past  life  im- 
pressively to  his  remembrance. 

In  this  uncertainty,  and  this  want  of 
positive  testimony  as  to  the  occasion 
when  the  psalm"  was  composed,  it  is 
natural  to  look  to  the  psalm  itself,  and 
to  inquire  whether  there  are  any  internal 
indications  which  will  enable  us  to  de- 
termine with  any  degree  of  probability 
the  circumstances  of  the  writer  at  the 
time  of  its  composition.  The  psalm, 
then,  has  the  following  internal  marks 
as  to  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  com- 
posed : 

I.  The  writer  was  in  the  midst  of 
enemies,  and  in  great  peril  on  account  of 
them.  "Mine  eye  is  consumed  because 
of  grief ;  it  waxeth  old  because  of  all 
mine  enemies,"  ver.  7.  "Depart  from 
me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity,"  ver.  8. 
"  Let  all  mine  enemies  be  ashamed  and 
sore  vexed,"  ver.  10.  "We  cannot  be 
mistaken,  then,  in  supposing  that  this 
was  at  some  period  in  the  life  of  David, 
when  his  numerous  enemies  pressed  hard 
upon  him  and  endangered  his  life. 

II.  He  was  crushed  and  broken-hearted 
on  account  of  these  trials ;  he  had  not 
strength  of  body  to  bear  up  under  the 
weight  of  accumulated  woes ;  he.  sank 
under  the  burden  of  these  troubles  and 
calamities,  and  was  brought  near  to  the 
grave.  There  were  many  and  formida- 
ble external  foes  who  threatened  his  life ; 
and  there  was,  on  some  account,  con- 
nected with  this,  deep  and  crushing 
mental  anguish,  and  the  result  was 
actual  and  dangeimis  sickness — so  that 
he  was  led  to  contemplate  the  eternal 
world  as  near  to  him.  It  became  a  case, 
therefore,  of  real  sickness  caused  by 
peculiar  outward  troubles.  This  is  mani- 
fest from  such  expressions  as  the  follow- 
ing : — "  I  am  weak  ;  heal  me  :  my  bones 
are  vexed"  (ver.  2).  "In  death  there  is 
no  remembrance  of  thee  ;  in  the  grave 
who  shall  give  thee  thanks  r"  (ver.  5). 
"  I  am  weary  with  my  groaning ;  I  water 
my  couch  with  my  tears^mine  eye  is 
consumed  with  grief,"  vers.  6,  7.  This 
is  such  language  as  would  be  used  by  one 
who  was  crushed  and  broken-hearted  with 
grief,  and  who,  unable  to  bear  up  under 
the  weighty  load,  was  laid,  as  the  result 
of  it,  on  a  bed  of  languishing.  It  is  not 
uncommon  that  outward  troubles  become 
too  great  for  the  feeble  human  frame  to 
bear,  and  that,  crushed  beneath  them, 
the  body  is  laid  upon  a  bed  of  languish- 


PSALM  VI. 


-19 


0 


PSALM  VI. 

To  tlic  chief  Musician  on  Neginoth  upon 
1  Slicminitu./    A  Psalm  of  David. 

LORD,  rebuke  me  not  in  thine 

1  Or,  the  eighth. 


g  anger,  neither  chasten  me  in  thy 
h  hot  displeasure. 

/  1  Chion.  xv.  21 ;  Psa.  xii.,  title, 
g  Jer.  x.  2-i.  h  Psa.  ii.  5. 


ing,  and  brought  to  the  borders  of  the 
grave,  or  to  the  grave  itself. 

III.  The  psalmist  expresses  a  feeling 
which  is  common  in  such  cases — a  deep 
anxiety  on  the  subject  of  his  own  sin,  as 
if  these  calamities  had  come  upon  him 
on  account  of  his  transgressions,  and  as 
a  punishment  for  his  sins.  This  is  im- 
plied in  ver.  1: — "0  Lord,  rebuke  me 
not  in  thine  anger,  neither  chasten  me 
in  thy  hot  displeasure."  He  looked 
upon  this  as  a  rebuke  from  God,  and 
construed  it  as  an  expression  of  hot  dis- 
pleasure. This  is  the  prompting  of 
natural  feeling  when  one  is  afflicted,  for 
this  inquiry  spontaneously  arises  in  the 
mind,  whether  the  affliction  is  not  on  ac- 
count of  some  sin  which  we  have  com- 
mitted, and  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  proof 
that  God  is  angry  with  us.  It  is  an  in- 
quiry as  proper  as  it  is  natural,  and 
David,  in  the  circumstances  referred  to, 
seems  to  have  felt  its  full  force. 

Taking  all  these  considerations  into 
view,  it  seems  probable  that  the  psalm 
was  composed  during  the  troubles  brought 
upon  David  in  the  rebellion  of  Absalom, 
and  when,  crushed  by  the  weight  of 
these  sorrows,  his  strength  gave  way, 
and  lie  was  laid  on  a  bed  of  languishing, 
ami  brought  near  to  the  grave. 

§  4.  The  contents  of  the  psalm. — The 
psalm  contains  tfie  following  points  : — 

I.  A  plea  of  the  author  for  mercy  and 
compassion  in  trouble,  under  the  ap- 
prehension that  God  was  rebuking  and 
punishing  him  for  his  sins,  vers.  1,  2. 
His  deep  sufferings,  described  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  had,  as  remarked  above, 
led  him  to  inquire  whether  it  was  not  on 
account  of  his  sins  that  he  was  afflicted, 
and  whether  he  ought  not  to  regard  his 
sorrow  as  proof  that  God  was  displeased 
with  him  for  his  sins. 

II.  A  description  of  his  sufferings, 
vers.  2 — 7.  He  had  been  crushed  with 
sorrow,  and  had  become  "weak;"  his 
very  "bones"  were  "vexed;"  he  was 
drawing  near  to  the  grave  ;  he  was  weary 
with  his  groaning;  he  watered  Ms  couch 
with  his  tears ;  his  eye  was  consumed 
with  grief.  These  sufferings  were  partly 
bodily  and  partly  mental;  or  rather, 
as  suggested  above,  probably  his  mental 
sorrows  had  been  so  great  as  to  prostrate 

vol.  r. 


his  physical  frame,  and  to  lay  him  on  a 
bed  of  languishing. 

III.  The  assurance  that  God  had 
heard  his  prayer,  and  that  he  would 
triumph  over  all  his  enemies,  and  that 
all  his  troubles  would  pass  away,  vers. 
8 — 10.  Hope  breaks  in  suddenly  upon 
his  afflicted  soul,  and,  under  this  exult- 
ing feeling,  he  addresses  his  enemies, 
and  tells  them  to  depart  from  him. 
They  could  not  be  successful,  for  the 
Lord  had  heard  his  prayer.  This 
sudden  answer  to  prayer — this  happy 
turn  of  thought — often  occurs  in  the 
Psalms,  as  if,  while  the  psalmist  was 
pleading,  an  immediate  answer  to  prayer 
was  granted,  and  light  broke  in  upon  the 
darkened  mind. 

1.  0  Lord,  rebuke  me  not  in  thine 
anger.  As  if  God  was  rebuking  him 
by  the  affliction  which  he  was  bringing 
upon  him.  This  is  the  point  on 
which  the  attention  of  the  psalmist 
is  now  fixed.  He  had  been  appa- 
rently contemplating  his  afflictions, 
and  inquiring  into  their  cause,  and  he 
was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
might  be  for  his  sins,  and  that  his 
trials  were  to  be  interpreted  as  proof 
that  God  was  angry  with  him.  He 
speaks,  therefore,  of  God  as  visiting 
him  in  his  anger,  and  in  his  hot  dis~ 
pleasure,  and  pleads  wifjh  him  that  he 
would  not  thus  rebuke  and  chasten 
him.  The  word  rebuke  here,  like  the 
word  rendered  chasten,  properly  refers 
to  the  reproof  of  an  often der  by  words, 
but  may  also  be  used  to  denote  the 
reproof  which  God  administers  by  his 
providential  dealings  when  he  brings 
judgment  upon  any  one  for  his  •sins. 
This  is  the  meaning  here.  The 
psalmist  did  not  apprehend  that  God 
would  openly  reprove  him  for  his  sins  ; 
but  he  regarded  his  dealings  with  him 
as  such  a  reproof,  and  he  pleads  that 
the  tokens  of  the  reproof  might  be 
taken  away.  The  whole  language  is 
that  which  indicates  a  connection  be- 
tween suffering  and  sin ;  the  feeling 
D 


o   > 


PSALM  VI. 


'2  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O 
Lord;  for  I  am  weak  :  0  Lord, 
heal  me;  for  my  bones  «  are  vexed. 


which  we  have  when  we  are  afflicted 
that  it  must  be  on  account  of  our  sins. 
%  Either  chasten  me.  A  word  de- 
noting substantially  the  same  thing  ; 
used  here  in  the  sense  of  punishing. 
"[[  In  thy  hot  displeasure.  Literally, 
in  thy  heat.  "We  speak  of  anger  or 
wrath  as  on  ruing , or  consuming.  Coinp. 
Gen.  xxxix.  19 ;  Num.  xi.  33 ;  Deut. 
xi.  17;  Ps.  cvi.  10  ;  Job  xix.  11 ;  xxxii. 
2,3;   Ps.  ii.  12. 

2.  Rave  mercy  upon  me,  O  Lord. 
That  is,  be  gracious  to  me ;  or,  show 
me  compassion.  This  language  may 
be  used  either  in  view  of  sin,  of  suf- 
fering, or  of  danger.  It  is  a  cry  to 
God  to  interpose,  and  remove  some 
present  source  of  trouble,  and  may  be 
employed  by  one  who  feels  that  he  is 
a  sinner,  or  by  one  on  a  bed  of  pain, 
or  by  one  surrounded  by  enemies, 
or  by  one  at  the  point  of  death,  or  by 
one  who  is  looking  out  with  appre- 
hension upon  the  eternal  world.  It 
is  commonly,  indeed  (coin p.  Ps.  Ii.  1), 
a  cry  to  God  in  view  of  sin,  pleading 
for  pardon  and  salvation ;  but  here  it 
is  a  cry  in  view  of  trouble  and  danger, 
outward  sorrow  and  mental  anguish, 
that  had  overcome  the  strength  of 
the  sufferer  and  laid  him  on  a  bed  of 
languishing.     See  introduction  to  the 


3  My  soul  is  also  sore  vexed 
but  thou,  O  Lord,  how  long  ? 

i  Psa.  )i.  8. 


psalm,  §  3 
original 


word 


For  1  am  weak.  The 
here,  b^TO^,  v.mlal, 
means  properly  to  languish  or  droop, 
as  plants  do  that  are  blighted,  lsa. 
xxiv.  7,  or  as  fields  do  in  a  drought, 
lsa.  xvi.  8,  and  is  here  applied  to  a 
sick  person  whose  strength  is  withered 
and  gone.  The  condition  of  such  an 
one  is  beautifully  compared  with  a 
plant  that  withers  for  lack  of  moisture; 
and  the  word  is  used  in  this  sense 
here,  as  referring  to  the  psalmist  him- 
self when  sick,  as  the  result  of  his 
outward  and  mental  sorrows.  Such 
an  effect  has  not  been  uncommon  in 
the  world.  There  have  been  number- 
less cases  where  sorrow  has  prostrated 
the  strength — as  a  plant  withers, — 


and  has  brought  on  languishing  sick- 
ness. *y  O  Loed,  heal  me.  This  is 
language  which  would  be  properly 
applied  to  a  case  of  sickness,  and 
therefore  it  is  most  natural  to  inter- 
pret it  in  this  sense  in  this  place. 
Comp.  lsa.  xix.  22;  xxx.  26;  Job  v.  18; 
Gen.  xx.  17;  Ps.  lx.  2  ;  2  Chron.  xvi. 
12;  Deut.  xxviii.  27.  If  For  my 
bones  are  vexed.  The  word  vexed  we 
now  commonly  apply  to  mental 
trouble,  and  especially  the  lighter 
sort  of  mental  trouble, — to  irritate,  to 
make  angry  by  little  provocations,  to 
harass.  It  is  used  here,  however,  as  is 
common  in  the  Scriptures,  in  reference 
to  torment  or  to  anguish.  The  bones 
are  the  strength  and  framework  of  the 
body,  and  the  psalmist  means  here  to 
say  that  the  very  source  of  his  strength 
was  gone  ;  that  that  which  supported 
him  was  prostrated  ;  that  his  disease 
and  sorrow  had  penetrated  the  most 
firm  parts  of  his  body.  Language  is 
often  used  in  the  Scriptures,  also,  as 
if  the  bones  actually  suffered  pain, 
though  it  is  now  known  that  the 
bones,  as  such,  are  incapable  of  pain. 
And  in  the  same  manner,  also,  lan- 
guage is  often  used,  though  that  use 
*  of  the  word  is  not  found  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  if  the  marrow  of  the  bones 
were  peculiarly  sensitive,  like  a  nerve, 
in  accordance  with  what  is  the  com- 
mon and  popular  belief,  though  it 
is  now  known  that  the  marrow  of 
the  bones  is  entirely  insensible  to  suf- 
fering. The  design  of  the  psalmist 
here  is  to  say  that  he  was  crushed  and 
afflicted  in  every  part  of  his  frame. 

3.  My  soul  is  also  sore  vexed.  The 
word  soul  here  is  used  in  the  sense  in 
which  it  is  commonly  with  us,  as  de- 
noting the  mind.  The  idea  is,  that 
his  sorrows  were  not  merely  those  of 
the  bodily  frame.  They  had  a  deeper 
seat  than  even  the  bones.  His  mind, 
his  soul,  was  full  of  anguish  also,  in 
view  of  the  circumstances  which  sur- 
rounded him,  and  which  had  brought 


PSALM  VI. 


51 


4  Return,  O  Lord,  deliver  my 
soul :  oh  save  me  for  thy  mercies' 
*  sake. 

*  Eph.  ii.  7,  8. 


5  '  For  in  death  there  is  no  re- 
membrance of  thee  :  in  the  grave 
m  who  shall  give  thee  thanks  ? 


I  Isa.  xxxviii.  18. 


m  Psa.  lxxxviii.  11. 


on  these  bodily  afflictions.  %  But 
thou,  O  Loed.  This  is  a  broken  sen- 
tence, as  if  he  had  commenced  an 
address  to  God,  but  did  not  complete 
it.  It  is  as  if  he  had  said,  "  Here  I 
suffer  and  languish ;  my  sorrows  are 
deep  and  unmitigated ;  as  for  thee,  O 
Lord" — as  if  he  were  about  to  say 
that  he  had  hoped  God  would  inter- 
pose ;  or,  that  his  dealings  were  mys- 
terious ;  or,  that  they  seemed  strange 
or  severe ;  but  he  ends  the  sentence 
by  no  language  of  complaint  or  mur- 
muring, but  by  simply  asking  "  how 
long"  these  sorrows  were  to  continue. 
%  How  long  ?  That  is,  how  long  wilt 
thou  leave  me  thus  to  suffer  ?  How  long 
shall  my  unmitigated  anguish  con- 
tinue ?  How  long  will  it  be  ere  thou 
wilt  interpose  to  relieve  me  ?  The  lan- 
guage implies  that  in  his  apprehension 
it  loas  already  a  long  time — as  time 
usually  seems  long  to  a  sufferer  (comp. 
Job  vii.  2 — 4),  and  that  he  was  con- 
stantly looking  out  for  God  to  inter- 
pose and  help  him.  This  is  language 
such  as  all  persons  may  be  inclined  to 
use  on  beds  of  pain  and  languishing. 
It  seems  indeed  long  to  them  now  ;  it 
will,  however,  seem  short  when  they 
look  back  upon  it  from  the  glories  of 
the  heavenly  world.  Comp.  2  Cor. 
iv.  17,  18. 

4.  Return,  O  Loed,  deliver  my 
soul.  As  if  he  had  departed  from 
him,  and  had  left  him  to  die.  The 
word  soul  in  this  place  is  used,  as  it 
often  is,  in  the  sense  of  life,  for  in  the 
next  verse  he  speaks  of  the  grave  to 
which  he  evidently  felt  he  was  rapidly 
descending.  %  O  save  me.  Save  my 
life ;  save  me  from  going  down  to  the 
grave.  Deliver  me  from  these  troubles 
and  dangers.  %  For  thy  mercies' 
sake,  (a)  As  an  act  of  mere  mercy, 
for  he  felt  that  he  had  no  claim,  and 
could  not  urge  it  as  a  matter  of  right 
and  justice;  and  (b)  in  order  that  God's 
mercy  might  be  manifest,  or  because 


he  was  a  merciful  Being,  and  might, 
therefore,  be  appealed  to  on  that 
ground.  These  are  proper  grounds, 
now,  on  which  to  make  an  appeal  to 
God  for  his  interposition  in  our  be- 
half; and,  indeed,  these  are  the  only 
grounds  on  which  we  can  plead  with 
him  to  save  us. 

5.  For  in  death.  In  the  state  of 
the  dead ;  in  the  grave.  %  There  is 
no  remembrance  of  thee.  They  who 
are  dead  do  not  remember  thee  or 
think  of  thee.  The  ground  of  this 
appeal  is,  that  it  was  regarded  by  the 
psalmist  as  a  desirable  thing  to  re- 
member God  and  to  praise  him,  and 
that  this  could  not  be  done  by  one 
who  was  dead.  He  prayed,  therefore, 
that  God  would  spare  his  life,  and 
restore  him  to  health,  that  he  might 
praise  him  in  the  land  of  the  living. 
A  sentiment  similar  to  this  occurs  in 
Ps.  xxx.  9,  "  What  profit  is  there  in 
my  blood,  when  I  go  down  to  the  pit  ? 
Shall  the  dust  praise  thee  ?  shall  it 
declare  thy  truth  ?"  So  also  Ps. 
lxxxviii.  11,  "  Shall  thy  loving-kind- 
ness be  declared  in  the  grave  ?  or 
thy  faithfulness  in  destruction  ?"  So 
also  in  Isaiah  xxxviii.  18,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Hezekiah,  "  The  grave  can- 
not praise  thee ;  death  cannot  cele- 
brate thee ;  they  that  go  down  into 
the  pit  cannot  hope  for  thy  truth." 
See  Notes  on  that  passage.  A  similar 
sentiment  also  is  found  in  Job  x.  21, 
22.  See  Notes  on  that  passage.  In 
regard  to  the  meaning  of  this  it  may 
be  remarked  (a)  that  it  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted that  there  was  among  the 
ancient  saints  much  less  light  on  the 
subject  of  the  future  state  than  there 
is  with  us,  and  that  they  often,  in 
giving  utterance  to  their  feelings, 
seemed  to  speak  as  if  all  were  dark 
beyond  the  grave,  (b)  But,  though 
they  thus  spoke  in  their  sorrow  and  in 
their  despondency,  they  also  did,  on 
other   occasions,  express  their  belief 


PSALM  VI. 


6  I  am  weary  with  my  groan- 
ing ;  l  all  the  night  »  make  I  my 

1  Or,  every.  n  Job  vii.  3. 


in  a  future  state,  and  their  expecta- 
tion of  happiness  in  a  coming  world 
(comp.,  for  example,  Ps.  xvi.  10,  11 ; 
xvii.  15.)  (c)  Does  not  their  language 
in  times  of  despondency  and  sickness 
express  the  feelings  which  we  often 
have  now,  even  with  all  the  light  which 
we  possess,  and  all  the  hopes  which 
we  cherish  ?  Are  there  not  times  in 
the  lives  of  the  pious,  even  though 
they  have  a  strong  prevailing  hope 
of  heaven,  when  the  thoughts  are  fixed 
on  the  grave  as  a  dark,  gloomy,  re- 
pulsive prison,  and  so  fixed  on  it  as 
to  lose  sight  of  the  world  heyond  ? 
And  in  such  moments  does  not  life 
seem  as  precious  to  us,  and  as  desira- 
ble, as  it  did  to  David,  to  Hezekiah, 
or  to  Job  ?  %  In  the  grave.  Heb., 
^iNEQ>  in  Sheol.  For  the  meaning  of 
the  word,  see  Notes  on  Isa.  v.  14 ;  xiv. 
9  ;  Job  vii.  9.  Its  meaning  here  does 
not  differ  materially  from  the  word 
grave.  %  Who  shall  give  thee  thanks  ? 
Who  shall  praise  thee  ?  The  idea  is 
that  none  would  then  praise  God.  It 
was  the  land  of  silence.  See  Isa.  xxxviii. 
18,  19.  This  language  implies  that 
David  desired  to  praise  God,  but  that 
he  could  not  hope  to  do  it  in  the 
grave. 

6.  I  am  weary  with  my  groaning. 
I  am  exhausted  or  worn  out  with  it. 
That  is,  his  sorrows  were  so  deep,  and 
his  groaning  wTas  so  constant,  that  his 
strength  failed.  He  became  faint 
under  the  weight  of  his  sorrows.  All 
persons  in  trouble  have  experienced 
this  effect — the  sense  of  weariness  or 
exhaustion  from  sorrow,  ^f  All  the 
night  make  I  my  bed  to  swim.  That 
is,  he  wept  so  much  that  his  bed 
seemed  to  he  immersed  in  tears.  This 
is,  of  course,  hyperbolical  language, 
expressing  in  a  strong  and  emphatic 
manner  the  depth  of  his  sorrows. 
^f  1  water  my  coach  with  my  tears.  The 
word  here  rendered  water  means  to 
melt,  to  flow  down;  then,  in  Hiph., 
to  cause  to  flow,  to  dissolve.  The  sense 


bed  to  swim ;  1  water  my  couch 
with  my  tears. 

7  Mine   eye  is   consumed  be- 


here  is,  that  he  caused  his  couch  to 
flow  or  overflow  with  his  tears.  We 
would  say,  he  flooded  his  bed  with 
tears.  This  verse  discloses  the  true 
source  of  the  trials  referred  to  in  the 
psalm.  It  was  some  deep  mental 
anguish — some  source  of  grief — that 
exhausted  his  strength,  and  that  laid 
him  on  a  bed  of  languishing.  No 
circumstances  in  the  life  of  David 
|  better  accord  with  this  than  the  trou- 
|  bles  which  existed  on  account  of  the 
ungrateful  and  rebellious  conduct  of 
Absalom,  and  it  is  most  natural  to 
refer  it  to  this.  Many  a  parent  since 
the  time  of  David  has  experienced  all, 
both  mental  and  bodily,  which  is  here 
described  as  a  consequence  of  the  in- 
gratitude and  evil  conduct  of  his  chil- 
dren. The  tragedy  of  "  Lear"  turns 
entirely  on  this. 

7.  Mine  eye  is  consumed.   The  word 
here    rendered    consumed — l£hp'y,  a- 
shash — means  properly  to  fall  in,  to  fall 
away,  and  is  applied  here  to  the  eye 
as  pining  or  wasting  away  from  care, 
anxiety,    and    sorrow.      Tears    were 
poured  forth  from   the   eye,  and   it 
seemed  to  be  exhausting  itself  in  this 
manner.    The  meaning  is,  that  it  had 
grown  dim,  or  that  its  sight  began  to 
fail,  like  that  of  an  old  man,  on  ac- 
count of  his    troubles.      Many  have 
understood  the  word  here  rendered 
eye  as  referring  to  the  countenance; 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  word 
ever  has   this    signification;    and   at 
any  rate   the   common   signification, 
referring  it  to  the  eye,  best  suits  this 
connection.      \    It   waxeth    old.      It 
seems  to  grow  old ;  it  experiences  the 
effects  commonly  produced  by  age  in 
blunting  the  power  of  vision.    This  is 
not  an  uncommon  effect  of  grief  and 
sadness.     Even  while   I  am  writing 
this  I  am  called  in  my  pastoral  visita- 
tions to  attend  on  a  young  lady  lying 
on  a  bed  of  languishing,  and  probably 
of  death,  one  of  whose  symptoms  is  a 
quite  diminished,  and  indeed  almost 


53 


cause  of  grief;  it  waxeth  old  be- 
cause of  all  mine  enemies. 

8    °  Depart    from    me,    all  ye 
workers    of    iniquity  :     for    the 

o  Psa.  cxix.  115  :  cxxxix.  19. 


PSALM  VI. 

Lord  hath  heard  pthe  voice  of 


my  weeping. 


9  The  Lord  hath  heard  my 
supplication ;  the  Lord  will  re- 
ceive my  prayer. 

p  Psa.  cxlv.  18. 


total  loss  of  vision,  as  the  effect  of 
trouble  and  disease.  ^[  Because  of 
all  mine  enemies.  From  the  trouble 
which  they  have  brought  upon  me. 
The  reference  here,  according  to  the 
interpretation  proposed  of  the  psalm, 
is  to  Absalom  and  those  who  were  as- 
sociated with  him.  Their  conduct 
had  been  such  as  to  bring  upon  David 
this  overwhelming  tide  of  sorrows. 

8.  Depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers 
of  iniquity.  Referring,  by  the  "work- 
ers of  iniquity,"  to  his  enemies,  as  if 
they  now  surrounded  him,  and  calling 
on  them  noxo  to  leave  him,  since  God 
had  heard  his  prayer,  and  they  could 
not  be  successful  in  their  purposes. 
This  is  an  indirect  but  most  emphatic 
way  of  saying  that  God  had  heard  his 
prayer;  and  the  sentiment  in  this 
verse  is  strongly  in  contrast  with  the 
desponding  state  of  feeling — the  deep 
and  dreadful  sorrow — indicated  in  the 
previous  verses.  Light  broke  in  sud- 
denly upon  him ;  his  prayer  had  come 
up  before  God,  and,  in  some  way,  he 
was  assured  that  it  would  be  answered. 
Already  he  sees  his  enemies  scattered, 
and  his  own  cause  triumphant;  and  in 
this  exulting  feeling  he  addresses  his 
foes,  and  commands  them  to  leave 
him.  This  is,  therefore,  a  remarkable 
and  striking  proof  that  prayer  may 
be  heard,  even  while  we  are  speaking 
to  God  (comp.  Isa.  lxv.  24) ;  that  the 
assurance  may  be  conveyed  suddenly 
to  the  mind  that  God  will  hear  and 
answer  the  prayer  which  is  addressed 
to  him ;  and  also  a  beautiful  illustra- 
tion of  tBe  effect  of  this  on  a  mind 
overwhelmed  with  trouble  and  sorrow, 
in  giving  it  calmness  and  peace.  \ 
For  the  Loed  hath  heard.  That  is, 
my  prayer  has  ascended  before  him, 
and  I  am  certain  that  he  regards  it 
favourably,  and  will  answer  it.  In 
what  ivay  he  had  this  assurance  he 


does  not  inform  us.  As  he  was  an 
inspired  man,  we  may  suppose  that 
the  assurance  was  given  to  him  di- 
rectly by  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  are 
not  to  expect  the  same  kind  of  assur- 
ance that  our  prayers  are  heard ;  we 
are  to  look  for  no  revelation  to  that 
effect ;  but  there  may  be  as  real  an 
intimation  to  the  mind  that  ourprayers 
are  heard — as  real  evidence — as  in  this 
case.  There  may  be  a  firm  confidence 
of  the  mind  that  God  is  a  hearer  of 
prayer  now  coming  to  the  soul  with 
the  freshness  of  a  new  conviction  of 
that  truth;  and  there  may  be,  in  trouble 
and  sorrow,  a  sweet  calmness  and  peace 
breathed  through  the  soul — an  assur- 
ance that  all  will  be  right  and  well, 
as  if  the  prayer  wTere  heard,  and  such 
as  there  would  be  if  we  were  assured 
by  direct  revelation  that  it  is  heard. 
The  Spirit  of  God  can  produce  this 
in  our  case  as  really  as  he  did  in  the 
case  of  David.  %  The  voice  of  my 
weeping.  The  voice  of  prayer  that 
accompanied  my  weeping,  or  the  voice 
of  the  weeping  itself — the  cry  of  an- 
guish and  distress  which  was  in  itself 
of  the  nature  of  prayer. 

9.  The  Loed  hath  heard  my  sup- 
plication. Repeating  the  sentiment 
in  the  previous  verse,  to  express  his 
assurance  and  his  joy.  Nothing  is 
more  natural  in  such  circumstances 
than  to  dwell  on  the  joyous  thought, 
and  to,  repeat  it  to  ourselves,  that  it 
may  make  its  full  impression.  %  The 
Loed  toill  receive  my  prayer.  As  he 
has  done  it,  so  he  will  still  do  it.  This 
allays  all  fears  of  the  future,  and 
makes  the  mind  calm.  The  state  of 
mind  here  is  this : — "  The  Lord  has 
heard  my  prayer;  I  am  assured  that 
he  will  do  it  hereafter ;  I  have,  there- 
fore, nothing  to  fear." 

10.  Let  all  mine  enemies  he  ashamed. 
Be  so  brought  to  see  their  folly  that 


54 


PSALM  VI. 


10   Let   all   mine   enemies   be 
ashamed    and    sore    vexed  :    let 


them    return 
suddenly. 


and    be    ashamed 


they  shall  be  ashamed  of  their  con- 
duct. The  wish  is  that  they  might 
he  brought  to  see  their  own  guilt — a 
wish  certainly  which  it  is  right  to 
cherish  in  regard  to  all  evil-doers. 
^T  And  sore  vexed.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  v.  10.  The  same  Hebrew  word  is 
used  here  which  occurs  in  vers.  2,  3, 
and  rendered  vexed.  It  is  a  word 
which  denotes  trouble,  trembling,  con- 
sternation ;  and  the  meaning  here  is, 
that  the  psalmist  prayed  that  they 
might  be  confounded  or  disconcerted 
in  their  plans — a  prayer  which  is  cer- 
tainly proper  in  regard  to  all  the  pur- 
poses of  the  wicked.  No  one  should 
desire  that  the  purposes  of  the  wicked 
should  prosper  ;  and  not  to  desire  this 
is  to  desire  that  they  may  be  foiled 
and  overcome  in  their  schemes.  This 
must  be  the  wish  of  every  good  man. 
•"  Let  them  return.  Turn  back,  or  be 
turned  back;  that  is,  let  them  be  re- 
pulsed, and  compelled  to  turn  back 
from  their  present  object,  f  And  he 
ashamed  suddenly.  Heb.,  "  In  a  mo- 
ment;" instantaneously.  He  desired 
that  there  might  be  no  delay,  but  that 
their  discomfiture  might  be  accom- 
plished at  once.  As  it  was  right  to 
pray  that  this  might  occur,  so  it  was 
right  to  pray  that  it  might  occur 
without  delay,  or  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible. The  sooner  the  plans  of  sinners 
are  confounded,  the  better. 

PSALM  vn. 

§  1.  Author  of  the  psalm. — This  psalm, 
according  to  the  title,  was  composed  by 
David ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  is 
contrary  to  this  supposition.  Indeed, 
there  were  many  circumstances  in  the 
life  of  David  which  would  suggest  the 
thoughts  in  this  psalm  ;  and  the  senti- 
ments expressed  are  such  as  are  frequently 
found  in  his  other  compositions. 

§  2.  Occasion  on  which  the  psalm  teas 
composed.— The  psalm  is  said  in  the 
title  to  have  been  composed  as  "  a  song 
to  the  Lord,  concerning  the  words  (Marg., 
4  or  business,')  of  Cush  the  Benjamite." 
There  is  no  reason  to  call  the  correctness 
of  this  title  in  question,  but  there  have 


been  very  various  opinions  as  to  who  this 
Cush  was.  It  is  manifest  from  the  pealm 
that  it  was  composed  in  view  of  some 
"words"  of  reviling,  or  reproach,  or 
slander ;  something  that  was  done  to 
wound  the  feelings,  or  to  injure  the  re- 
putation, or  destroy  the  peace  of  David. 
There  have  been  three  opinions  in 
regard  to  the  Gush  here  referred  to. 
(1.)  According  to  the  first,  Saul  is  the 
person  intended ;  and  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  the  name  CusJt  is  given  to  him 
as  a  reproach,  and  to  denote  the  black- 
ness of  his  character,  as  the  word  Cush 
would  denote  an  Ethiopian,  or  black  man. 
So  it  was  understood  by  the  author  of 
the  Targum  or  Chaldee  Paraphrase,  in 
which  it  is  rendered  "an  ode  which  David 
sang  before  the  Lord  on  the  death  of 
Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin."  But  this  opinion  has  no 
probability.  It  is  not  certain  that  this 
term  Cush  would,  in  the  time  of  David, 
denote  one  of  black  complexion ;  nor  is 
there  any  probability  that  it  would  be 
used  as  a  term  of  reproach  at  all ;  and  as 
little  probability  is  there  that  it  would 
be  applied  by  David  to  Saul  if  it  had 
been.  If  the  psalni  referred  to  Saul,  it 
is  probable,  from  all  that  we  know  of 
the  feelings  of  David  towards  the  reign- 
ing prince,  that  he  would  not  designate 
him,  in  the  title  of  a  psalm,  in  enigma- 
tical and  reproachful  language.  Besides, 
the  injurious  treatment  of  Saul  towards 
David  was  rather  manifested  hi  deeds 
than  uncords.  (2.)  A  second  opinion  is, 
that  it  refei'S  to  Shimei,  who  was  of  the 
house  of  Said,  and  who  reproached  and 
cursed  David  as  he  was  flying  from  Jeru- 
salem on  occasion  of  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom,  2  Sam.  xvi.  .5.  seq.  It  is  sup- 
posed by  those  who  maintain  this  opinion 
that  the  name  was  given  to  him  because 
he  was  a  calumniator  and  re  viler—  or, 
as  we  would  say,  a  blackhearted  man. 
But  the  same  objection  exists  to  this 
opinion  as  to  that  before-mentioned;  and 
besides  this,  there  are  several  things  in 
the  psalm  which  do  not  agree  Vith  such 
a  supposition.  In  fact  there  is  no  reason 
for  such  a  supposition,  except  that 
Shimei  was  a  calumniator,  and  that  the 
psalm  refers  to  some  such  person.  (3.) 
A  third  opinion  is,  that  it  refers  to  some 
one  of  the  name  Cush,  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  who  reproached  David  on 
some  occasion  that  is  now  unknown. 


PSALM  VII. 


55 


This  opinion  has  every  degree  of  proba- 
bility, and  is  undoubtedly  the  correct 
opinion.  David  was  often  reproached 
and  calumniated  in  his  life,  and  it  would 
seem  that,  on  some  occasion  now  to  us 
unknown,  when  he  was  violently  re- 
proached in  this  manner,  he  gave  vent  to 
his  feelings  in  this  impassioned  ode.  No 
other  record  was  made  of  the  transaction, 
and  the  occasion  on  which  it  occurred  is 
not  known.  At  the  time  when  it  oc- 
curred it  would  be  easily  understood  who 
was  referred  to,  and  the  design  of  the 
composition  was  accomplished  by  the  re- 
cord of  the  feelings  of  the  author  on  an 
occasion  that  greatly  tried  his  spirit.  It 
is  thus  of  permanent  value  to  the  church 
and  the  world,  for  there  are  few  persons 
that  are  not  on  some  occasions  bitterly 
reproached,  and  few  who  are  not  disposed 
to  vent  their  feelings  in  expressions  simi- 
lar to  those  in  this  psalm.  One  great 
design  of  the  collection  of  poems  in  the 
Psalms  was  to  show  the  workings  of 
human  nature  in  a  great  variety  of  situ- 
ations ;  and  hence  such  a  psalm  as  this 
has  a  permanent  and  general  value  ;  and 
so  far  as  this  general  use  is  concerned,  it 
matters  little  on  what  occasion,  or  in 
reference  to  what  individual,  the  psalm 
was  composed. 

§  3.  Contents  of  the  psalm. — The 
psalm  embraces  the  following  points  : — 
I.  A  prayer  of  the  psalmist  for  deli- 
verance from  his  enemies,  and  especially 
from  this  particular  foe  that  threatened 
his  destruction,  vers.  1,  2.  This  is  the 
general  subject  of  the  psalm. 

IT.  He  offers  this  prayer  on  the  ground 
that  he  is  innocent  of  the  charges  that 
are  brought  against  him  ; — relying  thus 
on  the  fact  that  his  was  a  righteous 
cause,  and  appealing  to  God  on  this 
ground,  and  declaring  his  willingness  to 
suffer  all  that  his  enemy  attempted  to 
bring  upon  him  if  he  was  guilty,  vers. 
3—o. 

III.  He  prays  for  the  interposition  of 
Divine  justice  on  his  enemies,  on  the 
ground  of  the  general  justice  of  God, 
and  as  a  part  of  his  general  administra- 
.tion  over  men,  vers.  6 — 9. 

IV.  In  his  own  hopes,  he  trusts  in 
the  Divine  discrimination  between  inno- 
cence and  guilt,  assured  that  God  would 
interpose  on  behalf  of  the  righteous,  and 
that  the  principles  of  the  Divine  adminis- 
tration were  opposed  to  the  wicked, 
vers.  10,  11. 

V.  He  speaks  confidently  of  the  ulti- 
mate destruction  of  the  ungodly  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  would  be" brought 


about,  vers.  12 — 16.  If  they  did  not 
turn,  they  must  be  certainly  destroyed, 
for  God  was  preparing  the  instruments  of 
their  destruction  ;  and  the  means  which 
he  would  use  would  be  the  very  plans 
of  the  wicked  themselves. 

VI.  The  psalmist  says  that,  as  for 
himself,  he  would  praise  the  Lord 
according  to  his  righteousness  ;  that  is, 
would  adore  and  praise  him  as  a  righ- 
teous God,  ver.  17. 

The  general  subject  of  the  psalm, 
therefore,  pertains  to  the  feelings  which 
are  to  be  entertained  towards  revilers 
and  calumniators — towards  those  who  re- 
proach us  when  we  are  conscious  of 
innocence  of  the  charges  that  are  alleged 
against  us ;  and  as  all  good  men  are 
liable  to  be  placed  in  these  circumstances, 
the  psalm  has  a  practical  and  general 
value. 

§  4.  The    title    to    the  psalm. -The 
psalm  is  entitled  "  Shiggaion  of  David." 
The   word     Shiggaion — "jV^—  occurs 
only  in  this  place  in  the  singular  num- 
ber, and  in  Hab.   iii.  1  in  the  plural. 
'•A  prayer  of  Habakkuk  upon  Shigion- 
oth"     It  properly  means  a  song,  psalm, 
hymn  (Gesenius).    Prof.  Alexander  ren- 
ders it  "  wandering,   error,"   as  if  the 
word  were  derived  from  HDID",   shagah, 
to  walk,  to  go  astray  ;    and  he  supposes 
that  it  refers  to  the  fact  that    David 
was  wondering  or  unsettled  at  the  time 
when  the  psalm  was  composed.     This 
reason,  however,  will  not  apply  to  the 
use  of  the  word  in  Habakkuk.     Solomon 
Van  Til.      (Ugolin,  Thesau.  Sac.  Ant., 
vol.  xxxii.  pp.  294,  295),  supposes  that  it 
refers  to  "  a  certain  inadvertence  or  obli- 
vion of  himself  on  the  part  of  the  authoi", 
or  powerful    seizure   of   the  niind," — 
anitni   abreptio.      He   says    that    it  is 
commonly  supposed  to  indicate  a  poem, 
in  which  the   poet  is  impelled  by  his 
feelings,    and   drawn   along   with  "little 
regard  to  the  regularity  of  the  numbers 
or  the  metre,  but  in  which  he  pours  out 
his  emotions  in  an  erratic  or  irregular 
manner  from  the  overflowing  of  his  soul. 
This  seems  to  me  to  have  been  the  pro- 
bable origin  of  this  title,  and  to  have 
denoted  the  kind  of  poetry  to  which  it 
was  applicable.    Julius  Bartoloccius  (U- 
golin,  xxxii.  484)  supposes  that  it  refers 
to  a  certain  tone  (the  "fifth  tone")  as 
peculiarly  sweet  and  soft,  and  that  this 
kind  of  poetry  was  thus  applicable  to 
hymns  of  joy  ;  and  that  the  term  is  used 
here  because  this  psalm  is  peculiarly 
sweet  and  pleasant.    There  is  nothing  in 


56 


PSALM  VII. 


PSALM  YII. 

Shisrjaion  q  of  David,  which  he  sans  unto  the 
Lord,  concerning  1  the  words  of  r  Cush  the 
Benjannte. 

LORD  my  God,  in  thee  do  I 
put  my  trust :  save  me  from 


0 


q  Hab.  iii.  1. 


1  Or,  business. 


the  psalm,  however.  which  would  indi- 
cate that  this  is  the  origin  of  the  title ; 
and  the  former  supposition  hotter  meets 
the  case  than  either  this  or  the  opinion 
of  Professor  Alexander.  I  would  regard 
it,  therefore,  as  applicable  to  a  psalm 
where  there  was  an  overflow  of  feeling  or 
emotion  that  poured  itself  out  without 
much  regard  to  regular  rhythm,  or  the 
laws  of  metre.  It  is  a  psalm  of  a  v:an- 
tkring  or  irregular  metre.  It  may  not  be 
easy,  however,  to  determine  why  it  is 
particularly  applied  to  this  psalm  ;  it  is 
more  easy  to  see  why  it  should  be  applied 
to  the  hymn  in  Habakkuk.  The  Latin 
Vulgate  and  the  Septuagint  render  it 
simply  A  psalm. 

LOT  prd  my  God,  in  thee  do  I 
put  my  trust.  The  psalm  opens  with 
an  expression  of  strong  confidence  in 
God.  The  psalmist  addresses  Jehovah 
as  his  God,  and  says  that  in  him  he 
trusts  or  confides.  The  word  rendered 
trust — TiDTl,  hhasa — means  to  flee; 
to  flee  to  a  place;  to  take  shelter; 
and  is  applied  to  taking  shelter  under 
the  shadow  or  protection  of  one 
(Judg.  ix.  15  :  La.  xxx.  2;  Ps.  lvii. 
1 ;  lxi.  4).  The  idea  here  is,  that  in 
his  troubles  he  fled  to  God  as  a  refuge, 
and  felt  safe  under  his  protection. 
r  Sy.ve  me  from  all  them  that  perse- 
cute me.  That  is.  protect  my  life; 
rescue  me  from  their  power.  The 
word  persecute  here  refers  to  those 
who  sought  his  life,  who  endeavoured 
to  deprive  him  of  his  rights.  The 
language  would  apply  to  many  occa- 
sions in  the  life  of  David — to  the  per- 
secutions which  he  endured  by  Saul,  bv 
Absalom,  etc.  In  this  case  the  lan- 
guage Mas  suggested  by  the  opposition 
of  Cush  the  Benjamite;  and  it  was 
this  that  David  had  particularly  in 
view.  It  is  probable,  however,  that, 
whoever  Cush  was,  he  was  not  alone, 
but  that  others  were  associated  with 
him  in  his  opposition  to  David;  and 


all  them  that  persecute  me,  and 
deliver  me  ,• 

2  Lest  he  tear  my  soul  like  a 
lion,  rending  it  in  pieces,  while 
there  is  2  none  to  deliver. 


r  -2  Sam.  xvi. 


3  not  a  deliverer. 


it  was  natural  also  that,  in  circum- 
stances like  these,  David  should  re- 
member his  other  persecutors,  and 
pray  that  he  might  be  delivered  from 
them  all.  The  prayer,  therefore,  has 
a  general  form,  and  the  desire  ex- 
pressed is  that  which  we  all  naturally 
have,  that  we  may  be  delivered  from 
all  that  troubles  us.  S,  And  deliver 
me.  Rescue  me.  It  would  seem  from 
this  expression,  and  from  the  follow- 
ing verse,  that  there  was  more  to  be 
apprehended  in  the  case  than  mere 
reproachful  icords,  aud  that  his  life 
was  actually  in  clanger. 

2.  Lest  he.  Lest  Cush  should  do 
this.  See  the  title,  and  the  introd. 
to  the  psalm,  §  2.  J  Tear  my  soul 
like  a  lion.  Tear  or  rend  my  life — 
that  is,  me — like  a  lion.  The  word 
rendered  soul  here — 1£p2>  nephesh — 
refers,  as  it  properly  does  elsewhere, 
to  the  life,  and  not  to  the  soul,  as  we 
use  the  term,  denoting  the  thinking, 
immortal  part.  The  simple  idea  is, 
that  David  was  apprehensive  of  his 
life,  and,  in  order  to  indicate  his  great 
peril,  he  uses  language  derived  from 
the  fierceness  of  the  lion.  Such 
imagery  would  be  well  understood  in 
a  countrv  where  lions  abounded,  and 
nothing  could  more  strikingly  denote 
the  danger  in  which  David  was,  or 
the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  the 
enemy  that  he  dreaded.  %  Rending 
it  in  pieces.  Pending  me  in  pieces. 
Or  rather,  perhaps,  breaking  or  crush- 
ing the  bones;  for  the  word  used — 
p~I^ — parak  (whence  our  English 
word  break) — means  to  break,  to 
crush,  and  would  apply  to  the  act  of 
the  lion  crushing  or  breaking  the 
bones  of  his  victim  as  he  devoured  it. 
r  While  there  is  none  to  deliver.  De- 
noting the  complete  destruction  which 
he  feared  would  come  upon  him.  The 
figure  is  that  of  a  solitary  man  seized 


PSALM  VII. 


57 


3  0  Lord  my  God,  if  I  have 
clone  this ;  if  there  be  iniquity  in 
my  hands ; 

4  If  I  have  rewarded  evil  unto 


him  that  was  at  peace  with  me  ; 
(yea,  I  have  delivered  him  that 
without  cause  is  mine  enemy ;) 


by  a  powerful  lion,  with  no  one  at 
hand  to  rescue  him.  So  David  felt 
that  if  God  did  not  interfere,  he  would 
fall  into  the  hands  of  this  fierce  and 
wrathful  enemy. 

3.  O  Loed  my  God.  A  solemn 
appeal  to  God  as  to  the  sincerity  and 
truth  of  what  he  was  ahout  to  say. 
^  If  I  have  done  this.  This  thing 
charged  upon  me;  for  it  is  evident 
that  Cush,  whoever  he  was,  had  ac- 
cused him  of  some  wroug  thing — 
some  wicked  action.  What  that  was 
can  only  he  learned  from  what  follows, 
and  even  this  is  not  very  specific.  So 
far  as  appears,  however,  it  would  seem 
to  be  that  he  accused  David  of  bring- 
ing evil,  in  some  way,  upon  one  who 
wras  at  peace  with  him;  that  is,  of 
wantonly  and  without  provocation 
doing  him  wrong,  and  of  so  doing 
wrong  that  he  had  the  avails  of  it  in 
his  own  possession — some  spoil,  or 
plunder,  or  property,  that  he  had  taken 
from  him.  The  charge  would  seem 
to  be,  that  he  had  made  a  wanton  and 
unprovoked  attack  on  one  who  had 
not  injured  him,  and  that  he  had 
taken,  and  had  still  in  his  possession, 
something  of  value  that  properly  be- 
longed to  another.  Whether  the  ac- 
cuser {Cush)  in  this  referred  to  him- 
self or  to  some  other  person,  does  not 
appear  clear  from  the  psalm ;  but  as 
he  was  filled  with  rage,  and  as  the  life 
of  David  was  endangered  by  him,  it 
would  seem  most  probable  that  the 
reference  was  to  himself,  and  that  he 
felt  he  had  been  personally  wronged. 
The  design  of  David,  in  the  passage 
now  before  us,  is  to  deny  this  charge 
altogether.  This  he  does  in  the  most 
explicit  manner,  by  saying  that  this 
was  so  far  from  being  true,  that  he 
had,  on  the  contrary,  delivered  the 
life  of  him  that  was  his  enemy,  and 
by  adding  that,  if  this  were  so,  he 
would  be  willing  that  the  injured  man 
should  persecute  and  oppose  him,  and 


even  trample  his  life  down  to  the 
earth.  %  If  there  be  iniquity  in  my 
hands.  That  is,  if  there  is  the  ini- 
quity referred  to ;  or,  in  other  words, 
if  he  had  in  his  possession  what  had 
been  wrongfully  taken  from  another, 
to  wit,  as  appears,  from  this  Cush 
who  now  accused  him.  The  word 
iniquity  here  denotes  an  unjust  pos- 
session— a  property  that  had  been 
unjustly  taken  from  another;  and,  as 
remarked  above,  the  slanderous  charge 
would  seem  to  have  been,  that  he  had 
taken  that  property  from  some  one 
who  was  at  peace  with  him,  and  that 
he  retained  it  coutrary  to  justice.  This 
charge  David  means  peremptorily  to 
deny.        f 

4.  If  I  have  rewarded  evil  unto  him 
that  tvas  at  peace  ivith  me.  If  I  have 
done  evil;  or  if  I  have  requited  him 
that  was  friendly  by  some  unjust  and 
evil  conduct.  If  I  have  come  upon 
him  wantonly  and  unprovoked,  and 
have  done  him  wrong.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  substance  of  the  accu- 
sation ;  and,  as  remarked  above,  it  is 
most  probable  that  the  accuser  ( Cush) 
referred  to  himself.  %  Yea,  I  have 
delivered  him  that  without  cause  is 
mine  enemy.  So  far  is  this  from  being 
true,  that  the  very  reverse  is  true. 
So  far  from  taking  advantage  of 
another  that  was  at  peace  with  me, 
and  depriving  him  of  his  just  rights 
by  fraud  or  force,  it  is  a  fact  that  I 
have  rescued  from  impending  danger 
the  man  that  was  at  war  with  me, 
and  that  was  an  avowed  enemy.  It 
would  seem  probable  that  in  this  he 
refers  to  this  very  Cush,  and  means  to 
say  that  there  had  been  some  occasion 
in  which  he,  who  was  long  hostile  to 
him,  was  wholly  in  his  power,  and 
when  he  had  not  only  declined  to  take 
advantage  of  him,  but  had  actually 
interposed  to  rescue  him  from  danger. 
An  instance  of  this  kind  actually 
occurred  in  the  life  of  David,  in  his 
D  2 


58 


TSALM  VII. 


5  Let  the  enemy  persecute  rny 
soul,  and  take  it;  yea,  let  him 
tread  down  my  life  upon  the 
earth,  and  lay  mine   honour  in 


the  dust.     Selah. 

6   Arise,    O    Lord,    in    thine 
lift  up  thyself,  because 

s  Psa.  xciv.  1,  2. 


anger 


treatment  of  Saul  (1  Sam.  xxiv.  10, 
11) ;  and  it  is  possible  that  David  re- 
ferred to  that  case,  and  meant  to  say 
that  that  was  an  indication  of  his 
character,  and  of  his  manner  of  treat- 
ing others.  Those  who  suppose  that 
the  whole  psalm  refers  to  Saul  (see 
the  introduct.,  §  2),  of  course  regard 
this  as  the  specific  case  referred  to. 
There  may  have  been  other  instances 
of  the  same  kind  in  the  life  of  David, 
and  there  is  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  on  some  occasion  he  had 
treated  this  very  man,  Cash,  in  this 
way,  and  that  he  refers  here  to  that 
fact. 

5.  Let  the  enemy  persecute  my  soul. 
Persecute  my  life,  for  so  the  word 
rendered  soul,  U?pj-  nephesh,  is  .evi- 
dently used  here.  He  was  willing,  if 
he  had  been  guilty  of  the  thing  charged 
upon  him,  that  the  enemy  here  referred 
to  should  pursue  or  persecute  him 
until  he  should  destroy  his  life. 
Compare  with  this  the  expression  of 
Paul  in  Acts  xxv.  11.  The  meaning 
here  is  simply  that  if  he  were  a 
guilty  man,  in  the  manner  charged 
on  him,  he  would  be  willing  to  be 
treated  accordingly.  He  did  not 
wish  to  screen  himself  from  any  just 
treatment ;  and  if  he  had  been  guilty 
he  would  not  complain  even  if  he 
were  cut  off  from  the  land  of  the 
living.  %  And  take  it.  Take  my 
life;  put  me  to  death.  *[  Yea,  let 
Mm  tread  down  my  life  upon  the 
earth.  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  vanquished  were 
often  treated  in  battle,  when  they 
were  rode  over  by  horses,  or  trampled 
by  men  into  the  dust.  The  idea  of 
David  is,  that  if  he  was  guilty  he 
would  be  willing  that  his  enemy 
should  triumph  over  him,  should  sub- 
due him,  should  treat  him  with  the 
utmost  indignity  and  scorn.  %  And 
lay  mine  honour  in  the  dust.  All  the 
tokens  or  marks  of  my  honour  or  dis- 


tinction in  life.  That  is,  I  am  willing 
to  be  utterly  degraded  and  humbled, 
if  I  have  been  guilty  of  this  conduct 
towards  him  who  is  my  enemy.  The 
idea  in  all  this  is,  that  David  did  not 
wish  to  screen  himself  from  the 
treatment  which  he  deserved  if  he 
had  done  wrong.  His  own  principles 
were  such  that  he  would  have  felt 
that  the  treatment  here  referred  to 
would  have  been  right  and  proper  as 
a  recompense  for  such  base  conduct  j 
and  he  would  not  have  had  a  word  to 
say  against  it.  His  desire  for  the  in- 
terposition of  God,  therefore,  arose 
solely  from  the  fact  of  his  feeling 
that,  in  these  respects,  he  was  entirely 
innocent,  and  that  the  conduct  of  his 
enemy  was  unjust  and  cruel.  %  Selah. 
A  musical  pause,  not  affecting  the 
sense,  but  introduced  here,  perhaps, 
because  the  sense  of  the  psalm  now 
demanded  a  change  in  the  style  of  the 
music.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  2. 

6.  Arise,  O  Lord,  in  thine  anger. 
That  is,  to  punish  him  who  thus  un- 
justly persecutes  me.  See  Notes  on 
Psalm  iii.  7.  \  Lift  up  thyself.  As 
if  he  had  been  lying  in  repose  and  in- 
action. The  idea  is  derived  from  a 
warrior  who  is  called  on  to  go  forth 
and  meet  an  enemy.  %  Because  of 
the  rage  of  mine  enemies.  Not  only  of 
this  particular  enemy,  but  of  those 
who  were  associated  with  him,  and 
perhaps  of  all  his  foes.  David  felt,  on 
this  occasion,  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  enemies ;  and  he  calls  on  God  to 
interfere  and  save  him.  %  And  awake 
for  me.  Or,  in  my  behalf.  The  word 
awake  is  a  still  stronger  expression 
than  those  which  he  had  before  used. 
It  implies  that  one  had  been  asleep, 
and  insensible  to  what  had  occurred, 
and  he  addresses  God  as  if  He  had 
thus  been  insensible  to  the  dangers 
which  surrounded  him.  %  To  the 
judgment  that  thou  hast  commanded. 
To  execute  the  judgment  which  thou 


PSALM  VI  r. 


59 


of  the  rage  of  mine  enemies ;  and 
awake  <  for  me  to  the  judgment 
that  thou  hast  commanded. 

7  So  shall  the  congregation  of 

t  Psa.  xliv.  23;  lxxiit.  20;  Isa.  li.  9. 


the  people  compass  thee  about: 
for  their  sakes  therefore  return 
thou  on  high. 

8  The  Lord  shall  judge  the 
people :  judge  me,  O  Lord,  ac- 


hast  appointed  or  ordered.  That  is, 
God  had,  in  his  law,  commanded  that 
justice  should  be  done,  and  had  pro- 
claimed himself  a  God  of  justice — re- 
quiring that  right  should  be  done 
on  the  earth,  and  declaring  him- 
self in  all  cases  the  friend  of  right. 
David  now  appeals  to  him,  and  calls 
on  him  to  manifest  himself  in  that 
character,  as  executing  in  this  case 
the  justice  which  he  required  under 
the  great  principles  of  his  administra- 
tion. He  had  commanded  justice  to 
be  done  in  all  cases.  He  had  required 
that  the  wicked  should  be  punished. 
He  had  ordered  magistrates  to  execute 
justice.  In  accordance  with  these 
great  principles,  David  now  calls  on 
God  to  manifest  himself  as  the  friend 
of  justice,  and  to  show,  in  this  case, 
the  same  principles,  and  the  same  re- 
gard to  justice  which  he  required  in 
others.  It  is  an  earnest  petition  that 
he  would  vindicate  his  own  principles 
of  administration. 

7.  So  shall  the  congregation  of  the 
people  compass  thee  about.  That  is, 
as  the  result  of  thy  gracious  interpo- 
sition in  defending  the  righteous,  and 
in  bringing  just  judgment  on  the 
wicked.  The  meaning  is,  that  such 
an  act  would  inspire  confidence  in  him 
as  a  just  and  holy  God,  and  that,  as 
the  result,  his  people  would  gather 
round  him  to  express  their  gratitude, 
and  to  render  him  praise.  In  other 
words,  every  act  of  justice  on  the  part 
of  God — all  his  interpositions  to  defend 
his  people,  and  to  maintain  the  prin- 
ciples of  righteousness  and  truth- 
tend  to  inspire  confidence  in  him,  and 
to  increase  the  number  of  his  friends. 
The  phrase  (*  the  congregation  of  the 
people,"  here,  does  not  necessarily 
refer  to  any  "congregation,"  or  as- 
sembly as  such,  then  existing  ;  but  it 
means  that  a  great  congregation — a 
great  multitude — would  thus  encom- 


pass him,  or  that  great  numbers  tvoulcl 
worship  him  as  the  result  of  his  in- 
terposition. This  the  psalmist  urges 
as  a  motive,  or  as  a  reason  why  God 
should  interpose,  that  in  this  way  the 
number  of  his  worshippers  would  be 
greatly  increased.  %  For  their  sakes. 
On  their  account ;  or  to  secure  this 
result  in  regard  to  them.  *J[  Hettirn 
thou  on  high.  The  most  probable 
meaning  of  this  is  "ascend  thy  throne 
of  justice,  or  thy  judgment-seat ;" 
spoken  here  either  as  a  king  ascend- 
ing his  elevated  throne  (compare  Isa. 
vi.  1),  or  as  ascending  to  heaven,  the 
place  where  he  dispensed  justice.  The 
language  is  as  if  he  had  come  down 
from  his  throne — as  if  he  had  not 
been  engaged  in  dispensing  justice; 
and  David  now  calls  on  him  to  re- 
ascend  the  throne,  and  to  execute 
righteous  judgment  among  men.  The 
effect  of  this,  he  says,  would  be  to 
secure  the  confidence  of  his  people, 
and  to  increase  the  number  of  those 
who  would  worship  him.  Of  course, 
this  is  not  to  be  understood  literally, 
but  in  a  manner  appropriate  to  the 
Divine  majesty.  It  is  language,  in 
this  respect,  similar  to  that  which  is 
elsewhere  used,  when,  the  psalmist 
calls  on  God  to  awake,  to  arise,  to  lift 
up  himself.  See  ver.  6.  Such  lan- 
guage is  easily  understood ;  and  lan- 
guage drawn  from  the  common  modes 
of  speaking  among  men  must  be  used 
when  we  speak  of  God.  The  whole 
idea  in  this  passage  is  that  God  seemed 
to  delay  in  the  execution  of  his  judg- 
ment, and  the  psalmist  entreats  him 
to  hasten  it. 

8.  The  Lord  shall  judge  the  people. 
Expressing  his  confident  belief  that 
God  ivould  interpose,  and  that  his 
judgment  would  not  much  longer  be 
delayed.  The  proposition  is  a  general 
one — that  God  would  see  that  justice 
would  be  done  to  all  people ;  and  on 


60 


PSALM  VII. 


cording  »« to  ray  righteousness, 
and  according  to  mine  integrity 
that  is  in  nie. 

u  Tsa.  xviii.  20.  v  Rev.  ii.  23. 


this  ground  the  psalmist  pleads  that 
He  would  now  interpose  and  defend 
him  froui  his  enemies.  ^  Judge  me, 
O  Loed.  That  is,  in  my  present  cir- 
cumstances. Interpose  to  do  justice 
to  my  cause,  and  to  vindicate  me  from 
these  false  acctisations.  %  According 
to  my  righteousness.  In  this  particu- 
lar case,  for  to  that  the  proper  laws 
of  interpretation  require  us  to  confine 
this.  He  does  not  say  that  he  wished 
his  own  righteousness  to  he  made  the 
hasis  of  judgment  in  determining  his 
eteimal  welfare,  or  that  he  depended 
on  his  own  righteousness  for  salvation 
— for  that  is  not  the  point  in  question ; 
but  he  felt  that  his  was,  in  this  case, 
a  righteous  cause  ;  that  he  was  not 
guilty  of  the  charge  alleged  against 
him;  that  he  was  an  injured,  wronged, 
and  calumniated  man ;  and  he  prayed 
that  God  would  vindicate  him  from 
these  charges,  and  defend  him  from 
those  who  were  unjustly  persecut- 
ing him.  With  all  our  sense  of  per- 
sonal unworthiness  in  the  matter  of 
salvation,  it  is  not  improper,  when 
we  are  wronged,  to  pray  that  God 
would  interpose  and  vindicate  us  in 
that  particular  case,  according  to  our 
innocence  of  the  charges  alleged 
against  its.  %  And  according  to  mine 
integrity  that  is  in  me.  Heb.,  my  per- 
fection. That  is,  his  perfection  in 
this  case;  his  entire  freedom  from 
the  charges  brought  against  him  ;  his 
absolute  innocence  in  respect  to  the 
points  under  consideration.  A  man 
may  be  conscious  of  perfect  innocence 
in  respect  to  a  particular  matter,  and 
yet  have  a  deep  sense  of  his  general 
unworthiness,  and  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  a  sinner  against  God.  That  I  am 
innocent  of  a  particular  act  charged 
on  me  does  not  prove  that  I  am  guilt- 
less altogether;  that  I  should  allege 
that,  and  insist  on  that,  and  pray  to 
God  to  vindicate  me  in  that,  does  not 
prove  that  I  depend  on  that  for  the 


9  Oh  let  the  wickedness  of  the 
■wicked  come  to  an  end ;  but  es- 
tablish the  just :  for  the  righteous 
God  trieth  the  hearts  v  and  reins. 


salvation  of  my  soul,  or  that  I  claim 
absolute  perfection  before  him. 

9.  Oh  let  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked 
come  to  an  end.  Of  all  the  wicked; 
— wickedness  not  in  this  particular 
case  only,  but  wickedness  of  all  forms, 
and  in  all  lands.  The  prayer  here  is 
a  natural  one ;  when  a  man  becomes 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  evil  of 
sin  in  one  form,  he  wishes  that  the 
world  may  be  delivered  from  it  in  all 
forms  and  altogether.  ^  But  esta- 
blish the  just.  The  righteous.  This 
stands  in  contrast  with  his  desire  in 
regard  to  the  wicked.  He  prays  that 
the  righteous  may  be  confirmed  in 
their  integrity,  and  that  their  plans 
may  succeed.  This  prayer  is  as  uni- 
versal as  the  former,  and  is,  in  fact,  a 
prayer  that  the  world  may  come  under 
the  dominion  of  the  principles  of  truth 
and  holiness.  ^[  For  the  righteous 
God  trieth  the  hearts  and  reins.  That 
is,  the  hearts  and  reins  of  all  men. 
He  understands  the  character  of  all 
men ;  he  is  intimately  acquainted  with 
all  their  thoughts,  and  purposes,  and 
feelings.  To  search  or  try  "  the  heart 
and  the  reins  "  is  an  expression  fre- 
quently used  in  the  Bible  to  denote 
that  God  is  intimately  acquainted  with 
all  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  men  ; 
that  is,  that  he  thoroughly  understands 
the  character  of  all  men.  The  word 
"  heart "  in  the  Scriptures  is  often 
used  to  denote  the  seat  of  the  thoughts; 
and  the  word  "  reins "  seems  to  be 
used  to  denote  the  most  secret  feel- 
ings, purposes,  and  devices  of  the  soul 
— as  if  lodged  deep  in  our  nature,  or 
covered  in  the  most  hidden  and  con- 
cealed portions  of  the  man.  The  word 
reins,  with  us,  denotes  the  kidneys. 
In  the  Scriptures  the  word  seems  to 
be  used,  in  a  general  sense,  to  denote 
the  inward  parts,  as  the  seat  of  the 
affections  and  passions.  The  Hebrew 
word  i"P_?3,  Jcilyah,  means  the  same 
as  the  word  reins  with  us, — the  kid- 


PSALM  VII. 


61 


10  1  My  defence  w  is  of  God, 
which     saveth    the    upright    in 

1  buckler  is  upon.  to  Ps.  lxxxix.  18. 


neys,  Exod.  xxix.  13,  22;  Job  xvi.  13  ; 
Isa.  xxxiv.  6 ;  Deut.  xxxii.  14.     From 
some    cause,   the    Hebrews   seem   to 
have  regarded  the  reins  as  the  seat  of 
the  affections   and   passions,   though 
perhaps  only  in  the  sense  that  they 
thus  spoke  of  the  inward  parts,  and 
meant  to  denote  the  deepest  purposes 
of  the  soul — as  if  utterly  concealed 
from  the  eye.     These  deep  thoughts 
and   feelings,   so  unknown   to  other 
men,  are  all  known  intimately  to  God, 
and  thus  the  character  of  every  man 
is  clearly  understood  by  him,  and  he 
can  judge   every   man   aright.     The 
phrase  here  used — of  trying  the  hearts 
and  reins — is  one  that  is  often  em- 
ployed to  describe  the  Omniscience  of 
God.   Comp.  Jer.  xi.  20 ;  xvii.  10 ;  xx. 
12;  Ps.  xxvi.  2;  cxxxix.  13  7  Rev.  ii. 
23.    The  particular  idea  here  is,  that 
as  God  searches  the  hearts  of  all  men, 
and  understands  the  secret  purposes 
of   the    soul,    he   is    able    to  judge 
aright,  and  to  determine  correctly  in 
regard  to  their  character,  or  to  ad- 
minister his  government  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  exact  justice.     Such  is  the 
ground  of  the  prayer  in  this  case,  that 
God,   who  knew  the  character  of  all 
men,    would   confirm  those   who  are 
truly  righteous,  and  would  bring  the 
wickedness  of  the  ungodly  to  an  end. 
10.  My   defence   is  of  God.     The 
meaning   here   is,  that  God  was  his 
protector,  and  that  in  his  troubles  he 
confided  in  him.     The  original  word 
here,  as  in  Ps.  iii.  3 ;  v.  12,  is  shield. 
See  Notes  on  those  verses,     ^f   Which 
saveth  the  upright  in,  heart.     Whom 
he  that  searches  the  heart  (ver.  9) 
sees  to  be  upright ;  or  to  be  sincere, 
truthful,  just.     The  writer  says  that 
it  is  a  characteristic  of  God  that  he 
saves  or  protects  all  such ;  and,  con- 
scious of  his  innocence  of  the  charges 
against   himself,  he  here  appeals   to 
him  on  that  ground,  and  confides  in 
his  protection  because  he  sees  that  in 
this  respect  he  was  blameless. 


heart. 

11  -  God  judgeth  the  righteous, 

2  Or,  is  a  righteous  judge. 


11.   God    judgeth     the     righteous. 
That  is,  he  pronounces  a  just  judg- 
ment on  their  behalf;  he  vindicates 
their  character.     It  is  true,  in  a  gene- 
ral sense,  that  God  judges  allaccording 
to  their  character  ;  but  the  particular 
idea  here  is,  that  God  will  do  justice 
to  the  righteous ;  he  will  interpose  to 
vindicate  them,  and  he  will  treat  them 
as   they  ought  to   be   treated    when 
assailed  by  their  enemies,  and  when 
reproached    and    calumniated.      The 
original  phrase  here  is  susceptible  of 
two   translations ;    either,   God  is  a 
righteous  judge — or,  God  is  judging, 
that  is  judges,    the   righteous.     The 
sense  is  not  materially  varied,  which- 
ever    translation    is    adopted.     Our 
common    version    has    probably   ex- 
pressed the  true  idea ;  and  there  the 
design  of  the  writer  is  to  contrast  the 
manner  in  which   God   regards   and 
treats  the  righteous,  with  the  manner 
in  which  he  regards  and  treats  the 
wicked.     The  one  he  judges,  that  is, 
he  does  him  justice ;  with  the  other 
he  is  angry  every  day.     %  And  God 
is    angry     with    the    wicked.       The 
phrase  with  the  ivicked  is  supplied  by 
our    translators,  but  not  improperly, 
since  the  writer  evidently  intends  to 
speak  of  these  in  contrast  with  the 
righteous.     The  Avords  God  is  angry 
must,  of  course,  be  understood  in  a 
manner  in  accordance  with  the  Di- 
vine nature ;  and  we  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  precisely  the  same  passions, 
or  the  same  feelings,  are  referred  to 
when  this  language  is  used  of  God 
which  is  implied  when  it  is  used  of 
men.     It  means  that  his  nature,  his 
laws,  his  government,  his  feelings,  are 
all  arrayed  against  the  wicked ;  that 
he  cannot  regard  the  conduct  of  the 
wicked   with   favour ;    that   he   will 
punish   them.     While   his  judgment 
in  regard  to  the  righteous  must  be  in 
their  favour,  it  must  just  as  certainly 
be  against  the  wicked  ;    while  he  will 
vindicate  the  one,  he  will  cut  off  and 


62 


PSALM  VII. 


and  God  is  angry  with  the  wicked 
every  day. 
l'l  x  If  lie   turn  not,  he    will 


whet  his  sword ;  he  hath  bent  his 
bow,  and  made  it  ready. 

x  Matt.  iii.  10. 


punish  the  other.    Of  the  truth  of  this 
in  respect  to  the  Divine  character  there 
can  be  no  doubt.     Indeed,  we  could 
not  honour  a  God — as  we  could  ho- 
nour no  other  being — who  would  deal 
with  the  righteous  and   the  wicked 
alike,  or  who  would  have  no  respect 
to    character    in    the    treatment   of 
others,  and   in  his  feelings   towards 
them.     %  Every  'day.     Continually  ; 
constantly  ;  always.    This  is  designed 
to   qualify   the   previous   expression. 
It  is  not  excitement.     It  is  not  tem- 
porary passion,  such  as  we  see  in  men. 
It  is  not  sudden  emotion,  soon  to  be 
succeeded  by  a  different  feeling  when 
the  passion  passes  off.    It  is  the  steady 
and  uniform  attribute  of  his  unchang- 
ing nature  to  be  always  opposed  to 
the  wicked, — to  all  forms  of  sin ;  and 
in  him,  in  this  respect,  there  will  be 
no  change.     The  wicked  will  find  him 
no  more  favourable  to  their  character 
and  course  of  life  to-morrow  than  he 
is  to-day;  no  more  beyond  the  grave, 
than  this  side  the  tomb.     What  he  is 
to-day  he  will  be  to-morrow  and  every 
day.     Time  will  make  no  change  in 
this  respect,  and  the  wicked  can  have 
no  hope  on  the  ground  that  the  feel- 
ing of  God  towards  sin  and  the  sinner 
(as  such)  will  ever  be  in  any  way  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  at  the  present 
moment.     This  is  a  fearful  truth  in 
regard  to  the  sinner;  and  both  aspects 
of  the  truth  here  stated  should  make 
the  sinner  tremble; — (a)  that  God  is 
angry  with  him — that   all   His    cha- 
racter, and  all  the  principles   of  His 
government  and  law,  are  and  must  be 
arrayed  against  him ;  and  (b)  that  in 
this  respect  there  is  to  be  no  change; 
that  if  he  continues  to  be  wicked,  as 
he  is  now,  he  will  every  day  and  al- 
ways— this  side  the  grave  and  beyond 
— find  all  the  attributes  of  God  en- 
gaged against   him,  and  pledged  to 
punish  him.     God   has   no  attribute 
that  can  take  part  with  sin  or  the 
sinner. 


12.  If  lie  turn  not.     If  the  wicked 
person  does  not  repent.     In  the  pre- 
vious verse  the  psalmist  had  said  that 
God  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every 
day ;  he  here  states  what  must  be  the 
consequence   to  the  wicked  if  they 
persevere  in  the  course  which   they 
are  pursuing;  that  is,  if  they  do  not 
repent.     God,  he  says,  cannot  be  in- 
different   to  the  course  which   they 
pursue,  but  he  is  preparing  for  them 
the  instruments  of  punishment,  and 
he  will   certainly   bring  destruction 
upon  them.     It  is  implied  here  that 
if  they  would  repent  and  turn  they 
would    avoid    this,    and    would    be 
saved  : — a  doctrine  which   is   every- 
where stated  in  the  Scriptures,    ^f  He 
will  whet  his  sword.     He  will  sharpen 
his    sword  preparatory   to   inflicting 
punishment.     That  is,   God   will   do 
this.     Some,  however,  have  supposed 
that  this  refers  to  the  wicked  person 
— the  enemy  of  David — meaning  that 
if  he  did  not  turn ;  if  he  was   not 
arrested ;  if  he  was  suffered  to  go  on 
as  he  intended,  he   would  whet  his 
sword,  and  bend  his  bow,  etc. ;  that 
is,  that  he  would  go  on  to  execute  his 
purposes  against  the  righteous.     See 
Kosenmuller   in  loc.     But  the  most 
natural  construction  is  to  refer  it  to 
God,  as  meaning  that  if"  the  sinner 
did  not  repent,  He  would  inflict  on 
him  deserved  punishment.    The  sword 
is    an    instrument     of     punishment 
(comp.  Eom.  xiii.  4)  ;  and  to  whet  or 
sharpen  it, is  merely  a  phrase  denoting 
that   he   would   prepare    to   execute 
punishment.      See   Deut.    xxxii.  41. 
Tf  He  hath  bent  his  bow.     The  bow, 
like  the  sword,  was  used  in  battle  as 
a  means  of  destroying  an  enemy.     It 
is   here  used  of  God,  who  is  repre- 
sented as  going  forth  to  destroy  or 
punish   his   foes.      The   language    is 
derived  from    the    customs    of  war. 
Comp.  Ex.   xv.    3;    Isa.  lxiii.    1—4. 
The  Hebrew  here  is,  "  his  bow  he  has 
trodden,"  alluding  to  the  ancient  mode 


rSALM  VII. 


G3 


13  He  hath  also  prepared  for 
liim  the  instruments  of  death ;  he 
ordaineth  his  arrows  >j  against  the 
persecutors. 

y  Dent,  xxxii.  23;  Psa.  xlv.  5. 


1-i  Behold,  he  travaileth  with 
iniquity,  and  hath  conceived  mis- 
chief, and  brought  forth  falsehood. 

15  !  He  made  a  pit,  and  digged 

1  hath  digged  a  pit. 


of  bending  the  large  and  heavy  bows 
used  in  war,  by  treading  on  them  in 
order  to  bend  them.  ^[  And  made  it 
ready.  Made  it  ready  to  shoot  the 
arrow.  That  is,  He  is  ready  to  execute 
punishment  on  the  wicked ;  or,  all 
the  preparations  are  made  for  it. 

13.  He  hath  also  prepared  for  him. 
Tho  instruments  of  punishment  are 
already  prepared,  and  God  can  use 
them  when  he  pleases.  They  are  not 
to  be  made  ready,  and,  therefore,  there 
is  no  necessity  for  delay  when  he  shall 
have  occasion  to  use  them.  The  idea 
is,  that  arrangements  are  made  for 
the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  and 
that  the  destruction  must  come  upon 
them.  The  world  is  full  of  these 
arrangements,  and  it  is  impossible  that 
the  sinner  should  escape.  ^  The  in- 
struments of  death.  The  means  of 
putting  them  to  death;  that  is,  of 
punishing  them.  The  particular 
means  referred  to  here  are  arrows,  as 
being  what  God  has  prepared  for  the 
wicked.  Death  here  is  designed 
simply  to  denote  punishment,  as  death 
would  be  inflicted  by  arrows.  ^[  He 
ordaineth  his  arrows  against  the  per- 
secutors. Or  rather,  as  the  Hebrew 
is,  "  He  makes  his  arrows  for  burn- 
ing/' that  is,  "  for  burning  arrows." 
Horsley  renders  it,  "  He  putteth  his 
arrows  in  action  against  those  who 
are  ready  for  burning."  Prof.  Alex- 
ander, "  His  arrows  to  (be)  burning  he 
will  make."  De  Wette,  "  His  arrows 
he  makes  burning."  Lat.  Vulgate 
and  Sept.,  "  His  arrows  he  has  made 
for  the  burning  :" — that  is,  proba- 
bly for  those  who  are  burning  with 
rage  ;  for  persecutors.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  idea  of  our  translators. 
The  Hebrew  word  —  ptn,  dalak — 
— means  to  burn,  to  flame;  and  hence, 
also,  to  burn  with  love,  with  anxiety, 
or  with  zeal  or  wrath — as  persecutors 
do.     But  here  the  word  seems  pro- 


perly to  be  connected  with  arrows  ; 
and  the  sense  is,  as  rendered  by 
Gesenius,  "he  maketh  his  arrows 
flaming  "  that  is,  burning — alluding 
to  the  ancient  custom  of  shooting 
ignited  darts  or  arrows  into  besieged 
towns  or  camps,  for  the  purpose  of 
setting  them  on  fire,.as  well  as  for  the 
purpose  of  inflicting  greater  personal 
injury.  The  sense  is,  that  God  had 
prepared  the  means  of  certain  de- 
struction for  the  wicked.  The  refer- 
ence here  is  not  necessarily  to  perse- 
cutors, but  what  is  said  here  pertains 
to  all  the  wicked  unless  they  repent. 

14.  Behold,  he  travaileth  with  in- 
iquity. The  wicked  man  does.  The 
allusion  here  is  to  the  pains  and  throes 
of  child-birth ;  and  the  idea  is,  that 
the  wicked  man  labours  or  struggles, 
even  with  great  pain,  to  accomplish 
his  purposes  of  iniquity.  All  his 
efforts,  purposes,  plans,  are  for  the 
promotion  of  evil.  ^[  And  hath  con- 
ceived mischief.  That  is,  he  hath 
formed  a  scheme  of  mischief.  The 
allusion  here  is  common  when  speak- 
ing of  forming  a  plan  of  evil.  \  And 
brought  forth  falsehood.  The  birth 
is  falsehood ;  that  is,  self-deception, 
or  disappointment.  It  does  not  mean 
that  falsehood  was  his  aim  or  pur? 
pose,  or  that  he  had  merely  accom- 
plished a  lie ;  but  the  idea  is,  that 
after  all  his  efforts  and  pains,  after  hav- 
ing formed  his  scheme,  and  laboured 
hard  (as  if  in  the  pangs  of  child- 
birth) to  bring  it  forth,  it  was  abor- 
tive. He  would  be  disappointed,  and 
would  fail  at  last.  This  idea  is  ex- 
pressed more  distinctly  in  the  follow- 
ing verse,  and  the  design  of  the  whole 
is  to  say  that  any  plan  or  purpose  of 
wickedness  must  be  in  the  end  a 
failure,  since  God  is  a  righteous  Judge, 
and  will  vindicate  his  own  cause. 

15.  He  made  a  pit.  The  allusion 
here  is  undoubtedly  to  a  method  of 


64 


PSALM  VII. 


it,  and  is  :  fallen  into  the  ditch 
wh  ich  lie  made. 

16  His   mischief  shall   return 
upon  his  own  head,  and  his  vio- 

2  Esth.  ix.  25;  Ecc.  x.  8. 


lent  dealing  shall  come  down  up- 
on his  own  pate. 

17  I  will  praise  the  Lord  ac- 
cording to  his  righteousness;  and 


hunting  wild  beasts  which  was  com- 
mon in  ancient  times.  It  consists  in 
digging  a  pit-fall,  and  covering  it 
over  with  brush  and  grass  so  as  to 
deceive  the  animals,  and  then  enclos- 
ing them  and  driving  them  into  it. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  xxiv.  17.  1f  And 
digged  it.  And  hollowed  it  out  so 
as  to  be  large  enough  to  contain  his 
prey,  and  so  deep  that  he  could  not 
escape  if  he  fell  into  it.  The  idea  is, 
that  the  enemy  here  referred  to  bad 
laid  a  secret  and  artful  plan  to  de- 
stroy others.  He  meant  that  they 
should  not  be  aware  of  his  plan  until 
the  mischief  came  suddenly  upon 
them..  He  was  preparing  to  ruin 
them,  and  supposed  that  he  was  cer- 
tain of  his  prey,  ^f  And  is  fallen  into 
the  ditch  which  he  made.  Into  the 
pit-fall  which  he  had  constructed  for 
others ;  as  if  a  man  who  had  made  a 
pit-fall  for  wild  beasts  had  himself 
fallen  into  it,  and  could  not  extricate 
himself.  That  is,  he  had  been  snared 
in  his  own  devices ;  his  cunning  had 
recoiled  on  himself,  and  instead  of 
bringing  ruin  on  others  he  had  only 
managed  to  bring  it  on  himself.  See 
this  sentiment  illustrated  in  the  Xotes 
on  Job  v.  13.  A  remarkable  instance 
of  the  kind  may  be  found  in  Esther 
(chap.  v. — vii.),  in  the  case  of  Haman. 
Indeed,  such  things  are  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  world,  where  the  cunning 
and  the  crafty  are  involved  in  the 
consequences  of  their  own  plans,  and 
are  taken  in  meshes  from  which  they 
cannot  free  themselves.  A  straightfor- 
ward course  is  easy,  and  men  are  safe 
in  it ;  but  it  requires  more  skill  than 
most  men  are  endowed  with  to  manage 
a  crooked  and  crafty  policy  safely,  or 
so  as  to  be  safe  themselves  in  pursuing 
such  a  course.  A  spider  will  weave  a 
web  for  flies  with  no  danger  to  him- 
self, for  he  is  made  for  that,  and  acts 
as  if  he  understood  all  the  intricacies 


of  his  own  web,  and  may  move  safely 
over  it  in  every  direction;  but  man 
was  made  to  accomplish  his  purposes 
in  an  open  and  upright  way,  not  by 
fraud  and  deceit ;  hence,  when  he 
undertakes  a  tortuous  and  crooked 
course — a  plan  of  secret  and  schem- 
ing policy — in  order  to  ruin  others,  it 
often  becomes  unmanageable  by  his 
own  skill,  or  is  suddenly  sprung  upon 
himself.  Xo  one  can  overvalue  a 
straightforward  course  in  its  influence 
on  our  ultimate  happiness;  no  one 
can  overestimate  the  guilt  and  danger 
of  a  crooked  and  secret  policy  in  de- 
vising plans  of  evil. 

16.  Sis  mischief.  The  mischief 
which  he  had  designed  for  others. 
%  Shall  return  upon  his  own  head. 
Shall  come  upon  himself.  The  blow 
which  he  aimed  at  others  shall  recoil 
on  himself.  This  is  but  stating  in 
another  form  the  sentiment  which 
had  been  expressed  in  the  two  pre, 
vious  verses.  The  language  here  used 
has  something  of  a  proverbial  cast, 
and  perhaps  was  common  in  the  time 
of  the  writer  to  express  this  idea. 
^[  And  Vis  violent  dealing.  Which  he 
shows  to  others.  The  word  rendered 
violent  dealing  means  violence,  in- 
justice, oppression,  wrong,  ^f  Shall 
come  down  upon  his  own  pate.  The 
word  here  renderecWparfe  means  pro- 
perly vertex,  top,  or  crown — as  of  the 
head.  The  idea  is  that  it  would 
come  upon  himself.  He  would  be 
treated  as  he  had  designed  to  treat 
others.  The  sentiment  here  expressed 
is  found  also  in  Ps.  ix.  15;  xxxv.  8; 
xxxvii.  15.  Comp.  Eurip.  Med.  409, 
and  Lucretius  v.  1151. 

17.  I  will  praise  the  Loed  accord- 
ing to  his  righteousness.  That  is,  par- 
ticularly as  manifested  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  righteous  and  the.wicked, 
protecting  the  one,  and  bringing 
deserved  punishment  upon  the  other. 


PSALM  VIII. 


65 


will  sing  praise  to  the  name  of 


The  purpose  of  the  psalm  is  to  show 
this.  Iu  the  course  of  the  psalm  the 
author  had  declared  his  full  convic- 
tion that  this  was  the  character  of 
God,  and  now,  in  view  of  this,  he  says 
that  he  will  render  to  him  the  praise 
and  glory  which  such  a  character  de- 
serves. He  will  acknowledge  him  by 
public  acts  of  praise  as  such  a  God ; 
and  will  at  all  times  ascribe  these  at- 
tributes to  him.  ^[  And  will  sing 
praise  to  the  name  of  the  Loed.  To 
the  name  of  Jehovah ;  that  is,  to 
Jehovah  himself,  the  name  being  often 
used  to  designate  a  person,  or  that 
by  which  he  is  known ;  and  also,  in 
many  cases,  as  in  this,  being  signifi- 
cant, or  designating  the  essential  na- 
ture of  him  to  whom  it  is  applied. 
%  Most  high.  Exalted  above  all  other 
beings';  exalted  above  all  worlds. 
The  purpose  here  declared  of  praising 
God  may  refer  either  to  the  act  which 
he  was  then  performing  in  the  com- 
position of  the  psalm,  or  it  may  be  a 
purpose  in  respect  to  the  future,  de- 
claring his  intention  to  be  to  retain 
in  future  life  the  memory  of  those 
characteristics  of  the  Divine  nature 
now  disclosed  to  him,  and  to  celebrate 
them  in  all  time  to  come.  The  great 
truth  taught  is,  that  God  is  to  be 
adored  for  what  he  is,  and  that  his 
holy  character,  manifested  alike  in 
the  treatment  of  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked,  lays  the  foundation  for 
exalted  praise. 

PSALM  Till. 

§  1.  The  author  of  the  psalm. —This  is 
another  psalm  purporting  to  have  been 
written  by  David,  and  there  is  nothing 
in  it  that  leads  us  to  think  otherwise. 

§  2.  The  title  to  the  2^alm.—The 
psalm  is  addressed  "  To  the  chief  Musi- 
cian upon  Gittith."  In  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase  "  chief  Musician,' ' 
see  Xotes  on  the  introduction  to  Ps.  iv. 
The  word  Gittith — rPPl!!— occurs  but  in 
two  other  places,  also  in  the  titles  to 
the  psalms,  Ps.  lxxxi.  1 ;  lxxxiv.  1. 
It  is  supposed  to  refer  to  a  musical 
instrument  so   called,   either  as  being 


the  Lord  most  high. 


common  among  the  Gittites  (from  "H3, 
Gittites,  or  an  inhabitant  of  Gath.  See 
2  Sam.  vi.  10,  11 ;  xv.  18),  among  whom 
David  for  some  time  resided  ;  or  as  being 
derived  from  HI?,  Gath — a  wine-pr 
as  denoting  an  instrument  that  was 
used  by  those  accustomed  to  tread  the 
wine-vat,  and  intended  to  accompany  the 
songs  of  the  vintage.  The  former  is 
the  more  probable  derivation,  as  it  is 
known  that  David  dwelt  for  some  time 
among  that  people,  and  it  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  an  instrument  of  music 
in  use  among  them  should  have  become 
common  among  the  Hebrews.  Nothing 
is  known,  however,  as  to  whether  it  was 
a  stringed  instrument  or  a  wind  instru- 
ment. Compare,  however,  Ugolin,  Thes. 
Sac.  Ant.  xxxii.  487.  All  that  can  be 
ascertained,  with  any  degree  of  proba- 
bility about  this  instrument,  is,  that  as 
each  of  the  psalms  to  which  this  title  is 
prefixed  is  of  a  cheerful  or  joyous  nature, 
it  would  seem  that  this  instrument  was 
adapted  to  music  of  this  kind,  rather 
than  to  that  which  was  pensive  or  serious. 
This  idea  also  would  agree  well  with  the 
supposition  that  it  denotes  an  instrument 
that  was  employed  by  those  connected 
with  the  vintage.     Comp.  Isa.  xvi.  10. 

§  3.  Occasion  on  which  the  psalm  teas 
composed. — Of  this  nothing  is  specified  in 
the  psalm  itself,  and  it  is  impossible  now 
to  ascertain  it.  Aben  Ezra,  and  some 
others,  have  supposed  that  it  was  written 
when  David  brought  up  the  ark  to  the 
house  of  Obed-edom  the  Gittite,  as 
mentioned  in  1  Chron.  xiii.  12 — 14.  But 
there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  adapted 
to  such  an  occasion.  Rudinger  supposes 
that  it  was  composed  in  the  joy  of  taking 
possession  of  Mount  Zion.  Others  have 
supposed  that  it  was  on  occasion  of  the 
•victory  of  David  over  Goliath  of  Gath ; 
but  there  is  nothing  in  it  adapted  to  the 
celebration  of  such  a  victory. 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  psalm  itself, 
it  would  seem  probable  that  it  was  com- 
posed by  night  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  starry  heavens— naturally  suggesting, 
in  -view  of  the  vastness  and  beauty  of  the 
celestial  luminaries,  the  littleness  of  man. 
This  also  filled  the  mind  of  the  psalmist 
with  wonder  that  the  God  who  marshals 
all  these  hosts  should  condescend  to  re- 
gard the  condition  and  wants  of  a  being 
so  feeble  and  frail  as  man,  and  should 
have  exalted  him  as  he  has  done  over 


66 


PSALM  VIII. 


0 


PSALM  VIII. 

To  the  chief  Musician  upon  a  Gittith. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 

LORD,  our  Lord,  how  excel- 

a  Psa.  lxxxi.  and  lxxxiv.  title. 


his  works.  That  it  was  composed  or 
suggested  in  the  night  seems  probable, 
from  ver.  3,  where  the  psalmist  repre- 
sents himself  as  surveying  or  "  consider- 
ing" the  "heavens,  the  work"  of  the 
Divine  "fingers,"  and  as  making  the 
"moon  and  the  stars"  the  subject  of 
Iris  contemplation,  but  not  mentioning 
the  sun.  In  such  contemplations,  when 
looking  on  the  vastness  and  grandeur, 
the  beauty  and  order",  of  the  heavenly 
hosts,  it  was  not  unnatural  for  the 
writer  to  think  of  his  own  comparative 
littleness,  and  then  the  comparative 
littleness  of  man  everywhere.  Xo  time 
is  more  favourable  for  suggesting  such 
thoughts  than  the  still  night,  when  the 
stars  are  shining  clearly  in  the  heavens, 
and  when  the  moon  is  moving  on  in  the 
silent  majesty  of  its  course.  It  would 
seem  also,  from  ver.  2,  to  be  probable 
that  the  immediate  occasion  of  this  ex- 
pression of  admiration  of  the  name  and 
character  of  God  was  some  act  of  con- 
descension on  his  part  in  which  he  had 
bestowed  signal  favour  on  the  writer — as 
if  he  had  ordained  strength  out  of  the 
mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings — from 
even  the  most  feeble  and  helpless. 
Perhaps  it  was  in  view  of  some  favour 
bestowed  on  David  himself ;  and  his  soul 
is  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  the 
condescension  of  God  in  noticing  one 
so  weak  and  feeble  and  helpless  as  he 
was.  From  the  contemplation  of  this, 
the  thought  is  naturally  turned  to  the 
honour  which  God  had  everywhere  be- 
stowed upon  man. 

The  psalm,  though  one  part  of  it  is 
applied  by  the  apostle  Paul  to  Christ 
(Heb.  ii.  6,  7),  does  not  appear  originally 
to  have  had  any  designed  reference  to 
the  Messiah,  though  the  apostle  shows 
that  its  language  had  a  complete  fulfil- 
ment in  him,  and  in  him  alone.  See 
Notes  on  that  passage.  The  psalm  is 
complete  in  itself,  as  applicable  to  man 
as  he  was  originally  created,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  purposes  of  his  creation  ; 
though  it  is  true  that  the  original  design 
will  be  carried  out  and  completed  only 
in  the  dominion  which  will  be  granted  to 
the  Messiah,  who,  as  a  man,  has  illus* 
trated  in  the  highest  manner  the  original 
purpose  of  the  creation  of  the  race,  and 


lent h  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth ! 
who  hast  set  thy  glory  above  the 
heavens. 


b  Psa.  cxlviii.  13. 


in  whom  alone  the  original  design  will 
be  fully  carried  out. 

§  4.  Contents  of the  psalm. — The  psalm 
embraces  the  following  points  : — 

I.  An  admiring  recognition  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  name  of  God  (that  is,  of 
God  himself) ;— of  that  excellence  as  ma- 
nifested in  all  the  earth,  ver.  1.  The  ex- 
cellency referred  to,  as  the  subsequent 
part  of  the  psalm  shows,  is  in  his  great 
condescension,  and  in  his  conferring  such 
honour  on  man — a  being  so  feeble  as  com- 
pared with  himself,  and  so  unworthy  as 
compared  with  the  glory  of  the  heavens. 

II.  The  immediate  occasion  of  this 
reflection,  or  the  cause  which  suggested  it, 
ver.  2.  This  seems  to  have  been  some 
remarkable  manifestation  to  one  who 
was  feeble  and  helpless,  as  if  God  had 
ordained  strength  out  of  the  mouth  of 
babes  and  sucklings.  It  is  not  improba- 
ble, as  remarked  above,  that  in  this  the 
psalmist  refers  to  himself  as  having  been, 
though  conscious  of  Aveakness  and  help- 
lessness, the  means  of  overcoming  the 
enemies  of  God,  as  if  God  had  ordained 
strength  through  him,  or  had  endowed 
him  with  strength  not  his  own. 

III.  The  psalmist  is  led  into  admira- 
tion of  the  condescension  of  God  in 
bestowing  such  dignity  and  honour  on 
man,  vers.  3 — 8.  Tlvis  admiration  is 
founded  on  two  things  : — 

(1)  That  the  God  who  had  made 
the  heavens,  the  moon  and  the  stars, 
should  condescend  to  notice  man  or 
creatures  so  insignificant  and  unworthy 
of  notice,  vera.  3,  4. 

(2)  The  actual  honour  conferred  on 
man,  in  the  rank  which  God  had  given 
him  in  the  dominion  over  his  works  here 
below ;  and  in  the  wide  extent  of  that 
dominion  over  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  seas.  vers.  5 — 8. 

IV.  The  psalm  concludes  with  a 
repetition  of  the  sentiment  in  the  first 
verse — the  reflection  on  the  excellency  of 
the  Divine  name  and  majesty,  ver.  9. 

1.  O  Lord.  Heb.,  Jehovah.  It  is 
an  address  to  God  by  his  chosen  and 
peculiar  title,  Ex.  in.  14.  Compare 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  2.  %  Our  Lord. 
The  word  here  used — S21S,  Adonai — 


PSALM  VIII. 


67 


2  Out  of  the  mouth  of  c  babes 

c  Matt,  xi.  25  j  xxi.  16  ;  1  Cor.  i.  27. 


means  properly  master,  lord,  ruler, 
owner,  and  is  such  a  title  as  is 
given  to  an  owner  of  land  or  of 
slaves,  to  kings,  or  to  rulers,  and  is 
applied  to  God  as  being  the  ruler  or 
governor  of  the  universe.  The  mean- 
ing here  is,  that  the  psalmist  acknow- 
ledged Jehoyah  to  be  the  rightful 
ruler,  Icing,  or  master  of  himself  and 
of  all  others.  He  conies  before  him 
with  the  feeling  that  Jehovah  is  the 
universal  ruler — the  king  and  pro- 
prietor of  all  things.  \  How  excel- 
lent is  thy  name.  How  excellent  or 
exalted  art  thou — the  name  being 
often  used  to  denote  the  person.  The 
idea  is,  "  How  glorious  art  thou  in  thy 
manifested  excellence  or  character." 
■[[  In  all  the  earth.  In  all  parts  of  the 
world.  That  is,  the  manifestation  of 
his  perfect  character  was  not  confined 
to  any  one  country,  but  was  seen  in 
all  lands,  and  among  all  people.  In 
every  place  his  true  character  was 
made  known  through  his  works;  in 
every  land  there  were  evidences  of 
his  wisdom,  his  greatness,  his  good- 
ness, his  condescension.  %  Who  hast 
set  thy  glory  above  the  heavens.  The 
word  here  used,  and  rendered  "  hast 
set,"  is  in  the  imperative  mood — 
T\IT\,  tenah — give  ;  and  it  should  pro- 
bably have  been  so  rendered  here, 
"  which  thy  glory  give  thou  •"  that 
is,  "  which  glory  of  thine,  or  implied 
in  thy  name,  give  or  place  above  the 
heavens."  In  other  words,  let  it  be 
exalted  in  the  highest  degree,  and  to 
the  highest  place,  even  above  the 
heavens  on  which  he  was  gazing,  and 
which  were  in  themselves  so  grand, 
ver.  3.  It  expresses  the  wish  or 
prayer  of  the  writer  that  the  name  or 
praise  of  God,  so  manifest  in  the 
earth,  might  be  exalted  in  the  highest 
possible  degree — be  more  elevated 
than  the  moon  and  the  stars — ex- 
alted and  adored  in  all  worlds.  In 
His  name  there  was  such  intrinsic 
grandeur  that  he  desired  that  it  might 
be  regarded  as  the  highest  object  in 
the  universe,  and  might  blaze  forth 


and  sucklings  hast  thou  l  ordain- 

1  founded. 


above  all  worlds, 
cal  construction 
— see  an  article 
the    Bibliotheca 


On  the  grammati- 
of  this  word — nDH 
by  Prof.  Stuart,  in 
Sacra,  vol.  ix.  pp. 
73 — 77.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that 
the  word  is  not  formed  from  "jrg, 
nathan — to  give,  as  is  the  common 
explanation,  but  from  n2H  tanah — 
to  give  presents,  to  distribute  gifts, 
Hos.  viii.  9,  10,  and  that  it  should  be 
rendered,  Thou  tvho  diffusest  abroad 
thy  glory  over  the  heavens. 

2.  Out  of  the  mouth.  This  passage 
is  quoted  by  the  Saviour  in  Matt.  xxi. 
16,  to  vindicate  the  conduct  of  the 
children  in  the  temple  crying,  "  Ho- 
sanna  to  the  Son  of  David,"  against 
the  objections  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Scribes,  and  is  perhaps  alluded  to  by 
him  in  Matt.  xi.  25.  It  is  not  affirmed, 
however,  in  either  place,  that  it  had 
an  original  reference  to  the  times  of 
the  Messiah,  or  that  it  was  meant,  as 
used  by  the  psalmist,  to  denote  that 
children  would  be  employed  in  the 
praise  of  God.  The  language  suffi- 
ciently expressed  the  idea  which  the 
Saviour  meant  to  convey;  and  the 
principle  or  great  truth  involved  in 
the  psalm  was  applicable  to  the  use 
which  he  made  of  it.  The  language 
would,  perhaps,  most  naturally  denote 
that  infant  children  ivould  give  utter- 
ance to  the  praises  of  God,  as  the 
word  mouth  is  used ;  but  still  it  is  not 
quite  certain  that  the  psalmist  meant 
to  convey  that  idea.  It  is  probable, 
as  we  shall  see,  that  he  meant  to  say, 
God  had  conferred  great  honour  on 
men — men  so  humble  and  weak  that 
they  might  be  compared  to  infants — 
by  making  them  the  means  of  over- 
throwing his  enemies,  thus  showing 
the  greatness  of  the  Divine  condescen- 
sion. %  Babes.  The  word  here  used 
—  ^r?i^>  olail — means  properly  a 
boy  or  child,  and  is  usually  connected 
with  the  word  rendered  sucklings, 
Jer.  xliv.  7;  Lam.  ii.  11.  It  is  ap- 
plied to  a  boy  playing  in  the  streets, 
Jer.  vi.  11 ;  ix.  21 ;  asking  for  bread, 


68 


PSALM  VIII. 


ed    strength,   because    of    thine 
enemies;  that  thou  migh test  still 


the  enemy  (l  and  the  avenger. 

d  Psa.  xliv.  16. 


Lam.  iv.  4 ;  carried  away  captive, 
Lam.  i.  5 ;  borne  in  the  arms,  Lam.  ii. 
20  ;  and  once  to  an  unborn  infant, 
Job  iii.  16.  It  refers  here  to  a  child, 
or  to  one  who  is  like  a  child;  and  the 
idea  is  that  those  to  whom  it  is  ap- 
plied were  naturally  unable  to  accom- 
plish what  was  done  by  them,  and 
that  God  had  honoured  them,  and 
had  shown  his  own  condescension,  by 
making  them  the  instruments  of  doing 
what  they  had  done.  ^[  And  suck- 
lings. The  word  here  used — p3V, 
yonailc — means  a  suckling,  or  a  suck- 
ing child,  a  babe,  Deut.  xxxii.  25.  It 
may  be  used  literally,  or  employed  to 
denote  one  who,  in  respect  to  strength, 
may  be  compared  with  a  babe.  The 
latter  is  probably  the  use  made  of  it 
here.  \  Hast  thou  ordained  strength. 
The  word  rendered  ordained — "TD\ 
yasad  —  means  to  found,  to  lay  the 
foundation  of,  as  of  a  building,  Ezra 
iii.  12 ;  Isa.  liv.  11.  Then  it  means 
to  establish,  appoint,  ordain,  consti- 
tute, etc.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
in  what  is  referred  to,  there  was,  as  it 
were,  some  basis  or  foundation  for 
what  is  called  "  strength  ;"  i.  e.,  that 
what  is  here  meant  by  "  strength" 
rested  on  that  as  a  foundation — to 
wit,  on  what  was  done  by  babes  and 
sucklings.  The  word  strength  is  ren- 
dered by  the  Septuagint  praise — 
cuvov — and  this  is  followed  in  the 
quotation  in  Matt.  xxi.  16.  The  same 
rendering  is  adopted  in  the  Latin 
Vulgate  and  in  the  Syriac.  The 
Hebrew  word  —  f y,  oz  —  properly 
•  means  strength,  might ;  and  the  idea 
here  would  seem  to  be,  that  even 
from  babes  and  sucklings — from  those 
who  were  in  themselves  so  feeble — 
God  had  taken  occasion  to  accomplish 
a  work  requiring  great  poiver — to  wit, 
in  "  stilling  the  enemy  and  the 
avenger;"  that  is,  he  had  made  those 
who  were  so  feeble  the  instruments 
of  accomplishing  so  great  a  work. 
TI  Because  of  thine  enemies.  In  re- 
spect to  thine  enemies,  or  in  order  to 


accomplish  something  in  regard  to 
them,  viz.,  in  "  stilling"  them,  as  is 
immediately  specified.  The  idea  is, 
that  there  were  those  who  rose  up 
against  God,  and  opposed  his  govern- 
ment and  plans,  and  that  God,  in 
overcoming  them,  instead  of  putting 
forth  his  own  power  directly,  had  con- 
descended to  employ  those  who  were 
weak  and  feeble  like  little  children. 
Who  these  enemies  were  is  not  speci- 
fied, but  it  is  most  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  reference  is  to  some  of  the 
foes  of  the  author  of  the  psalm,  who 
had  been  subdued  by  the  prowess  of 
his  arm, — by  strength  imparted  to 
him,  though  in  himself  feeble  as  an 
infant.  %  That  thou  mightest  still. 
Mightest  cause  to  rest,  or  to  cease. 
The  original  word — rOti)',  Shabath — 

o  _     T 

from  which  our  word  Sabbath  is  de- 
rived, means  to  rest :  to  lie  by ;  to  sit 
down;  to  sit  still;  and  in  Hiphil,  to 
cause  to  rest,  or  to  cause  to  desist; 
to  put  an  end  to,  Ezek.  xxxiv.  10; 
Josh.  xxii.  25 ;  Psa.  xlvi.  9 ;  Prov. 
xvih.  18.  Here  it  means  to  bring  to 
an  end  the  purposes  of  the  enemy 
and  the  avenger ;  or,  to  cause  him  to 
desist  from  his  designs,  %  The  enemy. 
The  enemy  of  the  writer,  regarded  also 
as  the  enemy  of  God.  ^  And  the 
avenger.  One  wrho  was  endeavouring 
to  take  revenge,  or  who  was  acting 
as  if  determined  to  avenge  some 
imaginary  or  real  wrong.  This,  too, 
may  refer  either  to  some  one  who  was 
seeking  to  revenge  himself  on  the 
author  of  the  psalm,  or  who,  with  the 
spirit  of  revenge,  stood  up  against 
God,  and  had  set  himself  against  him. 
In  regard  to  the  meaning  of  this 
verse,  which  I  apprehend  is  the  key 
to  the  whole  psalm,  and  which  con- 
tains the  original  germ  of  the  psalm, 
or  the  thought  which  suggested  the 
train  of  reflection  in  it,  the  following 
remarks  may  be  made  : — (a)  There  is 
no  evidence  that  it  was  designed  to 
refer  originally  to  infants,  or  to  chil- 
dren of  any  age,  as  stating  anything 


PSALM  VIII. 


69 


which  they  would  do  in  contributing 
to  the  praise  of  God,  or  as  discomfit- 
ing sceptics  and  cavillers  by  "their 
instinctive  recognition  of  God's  being 
and  glory/'  as  is  supposed  by  Calvin, 
De  Wette,  Prof.  Alexander,  and  others. 
What  is  said  here  to  be  done  by 
"  babes  and  sucklings"  has  reference 
to  some  mighty  enemy  that  had  been 
overcome,  not  to  anything  which  had 
been  effected  by  the  influence  of  the 
recognition  of  God  by  little  children. 
It  may  be  doubted,  also,  whether  there 
is  any  such  "  instinctive  admiration 
of  his  works,  even  by  the  youngest 
children/'  as  would  be  "  a  strong  de- 
fence against  those  who  would  ques- 
tion the  being  and  glory"  of  God,  as 
is  supposed  by  Prof.  Alexander  and 
others  j  and,  at  all  events,  that  is  not 
the  manifest  thought  in  the  passage. 
(b)  Nor  does  it  refer  merely  to  praise 
as  proceeding  from  children,  as  being 
that  by  which  the  effect  referred  to 
is  accomplished.  It  is  true  that  this 
idea  is  in  the  translation  by  the  LXX., 
and  true  that  it  is  so  quoted  in  Matt, 
xxi.  16,  and  true,  also,  that,  as  quoted 
by  the  Saviour,  and  as  originally  ap- 
plied, it  was  adapted  to  the  end  which 
the  Saviour  had  in  view — to  silence 
the  chief  priests  and  Scribes,  who  ob- 
jected to  the  praises  and  hosannas  of 
the  children  in  the  temple;  for  the 
psalm,  on  any  interpretation,  origi- 
nally meant  that  God  would  accom- 
plish good  effects  by  those  who  were 
feeble  and  weak  as  children,  and  this 
principle  was  applicable  to  the  praises 
of  the  children  in  the  temple.  But 
it  does  not  appear  that  it  originally 
referred  to  praise,  either  of  children 
or  others.  It  was  to  some  manifested 
strength  or  protvess,  by  which  some 
enemy,  or  some  one  who  was  seeking 
revenge,  was  overcome  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  those  who  might  be 
compared  with  children  on  account 
of  their  feebleness.  From  this  the 
psalmist  takes  occasion  to  make  his 
reflections  on  the  exalted  honour  con- 
ferred in  general  on  a  creature  so 
weak  and  feeble  as  man,  especially  in 
the  wide  dominion  granted  him  over 
the  inferior   creation,     (c)  This  was, 


not  improbably,  some  enemy  of  the 
author  of  the  psalm  ;  but  icho  it  was  is 
not  mentioned.  David  was  often,  how- 
ever, in  the  course  of  his  life,  in  such 
circumstances  as  are  here  supposed. 
Might  it  not  refer  to  Goliath  of  Gath 
— a  mighty  giant,  and  a  formidable 
enemy  of  the  people  of  God,  overcome 
by  David,  quite  a  stripling — a  child  ? 
Would  not  the  language  of  the  psalm 
agree  with  that  ?  Was  it  not  true 
that  he  was  an  "enemy"  and  an 
"  avenger,"  or  one  seeking  revenge  ? 
and  was  it  not  true  that  God  had, 
from  one  who  was  a  mere  child,  "  or- 
dained strength "  to  subdue  him  ? 
(d)  God  had,  then,  condescended  to 
honour  one  who  was  in  himself  weak 
and  feeble  as  a  child — who  had  no 
power  of  himself  to  accomplish  what 
had  been  done,  (e)  This  was  great 
condescension  on  the  part  of  God; 
and  especially  was  it  to  be  so  regarded 
when  the  eye  looked  out — as  the  au- 
thor of  the  psalm  appears  to  have 
done  at  the  time  of  its  composition — 
on  the  starry  heavens,  and  contem- 
plated their  greatness  and  grandeur. 
What  astonishing  condescension  was  it 
that  he  who  marshalled  all  those  hosts 
should  bestow  such  honour  on  man ! 
(f)  It  was  not,  therefore,  unnatural 
to  reflect  on  the  greatness  of  the  hon- 
our which  God  had  actually  bestowed 
on  man,  and  the  dignity  to  which  God 
had  exalted  him ;  and  the  psalmist  is 
thus,  from  a  particular  act  of  his  con- 
descension, led  into  the  beautiful  train 
of  reflections  on  the  exalted  dominion 
of  man  with  which  the  psalm  con- 
cludes. Thus  understood,  the  psalm 
has  no  original  reference  to  the  Mes- 
siah, but  still  it  contains  the  principle 
on  which  the  apostle  reasons  in  Heb. 
ii. ;  for  the  dignity  of  man  is  most 
seen  in  the  Redeemer,  and  the  actual 
conferring  of  all  the  dignity  and 
honour  referred  to  in  the  psalm — the 
actual  and  entire  subjugation  of  the 
earth  to  man — will  be  found  only  in 
the  universal  dominion  conceded  to 
Him.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
there  is  a  foundation  for  all  that  the 
psalmist  says  in  respect  to  the  honour 
originally  conferred  on  man,  and  in 


70 


PSALM  VIII. 


3  When  I  consider  thy  heavens, 
the  work  of  thy  fingers ;  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  which  thou  hast 
ordained ; 


his  actual  dominion  over  the  inferior 
creation. 

3.  When  I  consider  thy  heavens. 
When  I  contemplate  or  look  upon. 
They  are  called  his  heavens  because 
he  made  them — because  he  is  the  pro- 
prietor of  them — perhaps  because  they 
are  his  abode.  ^[  The  tvor/c  of  thy 
fingers.  Which  thy  fingers  have  made. 
The  fingers  are  the  instruments  by 
which  we  construct  a  piece  of  work — 
perhaps  indicating  sJcill  rather  than 
strength  ;  and  hence  so  used  in  respect 
to  God,  as  it  is  by  his  skill  that  the 
heavens  have  been  made.  ^[  The  moon 
and  the  stars.  Showing,  as  remarked 
above,  that  probably  this  psalm  was 
composed  at  night,  or  that  the  train 
of  thought  was  suggested  by  the  con- 
templation of  the  starry  worlds.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  the  thoughts 
occurred  to  the  psalmist  when  medi- 
tating on  the  signal  honour  which 
God  had  conferred  on  him,  a  feeble 
man  (Notes  on  ver.  2),  and  when  his 
thoughts  were  at  the  same  time  di- 
rected to  the  goodness  of  God  as  the 
heavens  were  contemplated  in  their 
silent  grandeur.  *|[  Which  thou  hast 
ordained.  Prepared,  fitted  up,  consti- 
tuted, appointed.  He  had  fixed  them 
in  their  appropriate  spheres,  and  they 
now  silently  showed  forth  his  glory. 

4.  What  is  man.  What  claim  has 
one  so  weak,  and  frail,  and  short-lived, 
to  be  remembered  by  thee  ?  What 
is  there  in  man  that  entitles  him 
to  so  much  notice  ?  Why  has  God 
conferred  on  him  so  signal  honour  ? 
Why  has  he  placed  him  over  the 
works  of  his  hands  ?  Why  has  he 
made  so  many  arrangements  for 
his  comfort  ?  Why  has  he  done  so 
much  to  save  him  ?  He  is  so  in- 
significant, his  life  is  so  much  like  a 
vapour,  he  so  soon  disappears,  he  is  so 
sinful  and  polluted,  that  the  question 
may  well  be  asked,  why  such  honour 
has  been  conferred  on  him,  and  why 


4  c  What  is  man,  that  thon  art 
mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  son  of 
man,  that  thou  visitest  him  ? 

e  Psa.  cxliv.  3 ;  Heb.  ii.  C— 9. 


such  a  dominion  over  the  world  has 
been  given  him.     See  these  thoughts-, 
more  fully  expanded  in  the  Notes  on 
Heb.  ii.  6.    ^[  That  thou  art  mindful  oj 
him.     That  thou  dost  remember  him  ; 
that  is,  think  of  him,  attend  to  him, 
— that  he  does  not  pass  away  wholly 
from  thy  thoughts.     Why  should  a 
God  who  is  so  vast  and  glorious,  and 
who  has  all  the  starry  worlds,  so  beau- 
tiful and  grand,  to  claim  his  attention 
— why  should  he  turn  his  thoughts 
on  man  ?     And  especially  why  should 
he  honour  him  as  he  lias  done  by  giv- 
ing him  dominion  over  the  works  of 
his  hands  ?      ^f  And  the  son  of  man. 
Any  descendant  of  man — any  one  of  the 
race.    What  was  man,  as  he  was  origi- 
nally made,  that  such  exalted  honour 
should  have  been  conferred  on  him  ; 
and  what  has  any  one  of  his  descend- 
ants become*,  in  virtue  of  his  native 
faculties  or  acquired  endowments,  that 
he  should  be  thus  honoured  ?     The 
design  is  the  same  as  in  the  former 
part  cf  the  verse,  to  express  the  idea 
that  there  was  nothing  in  man,  con- 
sidered in  any  respect,  that  entitled 
him  to  this  exalted  honour.    Nothing 
that   man  has  done   since   the  time 
when  the  question  was  asked  by  the 
psalmist  has  contributed  to  diminish 
the   force    of  the    inquiry.      ^[   That 
thou  visitest  him.     As  thou  dost ;  that 
is,  with  the  attention  and  care  which 
thou  dost  bestow  upon  him ;  not  for- 
getting him  ;   not  leaving  him  ;  not 
passing  him  by.     The  word  here  used 
— "Tj/iD>  pakacl — would  properly    ex- 
press a  visitation  for  any  purpose — 
for  inspection ;  for  mercy ;  for  friend- 
ship; for  judgment,  etc.    Here  it  re- 
fers to  the  attention  bestowed  by  God 
on   man  in  conferring  on  him   such 
marks  of  favour  and  honour  as  he  had 
done — such  attention  that  he  never 
seemed  to  forget  him,  but  was  con- 
stantly coining  to  him  with  some  new 
proof  of  favour.     What  God  has  done 


PSALM  VIII. 


71 


5  For  tliou  hast  made  him  a 
little  lower  than  the  angels,  and 
hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and 
honour. 


for  man  since  the  psalmist  wrote  this, 
has  done  nothing  to  weaken  the  force 
of  this  inquiry. 

5.  For  thou  hast  made  him.  Thou 
hast  made  man  as  such ;  that  is,  he 
was  such  in  the  original  design  of 
his  creation,  in  the  rank  given  him, 
and  in  the  dominion  conceded  to  him. 
The  object  here  is  to  show  the  honour 
conferred  on  man,  or  to  show  how 
God  has  regarded  and  honoured  him  ; 
and  the  thought  is,  that  in  his  origi- 
nal creation,  though  so  insignificant 
as  compared  with  the  vast  worlds 
over  which  God  presides,  he  had  given 
him  a  rank  but  little  inferior  to  that 
of  the  angels.  See  Notes  on  Heb. 
ii.  7.  1i  A  little  lower.  The  He- 
brew word  used  here — IDTI,  hhasar, 
means  to  want,  to  lack — and  then, 
to  be  in  want,  to  be  diminished. 
The  meaning  is,  "  Thou  hast  caused 
him  to  want  but  little;'"  that  is,  he 
was  but  little  inferior.  %  Than  the 
angels.  So  this  is  rendered  by  the 
Chaldee  Paraphrase :  by  the  Septua- 
gint;  by  the  Latin  Vulgate;  by  the 
Syriac  and  Arabic;  and  by  the  au- 
thor of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
(ch.  ii.  7),  who  has  literally  quoted 
the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  verses 
from  the  Septuagint.  The  Hebrew, 
however,  is — *£TpN73 — than  God. 
So  Gesenius  renders  it,  "Thou  hast 
caused  him  to  want  but  little  of  God; 
that  is,  thou  hast  made  him  but  little 
lower  than  God."  So  De  Wette,  nur 
wenig  unter  Gott.  So  Tholuck  ren- 
ders it,  nur  um  wenig  unter  Gott. 
This  is  the  more  natural  construction, 
and  this  would  convey  an  idea  con- 
formable to  the  course  of  thought  in 
the  psalm,  though  it  has  been  usually 
supposed  that  the  word  here  used — 
Q^TpN,  Elohim  —  may  be  applied 
to  angels,  or  even  men,  as  in  Ps. 
lxxxii.  1;  xcvii.  7;  cxxxviii.  1;  Ex. 
xxi.  6  ;    xxii.  8,  9.  Gesenius  (Thesau. 


6  Thou  madest  him  to  have 
dominion  over  the  works  of  thy 
hands  :  thou  f  hast  put  all  things 
under  his  feet : 

/  1  Cor.  xv.  27. 


Ling.  Heb.,  p.  95)  maintains  that 
the  word  never  has  this  signification. 
The  authority,  however,  of  the  Chal- 
dee, the  Septuagint,  the  Syriac,  and 
the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, wrould  seem  sufficient  to  show 
that  that  meaning  may  be  attached 
to  the  word  here  with  propriety,  and 
that  somehow  that  idea  was  naturally 
suggested  in  the  passage  itself.  Still, 
if  it  were  not  for  these  versions,  the 
most  natural  interpretation  would  be 
that  which  takes  the  word  in  its  usual 
sense,  as  referring  to  God,  and  as 
meaning  that,  in  respect  to  his  do- 
minion over  the  earth,  man  had  been 
placed  in  a  condition  comparatively 
but  little  inferior  to  God  himself;  he 
had  made  him  almost  equal  to  himself. 
^[  And  hast  croivned  him  with  glory 
and  honour.  With  exalted  honour. 
See  Notes  on  Heb.  ii.  7. 

6.  Thou  madest  him  to  have  domi- 
nion. Thou  didst  cause  him  to  have, 
or  didst  give  him  this  dominion.  It 
does  not  mean  that  God  made  or 
created  him  for  that  end,  but  that  he 
had  conceded  to  him  that  dominion, 
thus  conferring  on  him  exalted  ho- 
nour. The  allusion  is  to  Gen.  i.  26, 
28.  ^[  Over  the  works  of  thy  hands. 
His  works  upon  the  earth,  for  the  do- 
minion extends  no  further.  %  Thou 
hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet. 
Hast  placed  all  things  in  subjection 
to  him.  Compare  Psa.  xlvii.  3 ;  xci. 
13;  Lam.  hi.  34;  Rom.  xvi.  20; 
1  Cor.  xv.  25.  The  language  is  taken 
from  the  act  of  treading  down  ene- 
mies in  battle;  from  putting  the  feet 
on  the  necks  of  captives,  etc.  The 
idea  is  that  of  complete  and  entire 
subjection.  This  dominion  was  origi- 
nally given  to  man  at  his  creation, 
and  it  still  remains  (though  not  so 
absolute  and  entire  as  this),  for  no- 
thing is  in  itself  more  remarkable 
than    the  dominion  which  man,  by 


72 


PSALM  VIII. 


yea, 


7  1  All  sheep   and  oxen, 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field ; 

8  The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the 

1  Flocks  and  oxen,  all  of  them. 


fish  of  the  sea,  and  whatsocvei- 
passeth  through  the  paths  of  the 
seas. 


nature  so  feeble,  exercises  over  the  in- 
ferior creation.  It  is  impossible  to 
account  for  tins  in  any  other  way 
than  as  it  is  accounted  for  in  the 
Bible,  by  the  supposition  that  it  was 
originally  conceded  to  man  by  his 
Creator.  On  the  question  of  the  ap- 
plicability of  this  to  Christ,  see  Notes 
on  Heb.  ii.  6—9. 

7.  All  sheep  and  oxen.  Flocks  and 
herds.  Gen.  i.  26,  "  over  the  cattle." 
Nothing  is  more  manifest  than  the 
control  which  man  exercises  over 
flocks  and  herds — making  them  sub- 
servient to  his  use,  and  obedient  to 
his  will.  ^[  And  the  beasts  of  the 
field.  Those  not  included  in  the 
general  phrase  "  sheep  and  oxen." 
The  word  rendered  field,  niU), 
sadeh — or  the  poetic  form,  as  here — 
— "Hto — Sadai,  means  properly  a 
plain ;  a  level  tract  of  country ;  then, 
a  field,  or  a  tilled  farm,  Gen.  xxiii. 
17 ;  xlvii.  20,  24 ;  and  then  the  fields, 
the  open  country,  as  opposed  to  a 
city,  a  village,  a  camp,  Gen.  xxv.  27 ; 
and  hence  in  this  place  the  expres- 
sion means  the  beasts  that  roam  at 
large — wild  beasts,  Gen.  ii.  20;  iii.  14. 
Here  the  allusion  is  to  the  power 
which  man  has  of  subduing  the  wild 
beasts;  of  capturing  them,  and  making 
them  subservient  to  his  purposes ;  of 
preventing  their  increase  and  their 
depredations  ;  and  of  taming  them  so 
that  they  shall  obey  his  will,  and  be- 
come his  servants.  Nothing  is  more 
remarkable  than  this,  and  nothing 
furnishes  a  better  illustration  of  Scrip- 
ture than  the  conformity  of  this  with 
the  declaration  (Gen.  ix.  2),  "  And 
the  fear  of  you,  and  the  dread  of  you, 
shall  be  upon  every  beast  of  the  earth, 
and  upon  every  fowl  of  the  air,"  etc. 
Comp.  Notes  on  James  iii.  7.  It  is 
to  be  remembered  that  no  small  num- 
ber of  what  are  now  domestic  animals 
were  originally  wild,  and  that  they 
have  been  subdued  and  tamed  by  the 


power  and  skill  of  man.  No  animal 
has  shown  himself  superior  to  this 
power  and  skill. 

8.  The  fowl  of  the  air.  Gen.  i.  26, 
"  Over  the  fowl  of  the  air."  Gen.  ix. 
2,  "  Upon  every  fowl  of  the  air." 
This  dominion  is  the  more  remarkable 
because  the  birds  of  the  air  seem  to 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  man ;  and  yet, 
equally  with  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
they  are  subject  to  his  control.  Man 
captures  and  destroys  them ;  he  pre- 
vents their  multiplication  and  their 
ravages.  Numerous  as  they  are,  and 
rapid  as  is  their  flight,  and  strong  as 
many  of  them  are,  they  have  never 
succeeded  in  making  man  subject 
to  them,  or  in  disturbing  the  pur- 
poses of  man.  See  Notes  on  James 
iii.  7.  %  And  the  fish  of  the  sea. 
Gen.  i.  26,  "  Over  the  fish  of  the  sea/' 
Gen.  ix.  2,  "  Upon  all  the  fishes  of  the 
sea."  This  must  be  understood  in  a 
general  sense,  and  this  is  perhaps  still 
more  remarkable  than  the  dominion 
over  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  for  the  fishes  that 
swim  in  the  ocean  seem  to  be  placed 
still  farther  from  the  control  of  man. 
Yet,  so  far  as  is  necessary  for  his  use 
and  for  safety,  they  are,  in  fact,  put 
under  the  control  of  man,  and  he 
makes  them  minister  to  his  profit. 
Not  a  little  of  that  which  contributes 
to  the- support,  the  comfort,  and  the 
luxury  of  man,  comes  from  the  ocean. 
From  the  mighty  whale  to  the  shell- 
fish that  furnished  the  Tyi  ian  dye,  or 
to  that  which  furnishes  the  beautiful 
pearl,  man  has  shown  his  power  to 
make  the  dwellers  in  the  deep  sub- 
servient to  his  will,  %  And  whatso- 
ever passeth  through  the  paths  of  the 
seas.  Everything,  in  general,  that 
passes  through  the  paths  of  the  sea, 
as  if  the  ocean  was  formed  with  paths 
or  highways  for  them  to  pass  over. 
Some  have  referred  this  to  man,  as 
passing  over  the  sea  and  subduing  its 


PSALM  IX. 


73 


9  0  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excel- 

inhabitants ;  some,  to  the fislies  before 
spoken  of;  but  the  most  natural  con- 
struction is  that  which  is  adopted  in 
our  received  version,  as  referring  to 
everything  which  moves  in  the  waters. 
The  idea  is  that  man  has  a  wide 
and  universal  dominion — a  dominion 
so  wide  as  to  excite  amazement,  won- 
der, and  gratitude,  that  it  has  been 
conceded  to  one  so  feeble  as  he  is. 

9.  0  Lokd,  our  Lord,  how  excel- 
lent, etc.  Repeating  the  sentiment 
with  which  the  psalm  opens,  as  now 
fully  illustrated,  or  as  its  propriety  is 
now  seen.  The  intermediate  thoughts 
are  simply  an  illustration  of  this ; 
and  now  we  see  what  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  psalmist  when,  in 
ver.  1,  he  gave  utterance  to  what 
seems  there  to  be  a  somewhat  abrupt 
sentiment.  We  now,  at  the  close  of 
the  psalm,  see  clearly  its  beauty  and 
truthfulness. 

PSALM  IX. 

$  1.  Author  of  the  psalm. — This  psalm 
is  ascribed  to  David,  not  only  in  the 
title,  but  in  all  the  versions,  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  this. 
It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  from  its 
contents  that  the  sentiments  and  style  of 
composition  are  such  as  accord  with  the 
other  compositions  of  David. 

§  2.  Occasion  on  which  the  psalm  was 
composed. — On  this  point  nothing  is 
intimated  expressly  in  the  psalm,  unless 
it  be  in  the  title,  "  To  the  chief  Musician 
upon  Muth-labben."  The  meaning  of 
this  will  be  considered  in  another  part 
of  the  introduction  to  the  psalm  ($  4). 
It  will  be  seen  there  that  nothing  is  de- 
termined by  that  title  in  regard  to  the 
origin  of  the  psalm,  or  the  time  when  it 
was  composed.  Neither  is  there  any 
certain  tradition  which  will  determine 
this,  and  most  that  has  been  written  on 
this  point  has  been  mere  conjecture,  or 
has  arisen  out  of  some  interpretation  of 
the  enigmatical  title  "  upon  Muth- 
labben."  Some  have  supposed  that  the 
word  labben  refers  to  some  foreign  king 
or  prince  slam  by  David,  and  that  the 

Ssalm    was    composed    on     his     death, 
'thers,  following  the  Targum,  or  Chaldee 
Paraphrase  (see  $  4),  suppose  that  the 
person  referred  to  was  Goliath  of  Gath, 
VOL.  I. 


lent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth ! 


and  that  it  was  composed  on  his  death. 
Others,  as  Eudinger,  suppose  that  it  is  a 
psalm  of  thanksgiving  on  occasion  of  the 
victory  over  Absalom,  and  the  suppression 
of  his  rebellion  by  his  death  :  a  harsh 
and  unnatural  supposition,  as  if  any 
father,  in  any  circumstances,  could  com- 
pose a  psalm  of  praise  on  occasion  of  the 
death  of  a  son.  Moeller  supposes  that  it 
was  composed  on  occasion  of  a  victory 
over  the  Philistines  by  David ;  Ferrand, 
who  unites  this  psalm  with  the  following, 
supposes  that  the  whole  refers  to  the 
times  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon,  and 
is  a  triumphal  song  of  the  people  over 
their  enemies;  and  Venema,  who  also 
thinks  that  these  two  psahns  should  be 
united,  supposes  that  Ps.  ix.  1-18  re- 
fers to  David,  and  to  his  deliverance  from 
all  his  enemies,  and  the  remainder  to  the 
times  of  the  Maccabees,  and  the  deliver- 
ance from  the  persecutions  under  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes.  Bishop  Horsley 
styles  the  psalm  "  Thanksgiving  for  the 
extirpation  of  the  Atheistical  faction, 
promised  in  Psalm  x,"  and  supposes  that 
the  order  should  be  reversed,  and  that 
the  whole  refers  to  some  great  deliverance 
— either  the  "overthrow  of  the  Baby- 
lonian empire  by  Cyrus,  or  the  defeat  of 
Raman's  plot."  The  Jewish  writers, 
Jarchi  and  Aben  Ezra,  suppose  that  it 
was  composed  on  occasion  of  the  defeat 
and  death  of  some  foreign  prince.  From 
this  variety  of  views,  none  of  which  seem 
to  rest  on  certain  historical  grounds,  it 
appears  probable  that  the  exact  occasion 
on  which  the  psalm  was  composed  cannot 
now  be  ascertained  in  such  a  way  as  to 
leave  no  ground  for  doubt.  The  only 
indications  of  the  occasion  on  which  it 
was  written  must  be  found,  if  at  all,  in 
the  psalm  itself.  In  the  psalm  we  find 
the  following  things,  which  may,  per- 
haps, be  all  that  is  necessary  to  enable 
us  to  understand  it. 

(a)  It  was  composed  in  view  of  enem  ies 
of  the  writer,  or  foes  with  whom  he  had 
been  engaged,  ver.  3 :  "  When  mine 
enemies  are  turned  back,  they  shall  fall 
and  pei'ish  at  thy  presence."  Comp.  vers. 
6,  13,  19,  20. 

(b)  These  were  foreign  enemies,  or 
those  who  are  called  heathen,  that  is, 
belonging  to  idolatrous  nations,  ver.  5  : 
"Thou  hast  rebuked  the  heathen." 
Comp.  vers.  15,  19. 

(c)  They  were  desolating  foes — invad- 
ing foes— those  who  laid  a  land  waste  in 

E 


71 


PSALM  IX. 


their  marches,  ver.  6:  "Thou  hast  de- 
stroyed cities  :  their  memorial  is  perished 
■with  them." 

(d)  The  writer  had  achieved  a  victory 
over  them,  and  for  this  he  celebrated  the 
praises  of  God  for  his  interposition,  vers. 
1,  2,  10,  11,  15.  This  victory  thus 
achieved  was  such  as  to  make  him  cer- 
tain of  ultimate  complete  triumph. 

(e)  Yet  he  was  still  surrounded  by 
enemies,  and  he  still  asks  God's  merciful 
interposition  in  his  behalf,  ver.  13 : 
"  Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  Lord  ;  con- 
sider my  trouble  which  I  suffer  of  them 
that  hate  me,  thou  that  liftest  me  up 
from  the  gates  of  death.''  Comp.  vers. 
18-20. 

_  David  was  not  unfrequently  in  his 
life  in  circumstances  such  as  are  here 
supposed,  and  it  is  not  possible  now  to 
determine  the  exact  occasion  to  which 
the  psalm  alludes. 

§  3.  The  contents  of  the  psalm. — The 
psalm  embraces  two  leading  subjects- 
one  pertaining  to  the  past  and  the  other  to 
the  future,  both  illustrating  the  charac- 
ter of  God,  and  both  giving  occasion  to 
the  writer  to  express  his  confidence  in 
God.  The  one  relates  to  deliverance 
already  granted ;  the  other  to  deliver- 
ance still  hoped  for  in  Iris  troubles. 

I.  The  first  relates  to  deliverance  from 
trouble,  or  conquest  over  foes,  already 
granted,rand  to  the  occasion  which  that 
furnished  for  praising  God,  and  for  pious 
reflections  on  his  character. 

(1)  The  psalmist  expresses  hisMhanks 
to  God,  or  pours  out  the  language  of 
praise  for  mercies  that  have  been  re- 
ceived, vers.  1,  2. 

(2)  The  particular  reason  for  this  is 
stated ;  that  God  had  enabled  him  to 
overcome  many  of  his  enemies,— the 
heathen  that  had  risen  up  against  him, 
who  had  now  been  subdued,  vers.  3—6. 

(3)  This  gives  occasion  for  pious 
reflections  on  the  character  of  God,  as 
one  who  would  endure  for  ever  ;  as  one 
who  had  set  up  his  throne  to  do  judg- 
ment or  right ;  as  one  who  would  be  a 
refuge  for  the  oppressed;  as  one  who 
might  be  confided  in  by  all  who  knew 
him ;  as  one  who  would  remember  the 
foes  of  the  righteous,  and  who  would  not 
foi'get  the  cry  of  the  humble,  vers.  7-12. 
The  principal  truth  taught  in  this  part 
of  the  psalm  is,  that  God  is  a  refuge  and 
help  for  those  who  are  in  trouble  and 
danger ;  that  all  such  may  put  their 
trust  in  Him  ;  and  that  He  will  inter- 
pose to  save  them. 

II.  The  second  part,  constructed  in  a 


manner  similar  to  the  former,  relates  to 
the  future,  and  to  what  the  psalmist 
hoped  still  from  God,  in  view  of  the 
character  which  He  had  evinced  in  his 
former  troubles,  vers.  13 — 20. 

(1)  The  psalmist  still  needs  help,  vers. 
13,  14.  He  still  has  trouble  from  them 
that  hate  him,  and  he  calls  upon  God 
still  to  interpose  and  lift  him  up  from 
the  gates  of  death,  that  he  may  praise 
him. 

(2)  He  refers  to  the  fact  that  the 
heathen,  who  surrounded  him  as  his  foes, 
had  sunk  down  into  the  pit  which  they 
had  made  for  others ;  and  that  their  foot 
was  taken  in  the  net  which  they  had 
hid :  referring  either  to  what  had  oc- 
curred in  the  past  as  the  foundation  of 
his  present  hope,  or  being  so  certain  that 
this  tvould  be  done  that  he  could  speak  of 
it  as  if  it  were  now  actually  accomplish- 
ed, ver.  15. 

(3)  This  also,  as  in  the  former  case, 
gives  occasion  for  pious  reflections  on  the 
character  of  God,  and  on  the  fact  that  he 
would  interpose  to  destroy  the  wicked, 
and  to  protect  the  righteous,  vers.  16 — 18. 

(4)  In  view  of  all  this,  the  psalmist 
calls  on  God  still  to  interpose — to  mani- 
fest the  same  character  which  He  had 
formerly  done,  by  protecting  him,  and  by 
overcoming  Iris  foes,  vers.  19,  20.  The 
principal  truth  taught  in  this  part  of  the 
psalm  is,  that  the  wicked  will  be  de- 
stroyed ;  that  they,  as  contradistinguish- 
ed from  the  righteous,  can  hope  for  no 
protection  from  God,  but  will  be  cut  down 
and  punished. 

The  condition  of  the  author  of  the 
psalm  then  was,  that  he  had  been  sur- 
rounded by  foes,  and  that  God  had  in- 
terposed in  his  behalf,  giving  him  occa- 
sion for  praise  and  thanksgiving ;  that 
he  was  still  surrounded  by  fornridable 
enemies,  yet  he  felt  assured  that  God 
would  manifest  the  same  character  which 
He  had  done  formerly,  and  that  he  might, 
therefore,  call  upon  Him  to  interpose  and 
give  him  occasion  for  future  praise. 

§  4.  The  title  of  the  psalm. — The  psalm 
is  directed  to  "  the  chief  Musician  upon 
Muili-labboi.'"  In  regard  to  the  phrase 
"chief  Musician,"  see  Notes  on  the  title 
to  Ps.  iv.  The  phrase,  "  upon  Muth- 
labben,"  occurs  nowhere  else,  and  very 
different  explanations  have  been  given  of 
its  meaning.  The  Targum,  or  Chaldee 
Paraphrase,  renders  it  "  To  be  sung  over 
the  man  that  went  out  between  the 
camps;"  that  is,  Goliath  of  Gath;  and 
the  author  of  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase, 
evidently  supposed  it  was  written  on  the 


PSALM  IX. 


75 


I 


PSALM  IX. 

To  the  chief  Musician  upou  Muth-labben. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 

"WILL  praise  thee,   O  Lord, 


occasion  of  his  death.  The  Latin  Vul- 
gate renders  it,  "Prooccultisfilii,"   and 

SO  the  Septuagint,  vnep  ritiv  Kpv<f>iiov  tov  viov 

— "for  the  secret  things  (mysteries)  of 
the  Son:"  but  what  idea  was  attached 
to  those  words  it  is  impossible  now  to 
determine.  The  Syriac  has  this  title  : 
"  Concerning  the  Messiah  taking  his 
throne  and  kingdom,  and  prostrating  his 
foe."  Luther  renders  it,  "A  Psalm  of 
David  concerning  a  beautiful  youth" — 
Yonder  sehonen  Jugend.  Substantially 
so  also  De  ^Vette  ;  jSaeh  der  Jungfern- 
weise,  den  Beniten.  Tholuck  renders 
it,  "  To  the  chief  Musician,  after  the 
melody  '  Death  to  the  Son '  (Tod  deni 
Sonne),  a  Psalm  of  David." 

After  this  variety  in  the  explanation 
of  the  title,  it  is  certainly  not  easy  to 
determine  the  meaning.  The  most  pro- 
bable opinions  may  be  regarded  as  two. 

(1)  That  which  supposes  that  it  was 
a  melody  designed  to  be  sung  by  females, 
or  with  female  voices  :  literally,  accord- 
ing to  this  interpretation,  after  the 
manner  of  virgins ;  that  is,  with  the 
female  voice  treble,  soprano,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  deeper  voice  of  men.  Comp. 
1  Chron.  xv.  20.  Forkel,  in  Ms  History 
of  Musick  (Gesch.  der  Musik,  1,  142), 
understands  it  as  meaning  virgin  mea- 
sures, like  the  German  Jungj'rauiveis. 
Gesenius,  who  supposes  that  it  refers  to 
the  female  voice  or  treble,  regards  the 
title— TWEny—" upon  Muth,"  as  being 
the  same  as  HI "D^J  3JJ,  in  Ps.  xlvi., 
"Upon  Alamoth,"  and  supposes  that  it 
is  derived  from  tTO-D?,  almah—a  virgin. 

(2)  The  other  opinion  is  that  which 
supposes  that  the  title  is  the  beginning 
of  some  old  and  well-known  melody  in 
common  use,  and  that  the  idea  is,  that 
this  psalm  was  to  be  sung  to  that 
melody.  That  melody  was,  as  expressed 
by  Tholuck  and  others,  a  melody  on  the 
death  of  a  son,  and  was  set  to  some 
hymn  that  had  been  composed  with 
reference  to  such  an  event.  This  is 
founded  on  the  supposition  that  the 
national  melodies  had  become  in  some 
degree  fixed  and  unchangeable,  or  that 
certain  melodies  or  tunes  originally  com- 
posed for  a  particular  occasion  had 
become  popular,  and  that  the  melody 


with  my  whole  heart;  I  will 
show  forth  all  thy  ?  marvellous 
works. 

g  Psa.  exxxix.  14. 


would  be  affixed  to  new  pieces  of  music. 
This  is  common  in  the  East ;  and,  in- 
deed, it  is  common  in  all  countries.  See 
this  idea  illustrated  in  Rosenmuller 
(Morgenland,  No.  800).  The  meaning, 
as  thus  expressed,  is,  "  According  to  the 
manner  (or,  to  the  air)  of  the  song  (or 
poem)  called  Death  to  the  Son."  Thus 
understood,  it  does  not  refer  to  the  death 
of  Absalom  (as  some  have  supposed), 
since  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  that 
would  correspond  with  such  a  supposi- 
tion ;  nor  to  the  death  of  Goliath,  as 
the  Targum  supposes ;  but  the  composi- 
tion was  to  be  sung  to  the  well-known 
air,  or  tune,  entitled  "Death  to  the 
Son."  But  when  that  air  was  composed, 
or  on  what  occasion,  there  is  of  course  no 
possibility  now  of  ascertaining ;  and 
equally  impossible  is  it  to  recover  the 
air,  or  tune.  The  literal  meaning  of 
the  title  is  by,  al,  on,  or  according  to — 
ffla,  ninth,  death— "j  22,  labbain,  to  the 
son. 

1.  I  'will  praise  thee,  O  Lord. 
That  is,  in  view  of  the  merciful  inter- 
positions referred  to  in  the  psalm 
(vers.  3 — 5),  and  in  view  of  the  attri- 
butes of  God's  character  which  had 
been  displayed  on  tbat  occasion  (vers. 
7 — 12).  %  With  my  whole  heart. 
Xot  with  divided  affection,  or  with 
partial  gratitude.  He  meant  that  all 
his  powers  should  be  employed  in  this 
service ;  that  he  would  give  utter- 
ance to  his  feelings  of  gratitude  and 
adoration  in  the  loftiest  and  purest 
manner  possible.  ^[  I  will  show  forth. 
I  will  recount  or  narrate — to  wit,  in 
this  song  of  praise.  \  All  thy  mar- 
vellous works.  All  his  works  or 
doings  fitted  to  excite  admiration  or 
wonder.  The  reference  here  is  par- 
ticularly to  what  God  had  done  which 
had  given  occasion  to  this  psalm,  but 
still  the  psalmist  designs  undoubtedly 
to  connect  with  this  the  purpose  to 
give  a  general  expression  of  praise  in 
view  of  all  that  God  had  done  that 
was  fitted  to  excite  such  feelings. 

2.  I  will  be  glad.     I  will   rejoice, 


76 


PSALM  IX. 


2  I  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
thee :  I  -will  sing  praise  to  thy 
name,  0  thou  h  most  high. 

3  When    mine    enemies    are 

h  Psa.  Ixxxiii.  18. 


turned  baek,  they  shall  fall  and 
perish  at  thy  presence. 

4  For  thou  hast   l  maintained 
my   right   and   my   cause ;  thou 

1  'made  my  judgment. 


and  will  express  my  joy.  ^[  And  re- 
joice in  thee.  I  will  exult ;  I  will  tri- 
umph. That  is,  he  would  express  his 
joy  in  God — in  knowing  that  there 
was  such  a  Being  ;  in  all  that  he  had 
done  for  him  ;  in  all  the  evidences  of 
his  favour  and  friendship.  %  Will 
sing  praise  to  thy  name.  To  thee ; 
the  name  often  being  put  for  the  per- 
son. ^[  O  thou  Most  Sigh.  Thou  who 
art  supreme — the  God  over  all.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  17. 

3.  When  mine  enemies  are  turned 
back.  Who  these  enemies  were,  the 
psalmist  does  not  say.  It  is  clear, 
however,  as  was  remarked  in  the  in- 
troduction, that  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed (a)  in  view  of  a  victory  which 
had  been  achieved  over  some  formida- 
ble enemies;  and  (b)  in  view  of  some 
dangers  .still  impending  from  a  simi- 
lar source.  The  literal  meaning  of 
the  passage  here  is,  "  In  the  turning 
of  my  enemies  back;"  that  is,  in 
their  retreat,  discomfiture,  overthrow. 
So  far  as  the  Hebrew  form  of  expres- 
sion is  concerned,  this  may  either 
refer  to  what  had  been  done,  or  to 
what  v:ould  be ;  and  may  imply  either 
that  they  had  been  turned  back,  or 
that  the  psalmist  hoped  and  believed 
that  they  would  be;  for  in  either 
case  the  fact  would  show  the  Divine 
perfections,  and  give  occasion  for  gra- 
titude and  praise.  The  verbs  with 
which  this  is  connected — "they  shall 
fall  and  perish" — are  indeed  in  the 
Hebrew,  as  in  our  version,  in  the 
future  tense  ;  but  this  does  not  neces- 
sarily determine  the  question  whether 
the  psalmist  refers  to  what  had  oc- 
curred or  what  would  occur.  His 
attitude  is  this :  he  contemplates  his 
enemies  as  mighty  and  formidable ; 
he  sees  the  danger  which  exists  when 
such  enemies  surround  one ;  he  looks 
at  the  interposition  of  God,  and  he 
sees  that  whenever  it  occurs  it  would 


be  followed  by  this  consequence,  that 
they  would  stumble  and  fall  before 
him.  But  while  this  verse  does  not 
determine  the  question  whether  he 
refers  to  what  has  been,  or  to  what 
would  be,  the  subsequent  verses  (4 — 6) 
seem  to  settle  it,  where  he  speaks  as 
if  this  were  already  done,  and  as  if 
God  had  interposed  in  a  remarkable 
manner  in  discomfiting  his  foes.  I 
regard  this,  therefore,  as  a  reflection 
on  what  had  occurred,  and  as  ex- 
pressing what  was  then  actually  a 
ground  of  praise  and  thanksgiving. 
^[  They  shall  fall  and  perish.  A 
general  statement  in  view  of  what 
had  occurred,  meaning  that  this  would 
always  be  the  case.  %  At  thy  pre- 
sence. Before  thee;  that  is,  when 
thou  dost  manifest  thyself.  This  was 
the  reason  why  they  would  stumble 
and  fall,  and  is  equivalent,  to  saying, 
that  "  whenever  mine  enemies  are 
turned  back,  the  reason  why  they 
stumble  and  fall  is  thy  'presence.  It 
is  the  interposition  of  thy  power.  It 
is  not  to  be  traced  to  the  prowess  of 
man  that  they  thus  turn  back,  and 
that  they  fall  and  perish ;  it  is  to  be 
traced  to  the  fact  that  thou  art  pre- 
sent,— that  thou  dost  interpose."  It 
is  thus  an  acknowledgment  of  God 
as  the  author  of  the  victory  in  all 
cases. 

4.  For  thou  hast  maintained  my 
right  and  my  cause.  My  righteous 
cause  ;  that  is,  when  he  was  unequally 
attacked.  When  his  enemies  came 
upon  him  in  an  unprovoked  and  cruel 
manner,  God  had  interposed  and  had 
defended  his  cause.  This  shows  that 
the  psalmist  refers  to  something  that 
had  occurred  in  the  past ;  also  that  he 
regarded  his  cause  as  right, — for  the 
interposition  of  God  in  his  behalf  had 
confirmed  him  irwthis  belief.  %  Thou 
satest  in  the  throne  judging  right. 
As  if  he  had  been  seated  on  a  bench 


PSALM  IX. 


77 


satesfc  in   the  throne   1  judging 


right. 


5  Thou  hast  rebuked  the 
heathen,  thou  hast  destroyed  the 
wicked,  thou  hast  put  out  their 

1  in  r'ujhteousness. 


name  •  for  ever  and  ever. 

6  2  O  thou  enemy !  destructions 
are  come  to  a  perpetual  end ;  and 

i  Prow  x.  7. 

2  Or,  the  destructions  of  the  enemy  are  come 
to  a  perpetual  end ;  and  llieir  cities  hast  thou 

destroyed. 


of  justice,  and  had  decided  on  the 
merits  of  his  cause  before  he  inter- 
fered in  his  behalf.  It  was  not  the 
result  of  impulse,  folly,  partiality,  or 
favouritism  ;  it  was  because  he  had, 
as  a  judge,  considered  the  matter,  and 
had  decided  that  the  right  was  with 
the  author  of  the  psalm,  and  not  with 
his  enemies.  As  the  result  of  that 
determination  of  the  case,  he  had  in- 
terposed to  vindicate  him,  and  to 
overthrow  his  adversaries.  Compare 
Ps.  viii.  3—8. 

5.  Thou  Tiast  rebuked  the  heathen. 
Not  the  heathen  in  general,  or  the 
nations  at  large,  but  those  who  are 
particularly  referred  to  in  this  psalm — 
those  who  are  described  as  the  enemies 
of  the  writer  and  of  God.  On  the  word 
rendered  heathen  here — tPin,  goim — 
see  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  1.  The  word  re- 
buke here  does  not  mean,  as  it  does 
usually  with  us,  to  chide  with  words, 
but  it  means  that  he  had  done  this  by 
deeds ;  that  is,  b}r  overcoming  or 
vanquishing  them.  The  reference  is, 
undoubtedly,  to  some  of  those  nations 
with  whom  the  writer  had  been  at 
war,  and  who  were  the  enemies  of 
himself  and  of  God,  and  to  some  signal 
act  of  the  Divine  interposition  by 
which  they  had  been  overcome,  or  in 
which  the  author  of  the  psalm  had 
gained  a  victory.  De  Wette  under- 
stands this  as  referring  to  "barbarians, 
foreigners,  heathen."  David,  in  the 
course  of  his  life,  was  often  in  such 
circumstances  as  are  here  supposed, 
though  to  what  particular  event  he 
refers  it  would  not  be  possible  now  to 
decide.  %  Thou  hast  destroyed  the 
wicked.  The  Hebrew  here  is  in  the 
singular  number — y^h — though  it 
may  be  used  collectively,  and  as 
synonymous  with  the  word  heathen. 
Comp.  Isa.  xiv.  5;  Ps.  lxxxiv.  10  j 
cxxv.   3.      The    Chaldee   Paraphrase 


renders  this,  "  Thou  hast  destroyed 
the  impious  Goliath."  The  reference 
is  undoubtedly  to  the  enemies  meant 
by  the  word  heathen,  and  the  writer 
speaks  of  them  not  only  as  heathen 
or  foreigners,  but  as  characterized  by 
icickedness,  which  was  doubtless  a 
correct  description  of  their  general 
character.  *fl"  Thou  hast  put  out  their 
name  for  ever  and  ever.  As  when  a 
nation  is  conquered,  and  subdued ; 
when  it  is  myde  a  province  of  the 
conquei'ing  nation,  and  loses  its  own 
government,  and  its  distinct  existence 
as  a  people,  and  its  name  is  no  more 
recorded  among  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth.  This  is  such  language  as  would 
denote  entire  subjugation,  and  it  is 
probably  to  some  such  event  that  the 
psalmist  refers.  Nations  have  often 
by  conquest  thus  lost  their  indepen- 
dence and  their  distinct  existence,  by 
becoming  incorporated  into  others. 
To  some  such  entire  subjugation  by 
conquest  the  psalmist  undoubtedly 
here  refers. 

6.  O  thou  enemy  !  This  verse  has 
been  very  variously  rendered  and  ex- 
plained. For  an  examination  of  the 
particular  views  entertained  of  it, 
see  particularly  Rosenmuller,  in  loc. 
The  reference  is  doubtless  to  the  ene- 
mies mentioned  in  the  previous  verses; 
and  the  idea  is  substantially  the  same 
— that  they  were  completely  over- 
come and  subdued.  The  phrase,  "  O 
thou  enemy,"  is  probably  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  nominative  absolute. 
"  The  enemy — his  destructions  or 
desolations  are  finished  for  ever.  He 
will  now  no  more  engage  in  that 
work."  The  attention  of  the  writer 
is  fixed  on  them,  and  on  the  fact  that 
they  will  no  more  engage  in  the  work 
of  desolation.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
properly  to  be  regarded,  as  it  is  ren- 
dered in  the  common  translation,  as 


78 


PSALM  IX. 


thou  liast  destroyed  cities ;  Hheir 
memorial  is  perished  with  them. 
7  '  But  the  Lord  shall  endure 

Jc  2  Kings  xix.  25,  etc.        I  Psa.  cii.  26. 


for  ever:  he  hath  prepared  his 
throne  for  judgment : 

8  »»And  he  shall  judge  the  world 


m  Rev.  xx.  12,  13. 


an  apostrophe  to  the  enemy,  but 
rather  as  indicating  a  state  of  mind 
in  which  the  writer  is  meditating  on 
his  foes,  and  on  the  fact  that  they 
would  no  more  engage  in  the  work  in 
which  they  had  been  occupied — of 
laying  cities  and  towns  in  ruins. 
%  Destructions  are  come  to  a  perpe- 
tual end.  That  is,  thy  destructions 
are  finished,  completed,  accomplished. 
There  are  to  be  no  more  of  them. 
This  may  either  refer  to  their  acts 
causing  destruction,  or  laying  waste 
cities  and  towns,  meaning  that  they 
would  no  more  accomplish  this  work; 
or  to  the  destruction  or  ruins  which 
they  had  caused  in  laying  waste  cities 
— the  ruins  which  marked  their  career 
— meaning  that  the  number  of  such 
ruins  was  now  complete,  and  that  no 
more  would  be  added,  for  they  them- 
selves were  overthrown.  The  word 
rendered  destructions  means  properly 
desolations,  waste  places,  ruins,  and 
seem  here  to  refer  to  the  wastes  or 
ruins  which  the  enemy  had  made; 
and  the  true  idea  is,  that  such  deso- 
lations were  now  complete,  or  that 
they  would  not  be  suffered  to  devas- 
tate any  more  cities  and  fields.  Prof. 
Alexander  renders  this,  "finished, 
completed  are  (his)  ruins,  desolations, 
for  ever  ;  i.  e.,  he  is  ruined  or  made 
desolate  for  ever."  %  And  thou  hast 
destroyed  cities.  That  is,  in  thy  de- 
solating career.  This,  considered  as 
an  address  to  the  enemy,  would  seem 
to  refer  to  the  career  of  some  victor 
who  had  carried  fire  and  sword 
through  the  land,  and  whose  course 
had  been  marked  by  smoking  ruins. 
This  was,  however,  now  at  an  end, 
for  God  had  interposed,  and  had  given 
the  author  of  the  psalm  a  victory 
over  his  foe.  Prof.  Alexander  re- 
gards this,  less  properly,  as  an  address 
to  God,  meaning  that  he  had  de- 
stroyed the  cities  of  the  enemy.  The 
idea  is,  rather,  that  this  enemy  had 
been  distinguished  for  spreading  de- 


solation and  ruin,  and  that  this  career 
was  now  closed  for  ever.  %  Their 
memorial  is  perished  with  them.  The 
names  of  the  cities,  referring  to 
their  utter  destruction,  and  to  the 
character  of  the  warfare  which  had 
been  waged.  It  had  been  utterly 
barbarous  and  vicious ;  the  enemy 
had  left  nothing  to  testify  even  what 
the  city  had  been,  and  its  name  had 
ceased  to  be  mentioned.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  5.  This  seems  to  be  men- 
tioned as  a  justification  of  the  war- 
fare which  the  author  of  the  psalm 
had  waged  against  this  enemy,  and 
as  showing  why  God  had  interposed 
and  had  given  him  the  victory. 

7.  But  the  Lord  shall  endure  for 
ever.  Jehovah  is  eternal — always  the 
same.  Though  these  cities  have  be- 
come desolate,  and  the  enemy  has 
been  permitted  to  triumph,  and  na- 
tions and  people  have  passed  away, 
yet  God  is  ever  the  same,  unaffected 
by  these  changes  and  desolations,  and 
in  due  time  he  will  always  interfere 
and  vindicate  his  own  character,  and 
defend  the  oppressed  and  the  wronged. 
If  He   hath  prepared  his  throne  for 

judgment.  See  ver.  4.  He  sits  as  a 
just  judge  among  the  nations,  and  he 
will  see  that  right  is  done.  The 
wicked,  though  temporarily  pros- 
perous, cannot  always  triumph  ;  and 
the  righteous,  though  cast  down  and 
oppressed,  cannot  always  remain  thus, 
for  God,  the  just  Judge,  will  rise  in 
their  defence  and  for  their  deliver- 
ance. The  unchangeableness  of  God, 
therefore,  is  at  the  same  time  the 
ground  of  confidence  for  the  righteous, 
and  the  ground  of  dread  for  the 
wicked.  The  eternal  principles  of 
right  will  ultimately  triumph. 

8.  And  he  shall  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness.  The  word  here  ren- 
dered world  means  properly  the  ha- 
bitable earth;  and  then  it  denotes 
the  inhabitants  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth.   The  statement  here  is  general, 


PSALM  IX. 


79 


in  righteousness,  he  shall  min- 
ister judgment  to  the  people  in 
uprightness. 

9  The  Lord  also  will  be  1  a 

1  an  high  place. 


and  is  suggested  by  what  is  referred 
to  in  the  previous  verses.  In  the  par- 
ticular case  on  which  the  psalm  turns, 
God  had  manifested  himself  as  a  just 
Judge.  He  had  overthrown  the  ene- 
mies of  himself  and  of  truth  ;  he  had 
interposed  in  behalf  of  the  righteous : 
and  from  this  fact  the  psalmist  makes 
the  natural  and  proper  inference  that 
this  would  be  found  to  be  his  charac- 
ter in  regard  to  all  the  world ;  this 
indicated  what,  in  all  his  dealings  with 
men,  he  would  always  be  found  to  be ; 
this  showed  what  he  would  be  when- 
ever he  in  any  way  pronounced  a 
judgment  on  mankind.  It  may  be 
added  here  that  this  will  be  found  to 
be  true  in  the  great  final  judgment ; 
that  it  will  be  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  eternal  justice.  ^[  He 
shall  minister  judgment.  He  will 
declare  or  pronounce  judgment ;  he 
will  execute  the  office  of  judge.  %  To 
the  people.  To  all  people ;  to  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth.  This  corresponds 
with  what,  in  the  former  part  of  the 
verse,  is  called  the  tvo?'ld ;  and  the 
declaration  is,  that  in  his  dealings 
with  the  dwellers  on  the  earth  he  will 
be  guided  by  the  strictest  principles 
of  justice.  %  In  uprightness.  In 
rectitude.  He  will  not  be  influenced 
by  partiality ;  he  will  show  no  favour- 
itism ;  he  will  not  be  bribed.  He  will 
do  exact  justice  to  all. 

9.  The  Loed  also  ivill  he  a  re- 
fuge.  Margin,  an  high  place.  The 
margin  expresses  the  more  exact 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  word —  3^Q5?3. 

t  *  7 

misgoh.  It  means  properly  height, 
altitude  ;  then  a  height,  rock,  crag ; 
and  then,  as  such  localities,  being  in- 
accessible to  an  enemy,  were  sought  in 
times  of  danger  as  places  of  secure 
retreat,  it  comes  to  denote  a  place  of 
security  and  refuge,  Ps.  xviii.  2 ; 
xlvi.  7,  11;  xlviii.  3;  fix.  9, 17;  xciv. 
22.     The  declaration  here  is  equiva- 


refuge  for  the  oppressed,  a  refuge 
in  times  of  trouble. 

10  And  they  that  know   thy 
name   « will   put   their    trust   in 

n  Prov.  xviii.  10. 


lent  to  what  is  so  often  said,  that  God 
is  a  refuge,  a  rock,  a  high  tower,  a 
defence ;  meaning,  that  those  referred 
to  might  find  safety  in  him.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  xviii.  2.  %  For  the 
oppressed.  Literally,  for  those  who 
are  crushed,  broken ;  hence,  the  de- 
jected, afflicted,  unhappy, — *T^\,  dak 
— from  TTlDl?  dakak — to  beat  small; 
to  break  in  pieces;  to  crush.  The 
allusion  here  is  to  those  who  are 
wronged  or  down-trodden ;  to  the 
victims  of  tyranny  and  injustice. 
Such  may  look  to  God  to  vindicate 
them  and  their  cause,  and  they  will 
not  look  in  vain.  Sooner  or  later  he 
will  manifest  himself  as  their  pro- 
tector and  their  helper.  See  ver.  12. 
%  A  refuge  in  times  of  trouble.  Not 
only  for  the  oppressed,  but  for  all 
those  who  are  in  trouble.  Comp. 
Ps.  xlvi.  1.  That  is,  all  such  may 
come  to  him  with  the  assurance  that 
he  will  be  ready  to  pity  them  in  their 
sorrows,  and  to  deliver  them.  The 
psalmist  had  found  it  so  in  his  own 
case ;  and  he  infers  that  it  would  be 
so  in  all  cases,  and  that  this  might  be 
regarded  as  the  general  character  of 
God. 

10.  And  they  that  know  thy  name. 
All  who  are  acquainted  with  thee ; 
all  those  who  have  been  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  manifestations  of 
thy  goodness,  and  with  the  truth 
respecting  thy  character.  \  Will  put 
their  trust  in  thee.  That  is,  all  Avho 
have  any  just  views  of  God,  or  who 
understand  his  real  character,  will 
confide  in  him.  This  is  as  much  as  to 
say,  that  he  has  a  character  which  is 
worthy  of  confidence, — since  they  who 
know  him  best  most  unreservedly 
rely  on  him.  It  is  the  same  as  saying 
that  all  the  revelations  of  his  cha- 
racter in  his  word  and  works  are  such 
as  to  make  it  proper  to  confide  in  him. 
The  more  intimate  our  knowledge  of 


80 


PSALM  IX. 


tliee:  for  thou,  Loed,  hast  not 
forsaken  them  that  seek  thee. 

11  Sing  praises  to  the  Loud, 
which  dwelleth  in  Zion :  declare 
among  the  people  his  doings. 

God,  the  more  entirely  shall  we  tfrust 
in  him  ;  the  more  we  learn  of  his  real 
character,  the  more  shall  we  see  that 
he  is  worth}-  of  universal  love.  It  is 
much  to  say  of  any  one  that  the  more 
he  is  known  the  more  he  will  be  loved ; 
and  in  saying  this  of  God,  it  is  hut 
saying  that  one  reason  why  men  do 
not  confide  in  him  is  that  they  do  not 
understand  his  real  character.  \  For 
thou,  Loed,  hast  not  forsaken  them 
that  seek  thee.  Thou  hast  never  left 
them  when  they  have  come  to  thee 
with  a  confiding  heart.  David  means, 
doubtless,  to  refer  here  particularly 
to  his  own  case,  to  derive  a  con- 
clusion from  his  particular  case  in  re- 
gard to  tbe  general  character  of  God. 
But  what  ig  here  affirmed  is  still  true, 
and  always  has  been  true,  and  always 
will  be  true,  that  God  does  not  forsake 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 
Men  forsake  him ;  he  does  not  forsake 
them. 

11.  Sing  praises  to  the  Lord.  As 
the  result  of  these  views  of  his  cha- 
racter, and  at  the  remembrance  of  his 
doings.  The  heart  of  the  psalmist  is 
full  of  exultation  and  joy  at  the  re- 
membrance of  the  Divine  interpose 
tion,  and  he  naturally  breaks  out  into 
these  strong  expressions,  calling  on 
others  to  rejoice  also.  %  Which 
dwelleth  in  Zion.  On  the  word  Zion, 
see  Notes  on  Psalm  ii.  6.  Cump.  Ps. 
iii.  4;  v.  7.  As  Zion  was  the  place 
where  at  this  time  the  tabernacle  was 
set  up,  and  the  worship  of  God  was 
celebrated,  it  is  spoken  of  as  his 
dwelling-place.  *  Declare  among  the 
people  his  doings.  Make  general  and 
wide  proclamation  of  what  he  has 
done ;  that  is,  make  him  known 
abroad,  in  his  true  character,  that 
others  may  be  brought  also  to  put 
their  trust  in  him,  and  to  praise 
him. 

12.  When  he  malceth  inquisition  for 


12  When  he  maketh  inquisition 
for  blood,  he  remembereth  them  : 
he  forgetteth  not  the  cry  of  the 
1  humble. 

1  Or,  afflicted. 


Hood.  "When  he  inquires  after  blood; 
that  is,  when  he  comes  forth  with 
this  view,  to  wit,  for  purposes  of 
punishment.  There  is  allusion  here 
to  such  passages  as  that  in  Gen.  ix.  5, 
"And  surelv  vour  blood  of  vour  lives 
will  I  require;  at  the  hand  of  every 
beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at  the 
hand  of  man."  The  idea  is,  that 
when  blood  was  shed  in  murder,  God 
would  seek  out  the  murderer ;  he 
would  require  satisfaction  of  him  who 
had  shed  the  blood ;  he  would  punish 
the  offender.  The  language,  there, 
becomes  equivalent  to  that  of  seeking 
punishment  for  murder,  and  then  for 
sin  in  general;  and  the  representation 
here  is  that  of  God  as  going  forth  in 
the  capacity  of  an  executioner  of  his 
own  laws  to  inflict  punishment  on  the 
guilty.  %  He  remembereth  them. 
"  He  remembereth,"  says  Prof.  Alex- 
ander, "  the  bloods  or  murders," 
since  the  word  blood,  as  in  Ps.  v.  6, 
is  in  the  plural — bloods.  The  better 
interpretation,  however,  is,  that  the 
word  "  them "  here  refers  to  the 
oppressed  and  the  afflicted — for  that 
is  the  main  idea  in  the  passage.  See 
vers.  8,  9.  When  he  goes  forth  in 
the  earth  to  execute  judgment  on  the 
wicked  ;  when  he  cuts  them  down  in 
his  wrath ;  when  he  sweeps  them  away 
as  with  a  flood, — the  punishment  will 
not  be  indiscriminate.  He  will  then 
mark  the  oppressed,  the  afflicted,  the 
persecuted,  the  troubled,  and  the  sad, 
and  will  interpose  to  save  them, — 
delivering  them  from  the  storms  of 
wrath.  The  idea,  then,  is,  that  the 
righteous  will  not  be  forgotten;  that 
even  in  the  most  fierce  and  awful  of 
his  dispensations  he  will  still  regard 
them,  and  interpose  to  save  them. 
\  He  forgetteth  not  the  erg  of  the 
humble.  Marg.,  afflicted.  The  mar- 
gin expresses  the  true  idea.  The 
reference  is  not  to  the  humble  in  the 


PSALM    IX. 


81 


18  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O 
Loud  ;  consider  my  trouble  which 
I  suffer  of  tliein  that  hate  me, 
thou  that  liftest  me  up  from  the 


common  sense  of  that  term,  hut  to  the 
afflicted;  the  oppressed;  to  those  who 
are  in  trouble,  ver.  9.  He  will  then 
remember  the  cry  which  in  their 
afflictions  they  have  been  long  sending 
up  to  him. 

13.  Save  mercy  upon  me,  O  Loed. 
The  cry  for  mercy  implies  that  though 
God  had  interposed  and  granted  them 
surprising  deliverances,  yet  he  was 
still  surrounded  by  enemies,  and  was 
still  in  trouble.  See  introcl.  to  the 
psalm,  §§  2,  3.  He  had  been  de- 
livered from  many  troubles,  but  there 
were  many  still  pressing  upon  him, 
and  he  now  calls  on  God  to  interpose 
further  in  his  behalf,  and  to  grant 
him  entire  deliverance  from  all  his 
sorrows  and  dangers.  The  trouble  to 
which  he  here  refers  was  of  the  same 
kind  as  that  adverted  to  in  the  former 
part  of  the  psalm — that  arising  from 
the  efforts  of  formidable  enemies. 
*[[  Consider  my  trouble.  Do  not  for- 
get this  trouble ;  bear  it  in  remem- 
brance ;  look  upon  its  character  and 
its  depth,  and  mercifully  interpose  to 
deliver  me.  %  Which  I  suffer  of  them 
that  hate  me.  Or,  "  see  my  suffering 
arising  from  those  that  hate  me ;  or, 
which  is  produced  by  those  who  hate 
me."  The  design  is  to  fix  the  atten- 
tion on  the  greatness  of  that  suffering 
as  caused  by  his  "  haters  "  or  by  his 
enemies, — the  foes  that  were  still  un- 
subdued. %  Thou  that  liftest  me  up 
from  the  gates  of  death.  Thou  on 
whom  I  rely  to  do  this ;  or,  who 
hast  done  it  in  times  past.  The  idea 
is,  that  he  was  apparently  near  to  the 
gates  of  death,  and  that  the  only  one 
who  could  raise  him  up  was  God,  and 
he  now  invoked  His  interposition  that 
it  might  be  done.  The  phrase  "gates 
of  death "  relates  to  the  prevalent 
views  about  the  unseen  world, — the 
world  where  the  dead  abide.  That 
world  was  represented  as  beneath ;  as 
a  dark  and  gloomy  abode;  as  enclosed 


gates  of  death : 

14  That  1  may  show  forth  all 
thy  praise  in  the  gates  of  the 


by  bars  and  walls ;  as  entered  by 
gates, — the  grave  leading  to  it.  See 
Introd.  to  Job,  §  7  (10),  and  Notes  on 
Job  x.  21,  22.  The  psalmist  felt  that 
he  had  come  near  to  that  dark  and 
gloomy  abode,  and  that  God  only 
could  rescue  him  from  it ;  therefore, 
in  the  trouble  which  now  threatened 
his  life,  he  looks  to  him.  to  interfere 
and  save  him. 

14.  That  I  may  show  forth  all  thy 
praise.  That  I  may  praise  thee  in 
the  land  of  the  living;  that  I  may 
finish  the  work  of  praise  by  render- 
ing to  thee  all  that  is  due.  The  idea 
is,  that  the  dead  could  not  praise 
God,  or  that  his  praise  could  be  ut- 
tered only  by  the  living ;  and  he  calls 
on  God,  therefore,  to  interpose  and 
save  him,  that  he  might  yet  worship 
and  praise  him  on  the  earth.  In  this 
sentiment  the  psalmist  utters  only 
what  man  naturally  feels  when  he 
looks  upon  the  grave ;  that  it  is  an 
end  of  human  plans  and  pursuits; 
that  it  is  a  land  of  silence;  that  the 
worship  of  God  is  not  there  celebrated. 
Such  language  must  be  regarded  as 
uttered  under  the  impulse  of  natural 
feeling,  and  not  as  uttered  by  the  de- 
liberate judgment  of  the  mind  when 
calmly  contemplating  the  whole  sub- 
ject. All  pious  persons  have  these 
feelings  at  times,  and  it  was  proper 
that  these  feelings  should  be  ex- 
pressed in  the  sacred  writings,  as 
illustrating  human  nature  even  under 
the  influence  of  religion.  The  same 
sentiment  occurs  in  several  places,  as 
Ps.  cxv.  17,  "  The  dead  praise  not 
the  Lord,  neither  any  that  go  down 
into  silence."  See  Notes  on  Ps.  vi. 
5.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that 
the  sacred  writers  had  brighter  views 
at  times  than  these.  But  who  can 
keep  the  mind  always  from  despond- 
ing when  it  looks  at  the  grave  ? 
Who  can  always  help  feeling  that  it 
is  a  place  of  darkness  and  gloom  ? 
E2 


82 


PSALM     IX. 


daughter  of  Zion  :  I  will  rejoice 
in  thy  salvation. 

15  The  heathen  are  sunk  down 
in  the  pit  that  they  made  :  in  the 


%  In  the  gates  of  the  daughter  of 
Zion.  As  contradistinguished  from 
the  "  gates  of  death."  Gates  in  an- 
cient cities  were  places  of  concourse, 
where  important  transactions  were 
performed;  and  the  "gates"  of  Jeru- 
salem were  regarded  as  attractive  and 
sacred,  because  it  was  through  them 
that  the  people  passed  on  their  way  to 
worship  God  at  the  tabernacle  or  in  the 
temple.  Hence  it  is  said,  Ps.  lxxxvii. 
2,  "The  Lord  loveth  the  gates  of 
Zion  more  than  all  the  dwellings  of 
Jacob."  Ps.  c.  4,  "Enter  into  his 
gates  with  thanksgiving."  Comp. 
Ps.  cxviii.  19.  The  phrase,  "  daugh- 
ter of  Zion,"  means  Jerusalem.  For 
the  reason  of  this  appellation  see 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  8.  The  language  here 
used  proves  that  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed after  Zion  or  Jerusalem  was 
made  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  and 
the  seat  of  public  worship,  and,  there- 
fore, that  it  cannot  refer,  as  is  sup- 
posed in  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase,  to 
the  death  of  Goliath.  ^[  I  will  rejoice 
in  thy  salvation.  In  the  salvation 
which  thou  wilt  bestow  on  me;  here 
particularly,  in  delivering  him  from 
his  dangers.  The  language,  however, 
is  general,  and  may  be  employed  with 
reference  to  salvation  of  any  kind. 

15.  The  heathen.  Heb.,  "  The  na- 
tions;" that  is,  the  idolatrous  people 
that  were  arrayed  against  him.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  5.  ^[  Are  sunlc  down. 
That  is,  referring  to  those  who  had 
been  overcome,  as  mentioned  in  ver. 
5 ;  or  to  those  who  still  encompassed 
him,  in  respect  to  whom  he  was  so 
certain  that  they  ivonld  be  overcome 
that  he  could  speak  of  it  as  a  thing 
already  accomplished.  According  to 
the  former  view,  it  would  be  an  en- 
couragement derived  from  the  past; 
according  to  the  latter,  it  would  indi- 
cate unwavering  confidence  in  God, 
and  the  certain  assurance  of  ultimate 
victory.     It  is  not  easy  to  determine 


net  which  they  hid  is  their  own 
foot  taken. 

16  The  Lord  is  known  by  the 
judgment  which    he   executeth  : 

which  is  the  true  interpretation.  The 
Hebrew  is,  "  Sunk  are  the  nations  in 
the  pit  which  they  have  made;"  that 
is,  he  sees  them  sinking  down  to  de- 
struction. %  In  the  pit  that  they 
made.  In  which  they  designed  that 
others  should  fall.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
vii.  15.  ^T  In  the  net  tvhich  they  hid. 
Which  they  laid  for  others.  The 
allusion  here  is  to  a  spring-net  made 
to  capture  birds  or  wild  beasts.  %  Is 
their  own  foot  taken.  The  net  here 
referred  to  seems  to  have  been  par- 
ticularly a  net  to  take  wild  beasts  by 
securing  one  of  their  feet,  like  a  mo- 
dern trap.  The  idea  is,  that  they  had 
been  brought  into  the  destruction 
which  they  had  designed  for  others. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  15,  16. 

16.  The  Lord  is  known  by  the 
judgment  which  he  executeth.  By 
what  he  does  in  his  dealings  with 
men,  in  dispensing  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, bestowing  blessings  upon 
the  righteous,  and  sending  punish- 
ments upon  the  ungodly.  That  is, 
his  character  can  be  learned  from  his 
dealings  with  mankind ;  or,  by  study- 
ing the  dispensation  of  his  Provi- 
dence, we  may  learn  what  he  is.  This 
is  always  a  fair  and  proper  way  of  es- 
timating character,  alike  iD  regard  to 
God  and  man ;  and  it  is  proper,  at  all 
times,  to  study  what  God  does,  to 
learn  what  he  is,  %  The  tcicked  is 
snared  in  the  ivork  of  his  own  hands. 
The  same  sentiment  which  is  ex- 
pressed here  occurs  in  Ps.  vii.  16. 
The  idea  is  that  the  wicked  are  the 
cause  of  their  own  destruction ;  their 
own  devices  and  designs  are  the  means 
of  their  ruin,  and  they  are  made  their 
own  executioners.  It  is  this  to  which 
the  writer  seems  particularly  to  refer 
in  the  former  part  of  the  verse,  when 
he  says  that  "the  Lord  is  known  by 
the  judgment  which  he  executeth." 
This  great  principle  is  brought  out 
in  his  dealings  with  men,   that  the 


PSALM    IX. 


83 


the  wicked  is  snared  in  the  work 

of  his  own  hands 

Selah. 

1  i.e.,  meditation,    o  Psa.  xix.  14;  xcii.  3 


1  Higgaion.  ° 


course  which  wicked  men  pursue  is 
the  cause  of  their  own  ruin.  The 
laws  of  God  in  a  great  measure  exe- 
cute themselves,  and  men  hring  upon 
themselves  their  own  destruction.  It 
is  the  highest  perfection  of  govern- 
ment to  make  the  laws  execute  them- 
selves. %  Higgaion.  Marg.,  Medita- 
tion. This  word  occurs  elsewhere 
only  in  the  following  places,  Ps.  xix. 
14,  rendered  meditation  ;  Ps.  xcii.  3, 
rendered  solemn  sound ;  Lam.  iii.  62, 
rendered  device.  Its  proper  meaning 
is,  murmur  ;  muttering  ;  the  utterance 
of  a  loio  sound,  as  the  low  sound  of  a 
harp ;  or  the  murmuring  or  mutter- 
ing of  one  who  talks  to  himself;  and 
then  meditation.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps. 
ii.  1,  on  the  word  "imagine," — Marg., 
meditate, — the  verb  from  which  this 
is  derived.  Gesenius  supposes  that  it 
is  here  a  musical  sound.  So  it  is  un- 
derstood by  the  LXX., — yd))  dta\pa\- 
fia.TOQ.  It  is  not  known  why  it  is 
introduced  here.  There  seems  to  be 
nothing  in  the  sense  which  demands 
it,  as  there  is  no  particular  reason  why 
the  reader  should  pause  and  meditate 
here  rather  than  in  any  other  place 
in  the  psalm.  It  is  doubtless  a  mere 
musical  pause,  though  perhaps  indi- 
cating the  kind  of  pause  in  the  music, 
as  some  peculiar  sound  or  interlude 
on  the  musical  instrument  that  was 
employed.  ^[  Selah.  Another  mu- 
sical term,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  2. 
This  indicates  a  general  pause;  the 
word  Higgaion  denotes  the  particular 
kind  of  pause. 

17.  The  ivicked.  All  the  wicked; 
all  who  come  properly  under  the  de- 
nomination of  wicked  persons.  Doubt- 
less the  writer  had  particularly  in  his 
eye  the  enemies  with  whom  he  was 
contending,  and  in  reference  to  whom 
the  psalm  was  composed ;  and  he 
meant  to  say  that  they  would  be  cer- 
tainly punished.  But  what  was  true 
in  regard  to  them,  was  true  of  all 


17  The  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that 
forget  p  God. 

p  Psa.  1.  22. 


others  of  similar  character,  and  the 
statement  is  therefore  made  in  a  uni- 
versal form — all  the  wicked.  %  Shall 
be  turned.  Shall  turn  back,  or  be 
turned  from  their  present  course.  The 
idea  is,  that  they  were  now  pursuing  * 
a  certain  course,  but  that  they  would 
be  turned  back  from  that,  or  would 
fail  and  retreat;  and  instead  of  going 
on  to  victory,  would  be  defeated,  and 
would  sink  into  hell.  The  idea  is 
essentially  the  same  as  that  which  is 
expressed  in  ver.  3. above: — "When 
mine  enemies  are  turned  back." 
If  Into  hell  —  n^ihsll)^  —  to  Sheol, 
Hades,  the  grave,  the  ivorld  of  departed 
spirits.  This  is  the  usual  meaning  ot 
this  word.  See  Notes  on  Luke  xvi. 
23;  Isa.  xiv.  9;  Job  x.  21,  22. 
Though  the  word,  however,  origin- 
ally denoted  the  grave,  the  region  of 
the  dead,  the  world  of  departed 
spirits,  yet  it  was  also  supposed  that 
there  was  a  distinction  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dead ;  and  the  word  gra- 
dually came  to  denote  the  abode  of 
the  ivicked  portion  of  the  dead,  and 
hence  the  place  of  future  punishment. 
So  it  is  undoubtedly  used  in  Luke 
xvi.  23.  It  is  clear  (a)  that  this  can- 
not be  understood  here  as  referring  to 
the  grave  in  its  ordinary  sense,  for 
the  righteous  will  be  as  certainlv  con- 
signed  to  the  grave,  or  will  as  cer- 
tainly die,  as  the  wicked ;  (b)  that  it 
cannot  refer  to  the  invisible  world,  the 
abodes  of  the  dead,  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  term — for  it  is  as  true 
that  the  righteous  will  enter  that 
world  as  that  sinners  will.  There 
must  be  some  sense,  in  which  the  word 
is  used  here,  different  from  that  of  the 
grave,  or  different  merely  from  death 
as  such.  This  sense  can  be  only  one 
of  two — either  (1)  that  the  author 
means  that  they  will  be  cut  off  by  a 
sudden  and  violent  death,  considered 
as  a  calamity  or  as  a  punishment ;  or 
(2)  that  he  regarded  the  Sheol  men- 


S-i 


PSALM    IX. 


For 


the  needy 

q  Isa.  xli.  17. 


g  shall   not 


alway  be  forgotten  :  the  expecta- 


tioned  here  as  a  place  of  punishment. 
Calvin  thinks  it  is  not  improbable  that 
the  former  of  these  is  intended  ;  but  it 
y  be  observed  in  regard  to  this,  (a) 
that  this  is  not  the  language  usually 
em ployed  to  denote  that  idea — the 
phrase,  to  be  cut  off',  or  cut  down, 
o.  being  that  which  a  writer  intending 
-  -  that  idea,  would  most  natu- 
rally use — since  the  phrase,  to  be  sent 
to  Sheol,  considered  as  the  grave  or 
the  region  of  the  dead,  would  express 
nothing  peculiar  in  regard  to  the 
wicked ;  and  (l>)  the  spirit  of  the  pas- 
sage seems  to  demand  the  idea  that  the 
wicked  referred  to  here  would  be  con- 
sumed to  a  place  of  punishment,  that 
they  would  be  cut  off  as  wicked  per- 
sons, and  treated  accordingly.  This 
interpretation  is  strengthened  by  the 
other  member  of  the  parallelism,  where 
-  said,  "and  all  the  nations  that 
forget  God;"  since  it  is  no  more 
true  that  the  nations  "that  forget 
God'"'  will  be  "turned  into  the  grave, 
or  the  world  of  departed  spirits,"  than 
it  is  that  the  nations  that  serve  and 
obey  him  will.  It  seems  to  me,  there- 
fore, that  this  is  one  of  the  passages 
in  which  it  is  clear  that  the  word 
Sheol  had  connected  with  it  the  idea 
of  punishment  beyond  the  grave — of 
a  region  where  the  wicked  would  be 
treated  according  to  their  deserts,  and 
in  a  manner  different  from  the  treat- 
ment of  the  righteous;  that  although 
the  general  idea  of  that  under-world 
was  that  it  was  a  dark  and  gloom v 
place,  yet  that  there  was  also  the  idea 
that  the  abode  of  the  wicked  there 
was  far  more  gloomy  than  that  of  the 
righteous;  and  that  it  was  regarded 
as  a  punishment  to  be  consigned  to 
that  region.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  they  had  the  full  idea 
attached  to  the  word  hell  which  we 
have,  any  more  than  that  they  had  the 
same  full  and  clear  idea  of  heaven 
that  we  have.  Light  has  come  into 
our  world  on  all  these  subjects  gra- 
dually, and  there  is  nothing  which 
requires  us  to  suppose  that  the  earlier 


sacred  writers  had  the  same  clear 
views  which  the  later  writers  had,  or 
that  either  of  them  knew  all  that  is 
to  be  known.  Comp.  1  Pet.  i.  10,  11. 
■"  And  alt  the  nations  that  forget 
God.  All  who  are  strangers  to  him, 
or  who  are  ignorant  of  the  true  God. 
See  Notes  on  Pom.  ii.  12.  From  the 
character  and  prospective  doom  of 
those  to  whom  the  psalmist  particu- 
larly referred  in  this  psalm,  he  is  led 
to  make  this  general  remark  about  all 
who  sustain  the  same  character  which 
they  did.  Under  the  administration 
of  the  same  God  those  of  the  same 
character  would  share  alike,  for 
"  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with 
him  ;*'  and  it  is  the  perfection  of  an 
impartial  government  to  treat  all  of 
the  same  character  in  the  same  man- 
ner. If  we  can,  therefore,  ascertain 
how,  under  his  administration,  one 
sinner  will  be  treated  in  the  future 
world,  we  can  infer  how  all  of  the  same 
character  will  be  treated;  if  we  can 
learn  how  God  will  deal  with  one  peo- 
ple, we  can  infer  how  he  Will  deal 
with  all.  The  statement  here  is,  that 
all  the  wicked,  of  whatever  nation, 
will  be  consigned  to  punishment  in 
the  future  world.  The  phrase  here 
used,  "  that  forget  God,"  deuotes  those 
who  are  not  disposed  or  inclined  to 
remember  and  honour  him.  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  though  they  might 
have  known  him,  they  did  not  choose 
to  retain  him  in  their  knowledge,  but 
gave  themselves  up  to  a  life  of  idol- 
atrv  and  sin.  Comp.  Xotes  on  Pom. 
i.  19—21,  28. 

18.  Tor  the  needy.  The  poor;  those 
who  are  dependent  and  helpless. 
\  all  not  alway  be  forgotten.  That 
is,  by  God.  He  will  interfere  and 
save  them  bv  destroying  their  enemies. 
He  will  not  suffer  the  wicked  always 
to  persecute  and  oppress  the  righteous. 
In  due  time  he  will  vindicate  his  own 
cause  ;  will  deliver  the  oppressed  and 
down-trodden,  and  will  consign  their 
oppressors  to  deserved  punishment. 
This  is  as  true  now,  in  regard  to  all 


PSALM    X. 


85 


tion  of  the  poor  shall  not  perish 
for  ever. 

19  Arise,  O  Lord  ;  let  not  man 
prevail ;  let  the  heathen  be  judg- 
ed in  thy  sight. 


the  oppressed  and  their  oppressors, 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the  psalmist. 
%  The  expectation  of  the  poor.  Of  the 
afflicted  and  the  oppressed.  The  word 
expectation  refers  to  their  hope;  their 
desire  ;  their  earnest  looking  for  de- 
liverance. In  that  state  men  natu- 
rally look  for  the  Divine  interposition, 
and  the  psalmist  says  that  in  that 
they  will  not  always  be  disappointed. 
%  Shall  not  perish j or  ever.  The  word 
"  not  "  is  supplied  here  by  our  trans- 
lators, but  not  improperly.  It  is  thus 
supplied  in  the  Targum,  and  in  the 
Svriac,  the  Vulgate  and  the  Greek. 
Such  forms  of  construction  are  not  un- 
common. Comp.  Ps.  i.  5;  Deut.  xxxiii. 
6.  "  The  negative  is  repeated  from 
the  preceding  member." — JSLichaelis. 

19.  Arise,  O  Loed.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  iii.  7.  ^[  Let  not  man  prevail. 
Against  thee  and  thy  cause.  The  war 
waged  against  the  psalmist  he  re- 
garded as  waged  against  God,  and  he 
calls  upon  him,  therefore,  to  interpose 
and  vindicate  his  own  cause.  The 
word  rendered  prevail  is  be  strong ; 
that  is,  let  not  man  seem  to  be 
stronger  than  thou  art,  or  let  him  not 
succeed  in  his  efforts  in  opposing  thy 
cause.  ^[  Let  the  heathen  be  judged 
in  thy  sight.  The  nations  to  whom 
the  writer  had  referred  in  the  psalm, 
that  were  arrayed  against  him  and 
against  God.  He  desired  that  a  just 
judgment  should  bepassedon  them,  and 
that  God  would  vindicate  the  right- 
eous, and  save  them  from  the  power  of 
those  who  oppressed  and  wronged  them. 

20.  Put .  them  in  fear,  O  Loed. 
From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  enemies 
of  the  psalmist  were  bold,  daring, 
confident  in  their  own  strength,  and 
in  the  belief  that  they  would  succeed. 
He  prays,  therefore,  that  these  bold 
and  daring  invaders  of  the  rights  of 
others  might  be  made  to  stand  in  awe, 
and  to  tremble  before  the  great  and 


20  Put  them  in  fear, *  O  Lord  ; 
that  the  nations  may  know  them- 
selves to  be  but  men.     Selah. 

r  Psa.  Ixxxiii.  15,  16. 


terrible  majesty  of  God;  that  they 
might  thus  have  just  views  of  them- 
selves, and  see  how  weak  and  feeble 
they  were  as  compared  with  Him. 
^[  That  the  nations  mag  know.  The 
nations  particularly  referred  to  in 
this  psalm  as  arrayed  against  the 
writer.  %  Themselves  to  be  but  men. 
That  they  may  see  themselves  as  they 
are, — poor,  feeble  creatures;  as  nothing 
when  compared  with  God ;  that  in- 
stead of  their  pride  and  self-confi- 
dence, their  belief  that  they  can 
accomplish  any  purpose  that  they 
choose,  they  may  see  that  they  are 
not  like  God,  but  that  they  are  frail 
and  feeble  mortals.  The  psalmist 
seems  to  have  supposed  that  if  they 
understood  this,  they  would  be  hum- 
bled and  would  desist  from  their  pur- 
poses ;  and  he  therefore  prays  that 
God  would  interpose  and  show  them 
precisely  what  they  were.  If  men  un- 
derstood this,  they  would  not  dare  to 
array  themselves  against  their  Maker. 

PSALM  X. 

§  1.  Author  and  occasion  of  the 
psalm. — This  psalm,  like  Ps.  i.,  ii., 
and  many  others,  has  no  title  to 
indicate  its  authorship ;  nor  is  there  any- 
thing in  the  psalm  itself  which  can  en- 
able us  to  determine  this  with  any  cer- 
tainty. From  the  place  which  it  occupies 
among  the  acknowledged  Psalms  of 
David,  it  is  morally  certain  that  it  was 
regarded  by  those  who  arranged  the  Book 
of  Psalms,  as  having  been  composed  by 
him.  There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  to 
forbid  tliis  supposition. 

Of  course  nothing  is  known  as  to  the 
occasion  on  which  it  was  composed.  In 
the  Septuagint  and  the  Latin  Vulgate, 
the  ninth  and  tenth  Psalms  are  united, 
and  reckoned  as  the  ninth  Psalm ;  and 
thenceforward  the  reckoning  proceeds 
according  to  this  arrangement,  the 
eleventh  in  the  Hebrew  being  numbered 
in  those  versions  as  the  tenth,  etc.  This 
arrangement  continues  to  the  hundred 
and  thirteenth  Psalm  inclusive.  In  those 


86 


PSALM    X. 


PSALM  X. 
T\THY  standest  thou  afar  off,  0 


versions,  Ps.  cxiv.  and  cxv.of  the  Hebrew- 
form  but  one  psalm,  and  the  reckoning 
coincides.  But  the  hundred  and  six- 
teenth Psalm  in  Hebrew  is,  in  those 
versions,  divided  into  two,  and  the  hun- 
dred and  forty- seventh  Psalm  in  Hebrew 
is,  in  those  versions,  divided  into  two, 
thus  completing  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty— making  the  number  in 
the  Hebrew,  and  the  Latin  Vulgate,  and 
the  Septuagint,  the  same.  It  is  not  now 
known  by  whom  these  divisions  were 
made,  or  on  what  pretence  they  were 
made.  There  is  no  known  reason  for 
making  the  divisions  of  the  Psalms  that 
occur  in  the  Septuagint  and  the  Latin 
Vulgate. 

There  is  no  evidence,  therefore,  that 
this  psalm  was  composed  at  the  same 
time,  and  on  the  same  occasion,  as  the 
ninth,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm 
itself  that  would  necessarily  lead  to  this 
supposition.  It  is  as  independent  of  that 
in  its  structure,  as  one  psalm  usually  is 
of  another. 

So  far  as  appears  from  the  psalm  it- 
self, it  was  composed  like  the  former,  and 
like  many  others,  when  the  writer  was  in 
the  midst  of  trouble  ;  and  when,  for  the 
time,  he  seemed  to  be  forsaken  by  God, 
ver.  1.  The  nature  of  that  trouble  is  so 
far  indicated  as  to  show  that  it  ai-ose  from 
the  conduct  of  some  formidable  enemy, 
some  one  who  was  wicked,  some  one  who 
was  pursuing  a  secret  and  underhanded, 
a  clandestine  and  treacherous  course,  to 
destroy  the  reputation  or  the  life  of  the 
author  of  the  psalm.  In  these  circum- 
stances the  writer  calls  upon  God  to  in- 
terpose for  him.  Nothing  is  indicated, 
however,  by  which  we  can  ascertain  who 
this  enemy  was,  or  on  what  occasion,  in 
the  life  of  David,  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed. It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that 
there  were  several  occasions  in  the  life 
of  David  which  corresponded  with  what 
is  stated  in  the  psalm,  and  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  understand  the  particular 
occasion  more  clearly  in  order  to  see  the 
meaning  of  the  psalm. 

§  2.  Contents  of  the  psalm. — The  psalm 
is  properly  divided  into  two  parts. 

The  first  contains  an  account  of  the 
character  of  the  enemy  to  whom  the 
writer  refers,  vers.  1-11 ;  the  second  is 
an  appeal  to  God  to  interpose  and  deliver 
him  from  the  machinations  of  this  foe, 
vers.  12-18. 


Lord  ?   why  hidest  thou  thyself 
in  times  of  trouble  ? 


I.  The  characteristics  of  the  enemy, 
vers.  1-11.  Those  characteristics  were 
the  following  : 

(a)  He  was  proud,  and  on  that 
account  persecuted  the  poor,  ver.  2. 

(b)  He  was  a  boaster,  and  especially, 
it  would  seem,  was  one  who  was  disposed 
to  boast  of  his  wealth,  ver.  3. 

(c)  He  Avas  a  pi-actical  atheist;  one 
too  proud  to  seek  after  God,  or  to  ac- 
knowledge his  dependence  on  him,  ver.  4. 

{d)  His  ways  were  always  grievous, 
or  adapted  to  produce  evil,  and  the 
reason  was  that  ne  had  no  just  views  on 
moral  subjects — that  the  great  principles 
of  truth  and  right  were  "  far  above  out 
of  his  sight,"  ver.  5. 

(e)  He  was  a  man  who  had  no  appre- 
hensions about  the  future ;  one  who 
felt  that  his  course  would  be  one  of  con- 
tinued prosperity,  and  that  adversity 
would  never  come  upon  him,  ver.  6. 

(f)  He  was  profane  and  openly  fraudu- 
lent, ver.  7 

(g)  He  was  insidious,  artful,  and 
underhanded  in  his  doings;  a  man 
who  would  stoop  to  any  act  of  duplicity 
and  treachery  to  accomplish  his  purposes, 
vers.  8-10. 

(h)  And  he  acted  as  if  God  had  "  for- 
gotten," that  is,  as  if  God  would  pass 
over  offences  ;  as  though  he  did  not  see 
or  regard  them,  ver.  11. 

II.  An  appeal  to  God  to  deliver  him 
from  the  machinations  of  this  foe,  vers. 
12-18.  This  appeal  consists  of  the 
following  parts : 

(a)  A  solemn  address  to  God,  beseech- 
ing him  to  remember  the  cry  of  the 
humble  or  the  afflicted,  ver.  12. 

(b)  Arguments  to  enforce  this  appeal, 
or  reasons  why  God  should  interpose, 
vers.  13,  14,  15.  These  arguments  are, 
(1)  That  he  had  seen  all  this ;  that  the 
effort  of  the  wrong-doer  to  conceal  what 
he  had  done  was  vain ;  and  (2)  that 
the  poor  and  afflicted  had  committed 
himself  to  God  with  a  firm  confidence 
that  he  would  protect  those  who  relied 
on  him. 

(c)  The  expression  of  a  solemn  and 
full  conviction  on  the  part  of  the  writer 
of  the  psalm  that  God  would  thus  inter- 
fere, and  save  those  who  put  their  trust 
in  Him,  vers.  16-18. 

1.  Why  standest  thou  afar  off,  O 
Loed  ?     That  is,  What  is  the  reason 


PSALM  X. 


87 


2  l  The  wicked  in  his  pride  doth 
persecute  the  poor  :  *  let  them  be 
taken  in  the  devices  that   they 

1  In  the  pride  of  the  wicked  he  doth, 
s  Pro  v.  v.  22. 


why  thou  doest  this  ?  The  thought 
on  which  this  is  based  is  that  God 
might  he  expected  to  interpose  in  a 
time  of  trouble,  and  that  his  aid  might 
then  be  looked  for.  Yet  in  this  case 
he  seemed  to  be  an  indifferent  spec- 
tator of  the  sorrows  and  afflictions  of 
the  wronged  and  oppressed.  This 
filled  the  mind  of  the  writer  with 
surprise,  and  he  could  not  account  for 
it,  especially  in  view  of  the  character 
of  the  person  or  persons  who  had 
wronged  the  author  of  the  psalm. 
To  stand  afar  off  in  such  circum- 
stances, is  an  attitude  of  indifference 
and  unconcern — as  when  others  do 
not  come  near  us  if  we  are  sick, 
or  are  bereaved,  or  are  in  circum- 
stances of  poverty  and  want.  That 
man  should  do  this,  would  have  pro- 
duced no  surprise  in  the  mind  of  the 
writer ;  that  God  should  do  it  was 
something  that  filled  him  with  won- 
der. "|[  Why  Mdest  thou  thyself?  As 
if  God  concealed  himself,  or  kept  away. 
He  did  not  manifest  himself,  but 
seemed  to  let  the  afflicted  man  suffer 
alone.  If  In  times  of  trouble.  Afflic- 
tion, sorrow,  persecution.  The  par- 
ticular trouble  referred  to  here  was 
that  which  was  produced  by  the 
machinations  of  the  enemy  or  ene- 
mies whose  character  is  described  in 
the  following  verses.  The  question, 
however,  is  put  in  a  general  form,  as 
if  it  were  strange  and  unaccountable 
that  God  should  ever  fail  to  interpose 
in  time  of  trouble.  How  often  has 
there  been  occasion  to  ask  this  ques- 
tion in  our  world ! 

2.  The  wicked  in  his  pride.  Marg., 
In  the  pride  of  the  toic/ced  he  doth. 
The  margin  is  a  literal  translation 
of  the  Hebrew ;  but  the  sense  is  the 
same.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  fact 
that  the  wicked  persecuted  the  poor, 
in  the  case  referred  to,  was  to  be 
traced  to  his  pride,  haughtiness,  am- 
bition \  that  is,  in  pursuing  his  own 


have  imagined. 

3  For  the  wicked  boasteth  of 
his  2  heart's  desire,  and  3blesseth 


2  soul's. 


3  the  covetous  hlesselh  himself, 
he  dbhorreth  the  Lord. 


selfish  and  ambitious  purposes,  he 
became  utterly  regardless  of  the 
rights  and  comforts  of  others.  He 
esteemed  their  interest  and  happi- 
ness as  unworthy  of  regard  in  com- 
parison with  his  own  aims  and  pur- 
poses, and  trampled  down  all  their 
rights  in  prosecuting  his  own  ends. 
The  term  tviched  here — in  the  original 
in  the  singular  number,  y^H,  though 
perhaps  used  collectively — means  pro- 
perly the  tvicked  one,  or  the  ivicked 
man,  and  doubtless  refers  to  some 
enemy  that  David  had  in  his  eye,  and 
from  whom  he  was  at  that  time  suffer- 
ing wrong.  It  is  not  possible  now  to  as- 
certain with  certainty  who  this  was ; 
but  as  the  whole  description  proceeds 
in  the  singular  number  (vers.  3 — 11), 
it  is  most  natural  to  suppose  that 
this  refers  to  one  individual,  ^f  Doth 
persecute  the  poor.  yty  phi**-  Pro- 
fessor Alexander  renders  this,  "  hums 
the  sufferer."  Luther,  muss  der 
Elende  leiden — "  must  the  afflicted 
suffer."  De  Wette :  angstigen  sich 
die  Elenden.  The  Latin  Vulgate : 
"  When  the  impious  [man]  is  proud, 
the  poor  [man]  is  burned  :"  incendi- 
tur  pauper.  So  the  Septuagint.  Gese- 
nius  {Lex.)  supposes  it  means,  to  burn 
with  anguish.  Horsley  renders  it, 
"  In  the  exaltation  of  the  impious  one 
the  helpless  is  consumed."  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  our  common  version 
has  expressed  the  true  sense.  The 
word  rendered  persecuteth  —  P^T, 
dalaJc — means  properly  to  burn,  to 
flame;  then  to  burn  with  love,  with 
anger ;  then  to  burn  after  any  one,  to 
persecute.  See  it  explained  in  the 
Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  13.  According  to 
the  most  natural  application  of  the 
word  here,  it  would  seem  to  mean, 
"  In  the  pride  of  the  wicked,  he 
persecutes  the  poor  or  the  afflicted  ;" 
that  is,  he  burns  after  him ;  he  is  in- 
flamed against  him  ;  he  hotly  pursues 


88 


PSALM  X. 


the  covetous,    ichom   the  Loud 


him.  The  word  poor  in  this  place — 
!»W,  ani — menus  the  afflicted  ;  the 
crushed ;  the  downtrodden ;  those 
in  circumstances  of  humiliation  and 
poverty.  The  psalmist  doubtless  re- 
fers to  himself  as  a  poor  and  perse- 
cuted man;  and  the  time  in  his  life 
would  seem  to  he  when  he  was  with- 
out a  protector  or  friend,  probably 
before  he  came  to  the  throne,  "ff  Let 
them  be  taken  in  the  devices  that  they 
have  imagined.  The  artifice,  plan,  or 
scheme,  which  they  have  formed. 
That  is,  they  have  formed  a  scheme 
to  take  advantage  of,  or  to  destroy 
ethers  ;  and  the  psalmist  prays  that, 
as  a  jnst  retribution,  this  very  cala- 
mity may  come  upon  them.  Xo  man 
could  have  a  right  to  complaiu  if  the 
mischief  and  wrong  which  he  had 
devised  for  others  should  be  brought 
upon  himself;  and  if  it  were  certain 
that  this  in  all  cases  would  occur, 
there  could  be  nothing  that  would  so 
effectually  deter  men  from  wrong- 
doing. The  psalmist,  then,  simply 
prays  that  justice  might  be  done. 
Compare  Xotes  on  Ps.  v.  10 ;  vii.  15, 
16.  The  plural  form  of  the  verb  is 
used  here,  but  it  is  not  certain  that 
the  psalmist  had  more  than  one  enemy 
in  view,  for  on  expressing  his  feelings 
towards  that  one  enemy  he  may  have 
designed  to  use  language  which  would 
be  applicable  to  all  in  similar  circum- 
stances. 

3.  For  the  wicked  loasteth  of  his 
heart's  desire.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
soul's.  The  main  idea  in  this  verse 
seems  to  be  that  he  is  a  boaster — a 
man  who  makes  some  proclamation 
about  himself  as  being  superior  to 
others,  and  who,  in  that  proportion, 
looks  with  disdain  or  contempt  on 
ethers.  He  vaunts  himself,  or  makes 
an  ostentatious  display  of  something 
on  which  he  prides  himself,  as  wealth, 
strength,  beauty,  talent,  prowess,  etc. 
The  particular  thing  here,  it  would 
seem,  of  which  he  boasted  was  his 
natural  inclinations;  the  propensities 
and  passions  of  his  soul ;  that  is,  he 


abliorreth. 


took  pride  in  himself,  in  his  own  pas- 
sions, desires,  lusts,  tastes,  and  made 
a  boastful  display  of  them,  as  if  he 
regarded  them  as  something  honour- 
able, or  as  something  fitted  to  excite 
admiration  in  others.  This  is  .not 
a  very  uncommon  characteristic  oi 
wicked  men  ;  at  least  it  is  found  in  a 
certain  class  of  wicked  men.  They 
pride  themselves  in  whatever  they 
have  in  their  character  that  is  pecu- 
liar, or  that  is  their  own,  for  the  very 
reason  that  it  is  theirs ;  and  they  be- 
come so  shameless  that  they  do  not 
hesitate  publicly  to  boast  of  that 
which  should  be  regarded  as  a  dis- 
grace. A  certain  class  of  young  men 
are  very  apt  to  "  boast "  of  passions 
and  practices  which  should  cover 
their  faces  with  the  burning  blush  of 
shame.  ^~  And  blesseth  the  covetous. 
Marg.,  the  covetous  blesseth  himself, 
he  abhor reth  flie  Lord.  Prof.  Alex- 
ander renders  this,  "  And  winning 
(i.e.,  when  he  wins)  blesses,  despises 
Jehovah."  In  other  words,  he  hypo- 
critically thanks  God  for  his  success, 
but  despises  him  in  his  heart.  This 
probably  expresses  the  correct  idea. 
The  word  rendered  the  covetous — 
y$—>  botzaia — is  a  participle,  from 
the   verb — V22 — bdtza,    to    cut    in 

-      T 

pieces;  then,  to  plunder,  to  spoil; 
and  then,  to  be  greedy  after  gain. 
Here,  the  natural  construction  would 
seem  to  be  to  refer  it  not  to  another, 
as  one  who  was  covetous,  but  to  him- 
self, as  greedy,  or  as  succeeding  in 
the  object  of  his  desire  ;  as  referring 
to  the  fact  that  he  obtained  his  heart's 
desire,  and  as  showing  what  'his  feel- 
ings were  then.  He  was  filled  with 
evil  desires,  and  was  so  shameless  of 
them  that  he  openly  avowed  them  ; 
and  when  he  obtained  the  object  of 
his  wishes,  he  did  what  is  here  de- 
noted by  the  word  bless — as  will  be 
explained  directly.  The  idea  in  the 
mind  of  the  writer  seems  to  be  that  he 
cherished  the  desire,  and  made  no 
secret  of  it,  and  obtained  the  object  of 
his  wishes.     The  natural  explanation 


PSALM    X. 


83 


4  The    wicked,    through    the 

pride  of  his  countenance,  will  not 

1  Or,  all  Iiis  thoughts  are.  There  is  no  God, 
Psa.  xiv.  1. 


of  the  manner  in  which  he  did  this 
is,  that  it  was  hy  plunder,  rapine,  or 
spoil,  for  this  would  he  most  literally 
expressed  hy  the  word  used.  Comp. 
Prov.  i.  19;  xv.  27;  Jer.  vi.  13;  viii. 
10;  Ezek.  xxii.  12.  It  might  be, 
however,  by  unjust  gains,  or  dishonest 
dealing1,  1  Sam.  viii.  3  ;  Isa.  xxxiii. 
15;  lvii.  17.  The  word  bless  here 
may  mean,  as  in  the  margin,  blesses 
himself ;  or,  as  Prof.  Alexander  sup- 
poses, may  mean  that  he  blesses  the' 
Lord,  that  is,  renders  hypocritical 
thanks  for  his  success,  and  professes 
to  acknowledge  that  all  is  the  gift 
of  God,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
expresses  contempt  for  him,  and 
despises  him  in  his  heart.  If  the 
usual  meaning  of  the  word  bless  is  to 
be  retained,  however,  it  would  seem 
to  he  most  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  passage  that  he  should 
bless  himself,  that  is,  his  own  talents, 
skill,  power;  in  other  words,  that  he 
should  attribute  all  his  success  to 
himself.  The  idea  does  not  seem  to 
be  that  he  was  even  professedly  a 
religious  man,  but  that  he  was  a 
proud  and  vain  boaster  who  attributed 
all  success  to  himself,  and  despised 
God  and  his  claims.  It  has  been 
supposed  by  some,  however,  and  with 
plausihility  (De  Wette,  and  others), 
that  the  word  rendered  bless  here — 
7p2,  bairaich — as  in  Job  i.  5,  11 ; 
ii.  9,  means,  not  to  bless,  but  to.  curse. 
See  Notes  on  Job.  i.  5.  De  Wette 
renders  it,  Der  Rauher  lastert  schma- 
hend  Jehovah.  This  seems  to  me  to 
be  the  true  idea — that  this  braggart 
or  braggadocio  did  not  make  any 
pretensions  to  religion,  but  was  a  pro- 
line man,  and  one  who  despised  God 
and  abhorred  his  cause.  ^[  Whom  the 
Loed  abhorreth.  Or,  more  correctly, 
despises,  or  abhors  the  Lord.  That 
is,  he  makes  shameless  boast  of  his 
own  corrupt  and  base  passions  ;  when 
he  is  successful  he  makes  no  acknow- 
ledgment to  God,  but  curses  him  and 


seek  after  God :  l  God  is  not  <  in 


all  his  thoughts. 


t  Epli.  ii.  12. 


despises  or  contemns  him  in  his  heart. 
A  correct  rendering  then  of  the  whole 
would  be,  "And  having  obtained,  he 
curses — he  despises  Jehovah."  Cover- 
dale  renders  this,  "  The  covetous 
blesseth  himself,  and  blasphemeth  the 
Lord."  We  have  thus  an  example  of 
most  finished  and  shameless  depravity 
— but  alas  !  one  that  was  not  found  in 
the  time  of  David  only. 

4.  The  wicked,  through  the  pride  of 
his  countenance.  In  consequence  of 
his  pride ;  or,  his  pride  is  the  reason 
of  what  is  here  stated.  The  "  pride  of 
his  countenance  "  is  a  phrase  that  is 
used  because  pride  shows  itself  mainly 
in  the  countenance,  or  in  a  lofty  air 
and  manner.  The  design  is  to  state 
the  influence  of  pride  in  producing 
the  effect  here  specified.  1\  Will  not 
seek  after  God.  The  phrase  "  after 
God/'  is  supplied  by  our  translators. 
Something  clearly  is  to  be  supplied, 
audit  is  plainly  something  relating  to 
God — either  that  the  wicked  man  will 
not  seek  after  God  in  prayer,  or  that 
he  will  not  inquire  after  the  proofs  ot 
his  existence  and  attributes;  or  that  he 
will  not  seek  after  his  favour,  or  that 
he  will  not  endeavour  to  know  the 
Divine  will.  All  this  would  be  im- 
plied in  seeking  after  God;  and  this 
is  undoubtedly  the  state  of  mind  that 
is  referred  to  here,.  The  sinner  is  un- 
willing, in  any  appropriate  way,  to 
acknowledge  God.  %  God  is  not  in 
all  his  thoughts.  Marg.,  "  Or,  all  his 
thoughts  are,  There  is  no  God,"  Ps. 
xiv.  1.  The  literal  translation  is, 
"  No  God  [are]  all  his  thoughts." 
The  margin  has  undoubtedly  ex- 
pressed the  meaning  better  than  the 
translation  in  the  text,  since  the 
spirit  of  the  passage  is  not  that  the 
sinner  had  no  thought  of  God,  but 
that  he  thought  wrong.  The  fact 
that  he  would  not  seek  God.  and  that 
he  had  said  that  God  had  forgotten 
(ver.  11),  shows  that  he  had  some 
thoughts  of  God.     The  language  here 


90 


PSALM  X. 


5  His  ways  are  always  griev- 
ous ;  thy  judgments  are  far  above 

is  properly  expressive  of  belief  or 
desire;  either  that  all  his  thoughts 
were  that  there  is  no  God,  i.  e.,  that 
such  was  the  result  of  all  his  medita- 
tions and  reasonings  on  the  subject ; 
or  that  he  wished  that  it  might  he 
found  to  be  so.  The  language  will 
admit  of  either  construction,  and  in 
either  sense  it  would  express  the 
thoughts  of  the  wicked.  Both  as  a 
matter  of  practical  belief,  and  as  a 
matter  of  desire,  the  language  of  the 
wicked  is,  "No  God."  The  wicked  wish 
that  there  were  none;  he  practically 
believes  that  there  is  none.  The  entire 
verse,  then,  expresses  the  prevailing 
feelings  of  a  sinner  about  God : — (a) 
That  he  w-ishes  there  were  none,  and 
practically  believes  that  there  is  none ; 
and  (//)  that  the  reason  or  ground  of 
these  feelings  is  pride.  Pride  will 
prevent  him  from  seeking  God  in  the 
following  ways  : — (1)  It  makes  him 
unwilling  to  recognise  his  dependence 
on  any  being  ;  (2)  it  makes  him  un- 
willing to  confess  that  he  is  a  sinner; 

(3)  it  makes  him  unwilling  to  pray ; 

(4)  it  makes  him  unwilling  to  seek 
aid  of  any  one,  even  God,  in  the  busi- 
ness of  life,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
plans,  or  in  sickness  and  affliction ; 

(5)  it  makes  him  unwilling  to  accede 
to  the  terms  of  reconciliation  and  sal- 
vation proposed  by  God,  unwilling  to 
repent,  to  believe,  to  submit  to  His 
sovereignty,  to  acknowledge  his  in- 
debtedness to  mere  grace  for  the  hope 
of  eternal  life.  Pride  is  at  the  root  of 
all  the  atheism,  theoretical  or  prac- 
tical, on  the  earth  ;  at  the  root  of  all 
the  reluctance  which  there  is  to  seek 
the  favour  of  God  ;  at  the  root,  there- 
fore, of  the  misery  and  wretchedness 
of  the  world. 

5.  Sis  ways  are  always  grievous. 
His  paths ;  his  "manner  of  life ;  his 
conduct  towards  God ;  his  dealings 
with  men.  The  word  rendered  "  are 
grievous,"  I^TPi  ydhhiloo — has  been 
very  variously  rendered.  The  Latin 
Vulgate   renders  it,  "  His  ways  are 


out  of  his    sight :  as  for  all 
enemies,  he  puffeth  at  them. 


his 


defiled."  So  the  Septuagint.  Cover- 
dale  renders  it,  "  His  ways  are  always 
filthy."  Professor  Alexander,  "  His 
ways  are  firm."  So  He  Wette,  "  Es 
gelingen seine  Wege."  Horsley,  "His 
ways  are  confident."  This  variety  in 
the  interpretation  arises  from  the 
ambiguity  of  the  original  word — 2117, 
hliool.  The  meaning  of  this  word, 
as  given  by  Genesius,  is  to  turn 
round,  to  twist,  to  ivhirl ;  and  hence 
(1)  to  dance ;  (2)  to  be  whirled,  or 
twisted  upon  anything ;  (3)  to  twist 
oneself  with  pain,  or  to  be  in  pain ; 
(4)  to  bear  or  bring  forth;  (5)  to 
tremble,  to  quake ;  (6)  to  be  strong 
or  stable,  as  things  twisted  are.  Hence 
he  translates  this  passage,  "  his  ways 
are  firm,  or  stable,  i.  e.,  all  his  affairs 
prosper."  But  it  seems  to  me  plain 
that  this  is  not  the  idea  in  the  mind 
of  the  psalmist.  He  is  not  dwelling 
on  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  or  on 
the  result  of  his  conduct,  but  on  his 
character.  In  the  previous  verses  he 
had  stated  some  of  the  traits  in  his 
character,  and  the  subsecpuent  verses 
continue  the  description ;  hence  it  is 
natural  that  we  should  expect  to  find 
some  peculiar  feature  of  his  character 
referred  to  here,  and  not  that  there 
should  be  an  allusion  to  the  stability 
of  his  affairs.  It  seems  to  me,  there- 
fore, that  the  exact  idea  here  is,  that 
his  ways,  or  his  modes  of  feeling  and 
conduct  were  always  perverse  aud 
forced,  and  hard;  that  there  was 
always  something  tortuous  and  un- 
natural about  him  ;  that  he  was  not 
straightforward  and  honest;  that  he 
did  not  see  things  as  they  are,  and  did 
not  act  in  a  plain  and  upright  man- 
ner. %  Thy  judgments.  Thy  laws  ; 
or,  the  principles  of  thy  government. 
r  Are  far  above  out  of  his  sight. 
They  are  out  of  the  range  of  his  vision. 
He  does  not  see  them.  His  thoughts 
grovel  on  the  earth,  and  he  is  never 
elevated  in  his  views  so  as  to  see  the 
great  principles  of  truth.  %  As  for 
all  his  enemies,  he  puffeth  at  them. 


PSALM  X. 


91 


6  He  hath,  said  in  Iiis  heart,  I 
shall  not  be  moved ;  for  I  shall 
1  never  be  in  adversity. 

1  unto  generation  and  generation. 


7  His  mouth  is  full  of  cursing 
and  2  deceit  and  fraud ;  under  his 
tongue  is  mischief  and  3  vanity. 

2  deceits.  3  Or.  iniquity. 


He  treats  them  with  contempt  and 
scorn,  as  if  he  had  no  fear  of  them,  or 
as  if  he  were  entirely  confident  of  his 
own  ability  to  overcome  them.  This 
is  an  illustration  of  his  pride  and  self- 
confidence  ;  for  it  is  the  characteristic 
of  the  proud  and  self-confident  to 
boast  in  this  manner.  The  word  ren- 
dered "  pujfeth"  means  to  breathe, 
to  blow  ;  and  the  idea  here  is,  that  he 
acted  as  though  he  could  sweep  them 
away  with  a  breath. 

6.  He  hath  said  in  his  heart.  The 
phrase,  "  he  hath  said/'  means  that 
this  was  his  deliberate  and  settled 
character.  What  is  here  described 
was  no  sudden  thing.  It  was  not  the 
freak  of  passion ;  it  was  a  deliberately 
formed  purpose.  The  phrase,  "in his 
heart/'  means  that  he  had  purposed 
this  ;  he  had  said  this  to  himself  in  a 
spirit  of  self-gratulation  and  confi- 
dence. %  I  shall  not  be  moved.  That 
is,  lie  was  confident  in  his  present  con- 
dition, and  he  apprehended  no  changes. 
He  had  formed  his  plans  so  wisely, 
that  he  believed  he  had  nothing  to 
apprehend ;  he  feared  neither  sickness 
nor  adversity ;  he  dreaded  not  the 
power  of  his  enemies;  he  feared  no- 
thing even  from  the  providence  of 
God ;  he  supposed  that  he  had  laid 
the  foundation  for  permanent  pros- 
perity. This  feeling  of  self-confidence 
and  of  security  is  sometimes  found, 
to  an  extent  that  cannot  be  justified, 
in  the  hearts  of  even  good  men 
(comp.  Notes  on  Job  xxix.  18)  ;  and 
it  is  common  among  the  wicked.  See 
Ps.  xlix.  11 ;  Job  xxi.  9.  f  For  I 
shall  never  be  in  adversity.  Marg., 
unto  generation  and  generation.  The 
margin  expresses  the  correct  sense. 
The  idea  of  the  wicked,  as  expressed 
here,  is  that  they  and  their  families 
would  continue  to  be  prosperous; 
that  a  permanent  foundation  was 
laid  for  honour  and  success,  and  for 
transmitting  accumulated  wealth  and 


honours  down  to  far  distant  times.  It 
is  a  common  feeling  among  wicked 
men  that  they  can  make  permanent 
their  titles,  and  possessions,  and  rank, 
and  that  nothing  will  occur  to  reduce 
them  to  the  humble  condition  of 
others.  Nothing  more  clearly  shows 
the  pride  and  atheism  of  the  heart 
than  this ;  and  in  nothing  are  the  an- 
ticipations and  plans  of  men  more  sig- 
nally disappointed.  Comp.  the  case  of 
Shebna;  see  Notes  on  Isa.  xxii.  15,  seq. 
7.  His  mouth  is  full  of  cursing. 
Profaneness  ;  blasphemy  against  God. 
In  the,  former  verse  the  writer  had 
described  the  feelings  of  the  heart ; 
he  now  proceeds  to  specify  the  open 
acts  of  the  wicked.  The  meaning  is, 
that  the  wicked  man,  as  here  de- 
scribed, was  one  who  was  full  of  im- 
precation, swearing,  execration  ; — a 
profane  man ; — a  man  who,  whatever 
was  his  belief  about  God,  would  con- 
stantly call  upon  his  name,  and  im- 
precate his  wrath  on  himself  or  others. 
An  atheist,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  . 
is  as  likely  to  make  a  frequent  use  of 
the  name  of  God,  and  to  call  on  him, 
as  other  men ; — just  as  profane  men, 
who  have  no  belief  in  the  Saviour, 
swear  by  Jesus  Christ.  This  passage 
seems  to  be  referred  to  by  the  apostle 
Paul  in  Rom.  iii.  14,  not  as  a  direct 
quotation,  as  if  the  psalmist  referred 
to  the  point  which  he  was  arguing, 
but  as  language  which  expressed  the 
idea  that  the  apostle  wished  to  con- 
vey. See  Notes  on  that  passage. 
^  And  deceit.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
deceits.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  was 
false  and  treacherous ;  and  perhaps 
also  that  his  treachery  and  fraud  were 
accompanied  with  the  solemn  sanc- 
tion of  an  oath,  or  an  appeal  to  God,  as 
is  likely  to  be  the  case  among  fraudu- 
lent and  dishonest  men.  %  And  fraud. 
The  word  here  used — TTfi,  toch — is  now 
commonly  supposed  to  mean  rather 
oppression  or  violence.     See  Gesenius, 


92 


PSALM  X. 


8  He   sitteth.  in  the  lurking-  j  innocent :  his   eyes  1  are  privily 

places  of  the    villages  ;    in   the  set  against  the  poor, 

secret  places  doth  he  murder  the  9  He  lieth  in  wait  2  secretly,  as 

1  hide  themselves.  2  in  the  secret  places. 


Lex.  "When  this  is  attributed  to  his 
mouth,  it  means  that  what  he  says — ■ 
what  he  requires — what  he  commands, 
is  unjust,  unreasonable,  and  oppres- 
sive. r  Under  his  tongue.  Perhaps 
alluding  to  the  serpent,  whose  poison 
is  concealed  at  the  root  of  the  fang  or 
tooth,  and  therefore  under  the  tongue. 
The  meaning  is,  that  beneath  what 
the  wicked  say,  though  it  seems  to  be 
harmless,  as  the  tongue  of  the  serpent 
does,  vet  there  lies  mischief  and  ini- 
quity, as  the  poison  is  hidden  beneath 
the  serpent's  tongue.  ^  Is  mischief. 
The  word  here  used  means  properly 
labour,  toil;  then  trouble,  vexation, 
sorrow.  The  meaning  here  seems  to 
be  that  there  lies  under  the  tongue 
that  which  gives  or  causes  distress; 
to  wit,  wrong-doing;  injustice  to 
others.  \  And  vanity.  Marg.,  ini- 
quity. This  expresses  the  idea  in  the 
original  word.  Whatever  he  says  is 
evil,  and  is  fitted  to  produce  trouble 
and  sorrow,  as  the  concealed  poison 
in  the  mouth  of  the  serpent  causes 
pain  and  death. 

8.  He  sitteth  in  the  lurking-places 
of  the  villages.  As  robbers  do,  who 
hide  themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  vil- 
lages, that  they  make  a  sudden  de- 
scent upon  them  in  the  silence  of  the 
night,  or  that  thev  mav  seize  and  rob 
the  inhabitants  as  they  go  forth  in 
the  morning  to  attend  their  flocks  to 
the  pastures,  or  to  labour  in  the 
fields.  The  word  rendered  villages 
means  properly  an  enclosure,  as  a 
court  before  a  building;  and  then  a 
village  or  hamlet,  farm-buildings,  or 
farm  hamlets,  usually  erected  around 
an  open  space ;  and  it  is  then  used  to 
denote  the  encampment  of  nomadic 
tribes,  who  usually  pitch  their  tents 
in  a  circle  so  as  to  form  an  enclosure, 
Gen.  xxv.  16;  Isa.  xlii.  11.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  such  places, — in 
the  thickets,  bushes,  or  ravines, 
that    might    be  near   such  encamp- 


ments or  enclosures, — robbers  would 
naturally  secrete  themselves,  that  they 
might  fall  upon  them  suddenly,  or 
that  they  might  seize  any  one  who 
left  the  village  or  encampment  for 
any  purpose.  So  Frazer  remarks 
in  his  Travels  in  Chorasan,  i.  437  : 
"  When  the  Turkomans  design  to  fall 
upon  a  village,  they  take  a  position 
near  it  in  the  rear,  until  in  the  morn- 
ing the  unsuspecting  inhabitants 
drive  out  their  herds,  or  leave  the 
villages  for  some  other  purpose,  and 
then  they  suddenly  fall  upon  them." 
De  Wette,  in  loc.  \  In  the  secret 
places  doth  he  murder  the  innocent. 
From  these  retreats  he  suddenly  falls 
upon  those  who  are  unsuspicious,  and 
who  have  done  him  no  wrong.  The 
word  innocent  here  does  not  mean 
sinless  in  the  absolute  sense,  but  it 
means  that  they  were  innocent  so  far 
as  the  robber  was  concerned.  They 
had  done  him  no  wrong;  they  had 
given  him  no  occasion  to  make  war 
upon  them.  ^  His  eyes  are  privily 
set.  Marg.,  hide  themselves.  The 
Hebrew  word  means  to  hide,  to  con- 
ceal ;  to  lay  up  in  private ;  to  hoard ; 
to  keep  back;  to  hold  back,  etc. 
Here  it  means  to  conceal,  to  lurk  in 
ambush ;  and  the  idea  is  that  his  eyes 
will  secretly  watch,  or  keep  a  look- 
out for  them;  that  is,  that  his  eyes, 
or  that  he  himself  will  be  concealed, 
that  he  may  observe  the  goings  of 
those  whom  he  intends  to  make  his 


prey. 


Against  the  poor.     Or,  the 


wretched,  the  afflicted,  the  defence- 
less. The  meaning  is,  that  instead  of 
being  a  helper  of  the  poor  and 
wretched,  he  is  disposed  to  take  every 
advantage  of  them,  and  deprive  them 
of  all  their  rights  and  comforts. 

9.  He  lieth  in  wait  secretly.  Marg., 
in  the  secret  places.  See  Xotes  on 
ver.  8.  The  object  here  is  merely  to 
illustrate  the  thought  in  the  previous 
verse,  by  an  allusion  to  a  lion  and  a 


PSALM  X. 


03 


a  lion  in  his  den  :  he  lieth  in  wait 
to  catch  the  poor :  he  doth  catch 
the  poor,  when  he  draweth  him 
into  his  net. 


hunter.  tJ  As  a  lion  in  his  den.  As 
a  lion  crouches  down  in  his  den, 
ready  to  spring  upon  his  prey.  That 
is,  the  lion  is  concealed,  but  is  on  the 
look  out,  and  when  his  prey  passes 
near  his  'den,  he  suddenly  springs 
upon  it  and  secures  it.  So  it  is  with 
the  wicked  man.  He  carefully  lays 
his  plans.  He  conceals  his  purposes. 
He  is  himself  hidden,  or  his  plans  are 
all  hidden.  Suddenly  he  springs  upon 
his  victim,  who  is  taken  by  surprise 
and  has  no  power  of  defence  or  escape. 
The  purpose  here  is  not  so  much  to 
describe  the  wicked  man  as  a  literal 
robber,  as  to  compare  the  conduct  of 
the  wicked  with  that  of  a  robber, — 
one  who,  like  a  lion  or  a  hunter,  lies 
concealed  until  his  victim  is  seen. 
This  will  describe  the  conduct  of  a 
large  class  of  men — men  who  secretly 
lay  plans  of  seduction,  villany,  and 
fraud,  and  who  spring  suddenly  upon 
their  victims  when  there  is  no  hope 
of  escarpe.  "[[  He  lieth  in  wait  to 
catch  the  poor.  The  helpless  and 
defenceless.  %  He  doth  catch  the 
poor,  when  he  draweth  him  into  his 
net.  As  a  hunter  does  the  wild  beast. 
Here  the  same  thought  is  presented 
under  a  new  image — that  of  a  hunter. 
He  lays  his  snare,  gin,  or  pit-fall,  and 
when  the  animal  is  allured  into  it,  he 
springs  the  net  suddenly  on  him,  or 
the  animal  sinks  into  the  pit,  and  is 
secured.  SeeNotesonPs.vii.15;  ix.15. 
10.  He  croucheth.  Marg.,  breaJceth 
himself.  Coverdale,  "  Then  smiteth 
he,  then  oppresseth  he."  Prof.  Alex- 
ander, "  And  bruised  he  will  sink." 
Horsley,  "  And  the  overpowered  man 
submits."  Luther,  "  He  slays,  aud 
thrusts  down,  and  presses  to  the  earth 
the  poor  with  power."  This  variety 
of  interpretation  arises  from  some 
ambiguity  in  regard  to  the  meaning 
of  the  original.  The  word  rendered 
croucheth — 77311?  in  Chetib  or  the 
text, — is   in    the    Keri    or 


10  !rle  croucheth,  and  hum- 
bleth  himself,  that  the  poor  may 
fall  2  by  his  strong  ones. 

1  brcaketh  himself.    2  Or,  into  his  strong  parts. 


r73T>  "  and  crushed,  he  sinks 
down."  There  is  some  uncertainty 
about  the  form  in  which  the  word  is 
used,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  does 
not  mean,  as  in  our  translation,  he 
croucheth.        The    word    T1D1,     da- 

T     T 

chah,  properly  means  to  be  broken 
in  pieces,  to  be  crushed;  and  this 
idea  runs  through  all  the  forms  in 
which  the  word  occurs.  The  true 
idea,  it  seems  to  me,  is  that  this  does 
not  refer  to  the  wicked  man,  but  to 
his  victim  or  victims,  represented  here 
by  a  word  in  the  collective  singular ; 
and  the  meaning  is  that  such  a  victim, 
crushed  and  broken  down,  sinks  under 
the  power  of  the  persecutor  and 
oppressor.  "And  the  crushed  one 
sinks  down."  ^[  And  humbleth  him- 
self. The  word  here  used — nilh, 
ydshoahh,  —  from  mtD'j  shuahh  — 
means  to  sink  down  ;  to  settle  down. 
Here  it  means  to  sink  down  as  one 
does  who  is  overcome  or  oppressed,  or 
who  is  smitten  to  the  earth.  The 
idea  is,  that  he  is  crushed  or  smitten 
by  the  wicked,  and  sinks  to  the 
ground.  %  That  the  poor  may  fall. 
llather,  as  in  the  original,  "  and  the 
poor  fall;"  that  is,  they  do  fall.  The 
idea  is,  that  they  do  in  fact  fall  by 
the  arm  of  the  persecutor  and  oppres- 
sor who  treads  them  down,  \  By 
his  strong  ones.  Marg.,  "Or,  into 
his  strong  parts."  The  text  here 
best  expresses  the  sense.  The  refer- 
ence is  to  the  strong  ones — the  fol- 
lowers and  abettors  of  the  "  wicked" 
here  referred  to — his  train  of  fol- 
lowers. The  allusion  seems  to  be  to 
this  wicked  man  represented  as  the 
head  or  leader  of  a  band  of  robbers 
or  outlaws, — strong,  athletic  men 
engaged  under  him  in  committing 
robbery  on  the  unprotected.  See 
vers.  8,  9.  Under  these  strong  men 
the  poor  and  the  unprotected  fall,  and 
are  crushed  to  the  earth.     The  mean- 


94 


PSALM  X. 


11  He  hath,  said  in  his  heart, 
God  hath  forgotten  :  "  he  hideth 

«  Ecc.  viii.  11. 


ing  of  the  whole  verse,  therefore,  may 
be  thus  expressed  :  "And  the  crushed 
one  sinks  down,  and  the  poor  fall 
under  his  mighty  ones."  The  word 
rendered  'poor  is  in  the  plural,  while 
the  verb  fall  is  in  the  singular ;  but 
this  construction  is  not  uncommon 
when  the  verb  precedes.  Nordheimer, 
Heb.  Gram,  §  759,  i.,  a.  The  word 
rendered  poor  means  the  wretched  or 
the  afflicted,  and  refers  here  to  those 
who  were  unprotected, — the  victims  of 
oppression  and  robbery.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  the  condition  of  Pales- 
tine at  the  present  time  will  illustrate 
the  passage  here,  and  show  how  true 
the  statements  of  the  psalmist  are  to 
nature.  It  occurs  in  "  The  Land  and 
the  Book/'  by  W.  M.  Thomson,  D.D., 
Missionary  in  Syria.  He  is  speaking 
of  the  sandy  beach,  or  the  sand  hills, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Car- 
mel,  and  says,  respecting  these  "sandy 
downs,  with  feathery  reeds,  running 
far  inland,  the  chosen  retreat  of  wild 
boars  and  wild  Arabs," — "  The  Arab 
robber  lurks  like  a  wolf  among  these 
sand  heaps,  and  often  springs  out 
suddenly  upon  the  solitary  traveller, 
robs  him  in  a  trice,  and  then  plunges 
again  into  the  wilderness  of  sand 
hills  and  reedy  downs,  where  pursuit 
is  fruitless.  Our  friends  are  careful 
not  to  allow  us  to  straggle  about  or 
lag  behind,  and  yet  it  seems  absurd  to 
fear  a  surprise  here, — Khaifa  before, 
and  Acre  in  the  rear,  and  travellers  in 
sight  on  both  sides.  Eobberies,  how- 
ever, do  often  occur,  just  where  we 
now  are.  Strange  country !  and  it 
has  always  been  so."  And  then  quot- 
ing the  passage  before  us  (vers.  8 — 
10),  he  adds,  "  A  thousand  rascals,  the 
living  originals  of  this  picture,  are 
this  day  crouching  and  lying  in  wait 
all  over  the  country  to  catch  poor 
helpless  travellers.  You  observe  tbat 
all  these  people  we  meet  or  pass  are 
armed;  no.r  would  they  venture  to  go 
from  Acre  to   Khaifa   without   their 


his  face ;  he  will  never  see  it. 
12  Arise,  O  Lord  ;  O  God,  lift 


musket,  although  the  cannon  of  the 
castles  seem  to  command  every  foot  of 
the  way."     Vol.  i.,  pp.  487,  488. 

11.  He  hath  said  in  his  heart,  God 
hath  forgotten.  That  is,  this  is  his 
practical,  habitual  feeling.  He  acts 
as  if  God  had  forgotten,  or  as  if  God 
takes  no  knowledge  of  what  is  occur- 
ring in  the  earth.  Comp.  ver.  6. 
\  He  hideth  his' face.  God  has  hid- 
den his  face ;  that  is,  he  does  not  look 
on  what  is  occurring.  %  He  will 
never  see  it.  That  is,  he  will  never 
see  what  is  done.  It  cannot  be  sup- 
posed that  any  man  would  delibe- 
rately say  either  that  the  memory  of 
God  has  failed,  or  that  he  will  not  see 
what  is  done  upon  the  earth,  but  the 
meaning  is,  that  this  is  the  practical 
feeling  of  the  wicked  man ;  he  acts  as 
if  this  were  so.  He  is  no  more  re- 
strained in  his  conduct  than  he  would 
be  if  this  were  his  deliberate  convic- 
tion, or  than  if  he  had  settled  it  in  his 
mind  that  God  is  regardless  of  human 
actions.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  this  is  a  correct  description  of 
the  conduct  o'f  wicked  men.  If  they 
deliberately  believed  that  God  was 
regardless  of  human  conduct,  if  they 
were  certain  that  he  would  not  behold 
what  is  done,  their  conduct  would  not 
be  different  from  what  it  is  now. 
They  do  not  act  as  if  his  eye  were 
upon  them ;  they  are  not  restrained 
by  any  sense  of  his  presence. 

12.  Arise,  O  Loed.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  iii.  7.  Tbis  commences  the  second 
part  of  the  psalm,  in  which  the  author 
calls  on  God  to  remember  those  who 
were  oppressed  and  wronged  by  the 
wicked.  By  suffering  the  wicked  thus 
to  carry  on  their  plans,  God  seemed 
to  be  indifferent  to  human  affairs,  and 
the  psalmist,  therefore,  invokes  him 
to  interpose,  and  to  rescue  the  afflicted 
from  their  grasp.  %  O  God,  lift  up 
thine  hand.  As  one  does  when  he  is 
about  to  strike,  or  to  exert  his  power. 
The  prayer  is,  that  God  would  inter- 


PSALM  X. 


95 


up  thine  hand:  forget  not  the 
1  humble. 

13  Wherefore  doth  the  wicked 
contemn  God?  he  hath  said  in 

i  Or,  afflicted. 


fere  to  put  down  the  wicked.  %  For- 
get not  the  humble.  Marg.,  afflicted. 
The  margin  expresses  the  true  sense. 
The  idea  is  not  that  God  would 
remember  humble  persons  in  the  sense 
in  which  that  word  is  now  commonly 
used,  but  that  he  would  remember 
those  who  were  down -trodden,  crushed, 
and  afflicted.  This  is  in  accordance 
with  the  marginal  reading  in  the 
Hebrew  Bibles,  which  is  now  usually 
regarded  as  the  more  correct  reading. 
13.  Wherefore  doth  the  wicked 
contemn  God  ?  That  is,  despise  him  ; 
or  treat  him  with  contempt  and  dis- 
regard. On  what  ground  is  this 
done  ?  How  is  it  to  be  accounted 
for  ?  What  is  the  proper  explanation 
of  so  strange  a  fact  ?  It  is  to  be 
observed  here  (a)  that  the  psalmist 
assumes  this  to  be  a  fact,  that  the 
wicked  do  thus  contemn  or  despise 
God.  Of  this  he  had  no  doubt ;  of 
this  there  can  be  no  doubt  now.  They 
act  as  if  this  were  so;  they  often 
speak  of  him  as  if  this  wore  so.  They 
pay  no  respect  to  his  commands,  to  his 
presence,  or  to  his  character ;  they 
violate  all  his  laws  as  if  they  were  not 
worth  regarding ;  they  spurn  all  his 
counsels  and  entreaties;  they  go  for- 
ward  to  meet  him  as  if  his  wrath  were 
not  to  be  apprehended  or  dreaded. 
(b)  So  strange  a  fact,  the  psalinist 
says,  ought  to  be  accounted  for. 
There  must  be  some  reason  why  it 
occurs ;  and  what  that  reason  is,  is 
worth  an  earnest  inquiry.  It  could 
not  be  possible  to  believe  that  man — 
the  creature  of  God,  and  a  creature 
so  weak  and  feeble — could  do  it,  un- 
less the  fact  were  so  plain  that  it 
could  not  be  denied.  It  is,  then, 
worth  inquiry  to  learn  how  so  strange 
a  fact  can  be  accounted  for  ;  and  the 
solution — the  thing  which  will  explain 
this,  and  which  must  be  assumed  to 
be   true   in    order   to   explain  it — is 


his  heart,  Thou  wilt  not  require 
it 

14  Thou  hast  seen  it ;  for  thou 
beholdest  mischief  and  spite,  to 
requite    it  with  thy  hand :    the 


stated  in  the  concluding  part  of  the 
verse.  %  He  hath  said  in  his  heart. 
This  expression  is  here  repeated  for 
the  third  time  in  the  psalm.  See 
vers.  6,  11.  The  idea  is,  that  all  this 
is  the  work  of  the  heart,  and  indicates 
the  state  of  the  heart.  It  cannot  be 
regarded  as  the  dictate  of  the  reason 
or  the  judgment;  but  it  is  to  be 
traced  to  the  wishes,  the  feelings,  the 
desires,  and  is  to  be  regarded  as 
indicating  the  real  condition  of  the 
human  heart.  A  man  habitually 
desires  this;  he  practically  persuades 
himself  that  this  is  so ;  he  acts  as  if 
it  were  so.  %  Thou  wilt  not  require 
it.  Thou  wilt  not  require  an  account 
of  it ;  thou  wilt  not  inquire  into  it. 
The  Hebrew  is  simply,  "Thou  wilt 
not  seek;"  and  the  idea  is,  that  God 
would  not  make  an  investigation  of 
the  matter.  This  fact,  the  psalmist 
says,  would  account  for  the  conduct 
of  the  wicked.  This  is  the  actual 
feeling  of  wicked  men,  that  they  are 
not  to  give  account  of  their  conduct, 
or  that  God  will  not  be  strict  to  mark 
their  deeds.  Men  act  as  if  they  were 
not  responsible  to  their  Maker,  and 
as  if  it  were  a  settled  point  that  he 
would  never  call  them  to  account. 

14.  Thou  hast  seen  it.  Thou  seest 
all.  Though  men  act  as  if  their  con- 
duct was  not  observed,  yet  thou  art 
intimately  acquainted  with  all  that 
they  do.  The  workers  of  iniquity 
cannot  hide  themselves.  The  idea 
here  is,  that  although  God  seemed  not 
to  notice  the  conduct  of  the  wicked, 
and  though  the  wicked  acted  as  if  he 
did  not,  yet  that  all  this  was  seen  by 
God,  and  that  he  would  deal  with, 
men  according  to  justice  and  to  truth. 
%  For  thou  beholdest  mischief.  All 
that  is  done  on  the  earth,  though 
perhaps  in  this  case  referring  par- 
ticularly to  that  which  gave  the 
psalmist  trouble.     %  And  spite.     The 


96 


PSALM  X. 


poor  l  committetli  himself  unto 
thee  ;  thou  art  the  helper  of  the 
fatherless. 

15  B  Break  thou  the  arm  of  the 

1  leaveth.  v  Psn.  xxxvii.  17. 


wicked  and  the  evil  man :  seek 
out  his  wickedness  till  w  thou  find 
rone. 

16  The  Lord  is  King  x  for  ever 

to  2  Kings  xxi.  12 — 15.    x  1  Tim.  vi.  15, 16. 


word  spite  with  us,  though  it  origin- 
ally denoted  rancour,  malice,  ill-will, 
now  denotes  usually  a  less  deliberate 
and  fixed  malice  than  is  indicated  by 
those  words,  but  is  used  to  denote  a 
sudden  fit  of  ill-will  excited  by  tem- 
porary vexation.  It  relates  to  small 
subjects,  and  is  accompanied  writh  a 
desire  of  petty  revenge,  and  implies 
that  one  would  be  gratified  with  the 
disappointment  or  misfortune  of  an- 
other. The  word  here,  however,  in 
the  original,  means  anger,  wrath, 
malice;  and  the  idea  is,  that  God  had 
seen  all  the  anger  of  the  enemies  of 
the  psalmist.  %  To  requite  it  with 
thy  hand.  By  thine  own  interposi- 
tion or  agency, — the  hand  being  the 
instrument  by  which  we  accomplish 
anything.  The  idea  is,  that  the 
psalmist  felt  assured  that  God  would 
not  pass  this  over.  Though  the 
wicked  acted  as  if  he  did  not  see  or 
regard  their  conduct,  yet  the  psalmist 
felt  assured  that  God  would  not  be 
unmindful  of  it,  but  would,  in  due 
time,  visit  them  with  deserved  punish- 
ment. %  The  poor  committetli  him- 
self unto  thee.  Marg.,  leaveth.  The 
word  rendered  poor  is  the  same  as 
that  which  occurs  in  ver.  10.  It 
means  here  those  who  are  helpless  and 
defenceless;  the  oppressed  and  the 
down-trodden.  The  word comm i tteth 
or  leaveth  means  that  he  leaves  his 
cause  with  God;  he  trusts  in  his  pro- 
tection and  interposition;  he  gives 
himself  no  anxiety  as  to  the  result. 
He  knows  that  God  can  deliver  him 
if  he  sees  that  it  is  best ;  and  he  is 
assured  that  God  will  do  that  which 
it  is  best  should  be  done.  %  Thou 
art  the  helper  of  the  fatherless.  That 
is,  this  is  the  general  character  of 
God, — the  character  in  whichhehas re- 
vealed himself  to  man.  Comp.  Ex.  xxii. 
22;  Deut.x.  18;  Isa.i.  17;  Ps.  lxviii. 
5;  lxxxii.  3;  Jcr.  xlix.  11;  Hos.  xiv. 


3;  Mai.  iii.  5;  James  i.  27.  The 
psalmist  here  refers  to  the  general 
character  of  God  as  that  in  which  all 
the  oppressed,  the  crushed,  the  help- 
less may  trust ;  and  he  mentions  this 
particular  case  as  one  that  best  illus- 
trated that  character. 

15.  Break  thou  the  arm  of  the 
ivicJced.  The  arm  is  the  instrument 
by  which  we  effect  a  purpose,  and  es- 
pecially in  wielding  a  sword  or  a 
spear,  as  in  battle ;  and  if  the  arm  is 
broken,  we  are  powerless.  The  psalm- 
ist, therefore,  prays  that  God  would 
render  the  wicked,  in  this  respect, 
powerless.  %  And  the  evil  man.  Of 
all  the  evil,  or  the  wicked.  In  re- 
gard to  the  prayer  here,  see  Notes  on 
Ps.  v.  10.  ^[  Seek  out  his  tvickedness 
till  thou  find  none.  Till  it  is  all  pu- 
nished; till  there  has  been  a  full 
recompense.  This  is  a  wish  that  no 
wicked  act  of  his  should  be  forgotten  ; 
that  exact  justice  should  be  rendered. 
If  it  is  right  to  punish  the  wicked  at 
all,  it  is  right  to  deal  with  them  just  as 
they  deserve;  if  any  wickedness  may 
properly  be  punished,  all  may  be; 
and,  whatever  may  occur,  the  sinner 
may  be  assured  that  he  will  not  be 
punished  merely  for  a  part  of  his  sins. 
If  God  punishes  the  wicked  at  all, 
there  will  be  nothing  left  unpunished. 

16.  The  Loed  is  King  for  ever  and 
ever.  That  is,  he  reigns,  and  he  will 
reign  for  ever.  This  is  one  of  the  in- 
stances which  frequently  occur  in  the 
Psalms,  where,  though  there  is  a  de- 
sponding spirit,  or  an  apprehension  of 
danger  expressed  in  the  beginning  of 
the  poem,  it  ends  with  the  language  of 
exultation  and  triumph:  The  psalm- 
ist speaks  here  as  if  what  he  had  de- 
sired was  actually  accomplished,  and 
as  if  the  enemies  that  had  encom- 
passed him,  and  all  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord,  were  actually  overthrown,  and 
God  now  reigned  supreme.     He  was 


PSALM  X. 


97 


and  ever :  the  heathen  are  per- 
ished out  of  his  land. 

17  Lord,  thou  hast  heard  y  the 
desire  of  the  humble :  thou  wilt 


1  prepare  their  heart,  thou  wilt 
cause  thine  ear  to  hear ; 

18  =  To  judge  the  fatherless  and 

y  Isa.  lxv.  24.    1  Or,  establish,    z  Isa.  xi.  4. 


so  confident  that  this  would  be  so, 
that  he  speaks  of  it  as  if  it  were  already 
done.  Comp.  Rom.  iv.  17;  see  also 
Ps.  vi.  8,  9;  vii.  17;  ix.  18.  1  The 
heathen  are  perished  out  of  his  land. 
That  is,  this  would  so  certainly  occur 
that  he  might  speak  of  it  as  if  it  were 
actually  done.  The  word  heathen 
here  refers  to  the  enemies  of  God  and 
of  his  cause,  who  are  the  principal  sub- 
jects of  the  psalm.  Comp.  Ps.  ix.  5. 
The  land,  here,  refers  to  the  land  of 
Palestine,  or  the  Holy  Land,  regarded 
as  a  land  sacred  to  God,  or  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  himself  dwelt. 

17.  Lord,  thou  hast  heard  the  de- 
sire of  the  humble.  Their  desire  or 
their  prayer  that  thou  wouldst  inter- 
pose in  their  behalf  in  the  time  of 
danger,  and  rescue  them.  Comp.  Ps. 
vi.  8,  9.  The  word  humble  here  refers 
to  those  who  were  poor,  down-trodden, 
oppressed;  and  the  original  reference 
is,  doubtless,  to  the  psalmist  himself, 
and  to  his  friends.  He  was  so  cer- 
tain that  God  would  interpose,  he  had 
such  assurance  that  his  prayer  would 
be  answered,  that  his  mind  was  per- 
fectly calm.  %  Thou  wilt  prepare 
their  heart.  Marg.,  "  or,  establish." 
The  margin  seems  most  accurately  to 
express  the  meaning  of  the  original 
word — rDl-l.  tcichin.  The  idea  is, 
that  he  would  settle  or  confirm  their 
heart ;  that  is,  that  he  would  dispel 
their  fears  and  allay  their  apprehen- 
sions by  the  assurances  of  his  favour, 
and  by  his  gracious  interposition. 
They  had  been  full  of  apprehension 
and  alarm,  but  the  assurances  of  the 
Divine  favour  would  establish  their 
hearts  and  give  them  peace.  ■[[  Thou 
voilt  cause  thine  ear  to  hear.  Another 
form  of  expressing  assurance  of  the 
same  thing.  The  idea  is,  that  he 
would  incline  his  ear,  or  make  it  atten- 
tive to  the  cry  of  his  afflicted  people. 

18.  To  judge  the  fatherless.  That 
is,  to  vindicate  the  orphan  ;  to  rescue 

VOL.  I. 


him  from  the  hand  of  those  who 
would  oppress  and  wrong  him.  In 
other  words,  the  psalmist  prays  that 
God  would  manifest  himself  in  his  real 
and  proper  character  as  the  vindicator 
of  the  fatherless  (see  Notes  on  ver. 
14),  or  of  those  who  are  represented 
by  the  fatherless — the  feeble  and  the 
helpless.  %  And  the  oppressed.  Those 
who  are  down-trodden,  crushed,  and 
wronged.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  9. 
%  That  the  man  of  the  earth.  Lite- 
rally, "the  man  from  the  earth  •"  i.  e.t 
that  man  springing  from  the  earth, 
or  created  of  the  dust  (Gen.  ii.  7) — 
man  frail,  short-lived,  feeble — should 
no  more  set  up  an  unjust  authority, 
trample  on  the  rights  of  his  fellow- 
worms,  or  suppose  that  he  is  superior 
to  his  fellow-creatures.  %  May  no 
more  oppress.  Marg.,  terrify.  The 
original  word  means  properly  to  ter- 
rify, to  make  afraid ;  that  is,  in  this 
place,  to  terrify  by  his  harsh  and 
oppressive  conduct.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served here  that  the  original  word — 
V^tf »  aratz — has  a  very  close  resem- 
blance in  sound  to  the  word  rendered 
earth — V"1N,  eretz — and  that  this  is 
commonly  supposed  to  be  an  instance 
of  the  figure  of  speech  called  parono- 
masia, when  the  words  have  the  same 
sound,  but  are  of  different  significa- 
tions. It  is  not  certain,  however,  that 
there  is  in  this  case  any  designed  re- 
semblance, but  it  is  rather  to  be  sup- 
posed that  it  was  accidental.  In  re- 
gard to  the  prayer  in  this  verse,  it 
may  be  proper  to  observe  that  there 
is  always  occasion  to  utter  it,  and  will 
be  until  the  Gospel  shall  pervade  the 
hearts  of  all  men.  One  of  the  most 
common  forms  of  wickedness  in  our 
world  is  oppression — the  oppression 
of  the  fatherless,  of  the  poor,  of  the 
dependent — the  oppression  of  the  sub- 
jects of  government,  and  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  slave.  One  of  the  most 
affecting  things  in  regard  to  this  is, 
F 


98 


PSALM    XL 


the  oppressed,  that  the  man  of 


that  it  is  clone  by  a  man  made  "  from 
the  earth," — a  child  of  dust — a  crea- 
ture composed  of  clay — of  no  better 
mould  than  others,  and  soon  to  return 
to  the  dust  from  which  he  was  taken. 
Yet  frail  and  weak  man  strives  to  feel 
that  he  is  better  than  those  clothed 
with  a  skin  not  coloured  like  his  own, 
or  those  born  in  a  more  humble  con- 
dition of  life ;  and,  in  defiance  of  all 
the  laws  of  God,  and  all  the  rights  of 
his  fellow-men,  he  crushes  and  grinds 
them  to  the  earth.  For  such  sins  God 
will  interpose,  and  he  will  yet  show 
himself  to  be  the  helper  of  the  father- 
less and  the  oppressed.  May  He 
hasten  the  day  when  oppression  and 
wrong  shall  cease  in  the  world  ! 

PSALM   XL 

§  1.  Author  of  the  psalm. — This  psalm 
is  ascribed  to  David,  both  in  the  title 
and  in  the  location  which  it  has  among 
the  Psalms.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm  to  make  this  doubtful,  and  indeed 
its  structure  is  so  much  in  accordance 
with  those  usually  ascribed  to  David,  as 
to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  its  authorship. 
"The  very  difficulties  of  the  psalm," 
says  Prof.  Alexander,  "  are  proofs  of  its 
antiquity,  and  strong  corroborations  of 
the  title  which  ascribes  it  to  David." 

§  2.  Occasion  on  which  it  was  com- 
posed.— Of  this  there  is  no  intimation  in 
the  title,  or  in  the  psalm  itself.  There 
is  no  special  reference  to  any  of  the  in- 
cidents of  David's  life,  although  some  of 
the  thoughts  or  images  were  suggested 
apparently  by  the  recollection  of  what 
occurred  in  the  persecutions  of  Saul  or 
the  rebellion  of  Absalom.  Different  oc- 
casions in  the  life  of  DaA'id  have  indeed 
been  referred  to  as  having  led  to  the 
composition  of  the  psalm.  Yenema  sup- 
poses that  it  was  composed  when  David 
Avas  hi  the  wilderness  of  Ziph,  and  when, 
betrayed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  wil- 
derness, and  pursued  by  Saul,  his  friends 
began  to  advise  him  to  seek  a  place  of 
safety  by  night,  1  Sam.  xxiii.  14-23. 
This  gave  occasion,  Yenema  supposes, 
for  his  expressing  the  sentiment — which 
is  the  leading  sentiment  in  the  psalm — 
that  when  our  affairs  seem  to  be  hope- 
less, we  are  not  to  be  in  despair,  but  are 


the  earth  may  no  more  l  oppress. 
1  Or,  terrify. 


to  put  our  trust  still  in  God.  Others 
have  supposed  that  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed when  he  was  in  the  cave  of 
Adullam  (1  Sam.  xxii.),and  in  imminent 
danger  of  his  life  from  the  persecutions 
of  Saul.  A  more  plausible  opinion  is 
that  of  Amyraldus,  who  supposes  that  it 
was  composed  when  David  was  in  the 
court  of  Saul,  and  when  he  may  have 
been  advised  to  leave  the  court — a  place 
of  danger — and  flee  to  a  place  of  safety. 
Put  it  cannot  be  determined  with  cer- 
tainty on  Avhich  of  these  occasions  the 
psalm  Avas  composed,  if  it  Avas  on  either 
of  them.  All  that  is  apparent  in  the 
psalm  itself  is,  that  it  Ava*  when  the 
author  was  in  danger,  and  when  some  of 
his  friends  advised  him  to  seek  safety  by 
flight,  ver.  1.  Instead  of  doing  "this, 
David  determined  to  remain  where  he 
was,  and  to  put  his  trust  in  God,  Avith 
the  belief  that  he  would  interpose  and 
deliver  him. 

§  3.  Contents  of  the  psalm. — This 
psalm  may  be  properly  regarded  as 
divided  into  two  parts  : 

I.  Tlie  counsel  of  some  timid  and  fear- 
ful friends  to  the  writer,  in  the  circum- 
stances of  danger  hi  which  he  was,  to 
make  his  escape,  and  to  seek  safety  by 
flight,  vers.  1-3.  They  advise  him  to 
flee  as  a  bird  to  the  mountain  ;  that  is, 
to  flee  to  a  place  of  security  while  he 
could,  for  he  seems  to  have  been  sur- 
rounded by  enemies.  The  arguments  by 
which  they  enforced  this  counsel  seem 
to  be  referred  to  in  axts.  2,  3,  and  were 
these :  (a)  that  the  Avicked  had  made 
preparations  to  destro}*  him,  for  their 
bows  and  arroAvs  Avere  ready,  ver.  2  ;  and 
(b)  that  the  condition  of  affairs  Avas  as  if 
the  A'ery  foundations  were  destroyed ; 
that  there  Avas  nothing  to  rest  on ;  and 
that  all  his  hopes,  in  his  present  condi- 
tion, must  be  swept  away,  ver.  3.  In 
these  circumstances  all  his  hopes  of 
safety,  in  their  apprehension,  Avas  in 
flight. 

II.  The  views  which  the  author  of  the 
psalm  entertained  on  the  subject,  in  reply 
to  this,  vers.  4-7.  He  had  unwavering 
confidence  in  God ;  he  did  not  despair  ; 
he  believed  that  God  Avould  protect  him ; 
he  believed  that  the  object  of  God  in  per- 
mitting this  was  to  try  the  righteous,  and 
that  in  due  time  he"  Avould  come  forth 
and  rain  snares,  fire,  and  brimstone,  upon 
the  ungodly.     The  state  of  mind  thus 


PSALM  xr. 


09 


PSALM  XL 

To  the  chief  Musician.     A  Psalm  of  David. 

TN  the  Lord  put  I  iny  trust : 
-*■  how  say  ye  to  my  soul,  Flee  as 


evinced,  is  that  of  firmness  in  trying 
circumstances;  steady  confidence  in  God 
when  things  seem  to  be  most  adverse; 
and  an  assured  belief  that  God  will  in 
due  time  rescue  those  who  put  their  trust 
in  him.  It  is  the  manifestation  of  firm- 
ness against  the  counsels  of  the  timid ; 
the  language  of  unshaken  trust  in  God 
when, the  fearful  and  unbelieving  despair. 
For  the  meaning  of  the  title,  see  Notes 
on  Ps.  v. 

1.  In  the  Lord  put  I  my  trust. 
This,  in  general,  expresses  the  state  of 
mind  of  the  author — a  state  of  feeling 
which  runs  through  the  entire  psalm. 
It  is  designed  to  be  an  answer  to  the 
counsel  which  others  had  been  giving 
him  to  escape,  and  it  implies  that  he 
was  determined  at  that  time,  and 
always,  to  put  his  trust  in  God.  They 
advised  him  to  flee.  In  the  existing 
circumstances  he  felt  that  that  would 
have  implied  a  want  of  confidence  in 
God.  He  determined,  therefore,  to 
maintain  his  present  position,  and  to 
rely  upon  the  interposition  of  God  in 
due  time,  %  Sow  say  ye  to  my  soul. 
How  say  ye  to  me — the  soul  being  put 
for  the  person  himself.  Why  do  you 
say  this  to  me?  how  can  you  give  me 
such  counsel,  as  if  I  were  to  run  away 
from  danger,  and  to  put  no  trust  in 
God  ?  He  seems  to  have  supposed 
that  such  an  act  of  flight  would  have 
been  construed  by  his  enemies,  and 
by  the  enemies  of  religion,  as  evidence 
that  he  had  no  faith  or  confidence  in 
God.  Such  circumstances  often  occur 
in  the  world ;  and  when  that  would 
be  the  fair  and  natural  construction 
of  one's  conduct,  the  path  of  duty  is 
plain.  We  are  to  remain  where  Ave 
are  ;  we  are  boldly  to  face  the  danger, 
and  commit  the  whole  matter  to  God. 
^T  Flee  as  a  bird  to  your  mountain. 
This  implies  that  it  was  supposed 
there  was  no  longer  any  safety  where 
he  then  was.  The  use  of  the  plural 
number    here —  "  Flee    ye"  —  by    a 


a  bird  to  your  mountain  ? 

2  For,   lo,   the  wicked  «bend 
their  bow,  they  make  ready  their 

a  Psa.  lxiv.  2 — i. 


change  not  uncommon  in  the  Hebrew 
writings  —  seems  designed  to  refer 
to  the  whole  class  of  persons  in  those 
circumstances.  The  mind  turns  from 
his  own  particular  case  to  that  of 
others  in  the  same  circumstances ; 
and  the  language  may  be  designed  to 
imply  that  this  was  the  usual  counsel 
given  to  such  persons ;  that,  on  the 
same  principle  on  which  they  now 
advised  flight  in  this  particular  case, 
they  would  also  advise  flight  in  all 
similar  cases.  That  is,  they  would 
counsel  persons  to  flee  to  a  place  of 
safety  when  they  were  in  danger  of 
their  life  from  persecution.  This  is 
the  common  counsel  of  the  world ; 
this  would  be  the  ordinary  teaching 
of  human  prudence.  The  mountains 
in  Palestine  were  regarded  as  places 
of  safety,  and  were  the  common  re- 
fuge of  those  who  were  in  danger.  In 
their  caves  and  fastnesses,  and  on 
their  heights,  those  who  were  in  dan- 
ger found  security,  for  they  could 
there  hide  themselves,  or  could  more 
easily  defend^  themselves,  than  they 
could  in  the  plains  and  in  the  vallies. 
Hence  they  became  the  place  of  re- 
treat for  robbers  and  banditti,  as  well 
as  for  the  persecuted.  The  allusion 
to  the  bird  here' does  not  imply  that 
birds  sought  a  refuge  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  that  he  was  to  resemble 
them  in  this  respect ;  but  the  point  of 
the  comparison  turns  on  the  rapidity 
with  which  this  refuge  should  be 
sought :  "  Fly  to  the  mountains  as 
stoiftly  as  a  bird  flies  from  clanger." 
Comp.  Matt.  xxiv.  16 ;  Judges  vi.  2  ; 
Heb.  xi.  38. 

2.  For,  lo,  the  wicked  lend  their 
bow.  These  are  to  be  regarded  as  the 
words  of  the  persons  referred  to  in 
the  previous  verse,  who  had  advised 
the  persecuted  psalmist  to  flee  to  the 
mountains.  In  this  verse  reasons  are 
suggested  for  that  advice.  The  rea- 
sons are,   that  the  enemy  was   pre- 


100 


PSALM  XI. 


arrow  upon  the  string',  that  they 
may  l  privily  shoot  at  the  upright 
in  heart. 

1  in  darkness. 


3  If  the  foundations  6be  de- 
stroyed, what  can  the  righteous 
do? 


b  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 


paring  for  an  attack,  and  that  at  an 
unexpected  moment  the  attack  would 
be  made  unless  lie  should  effect  his 
escape.  Apprised  of  the  danger,  he 
might  now  make  good  his  escape,  and 
avoid  the  peril  which  was  impending. 
The  common  weapon  in  war,  as  in 
hunting,  was  the  how  and  arrow. 
The  process  of  preparing  for  the  use 
of  the  how  consisted  in  bending  it, 
and  properly  adjusting  the  arrow. 
The  Hebrew  word  used  here  is  tread; 
"  the  wicked  tread  upon,  the  bow ;" 
that  is,  with  a  view  to  bend  it.  The 
bow  was  made  of  steel,  or  strong 
wood,  or  pieces  of  ivory  framed  to- 
gether, and  it  often  required  great 
strength — beyond  the  strength  of  the 
arm — to  bend  it  so  as  to  adjust  the 
string.  Hence  the  foot  was  placed 
upon  the  centre,  and  the  two  ends 
drawn  near  to  each  other.  ■"  They 
make  ready  their  arrow  upon  the 
string.  Hebrew,  "they  fit  or  fix  the 
arrow  upon  the  string."  That  is,  they 
placa  the  end  of  the  arrow  in  the 
proper  place  upon  the  string  of  the 
bow.  *^  That  they  may  privily  shoot 
at  the  upright  in  heart.  Marg.,  as  in 
the  Hebrew,  in  darkness.  That  is, 
that  they  may  do  it  secretly  or 
treacherously.  They  do  not  intend  to 
do  it  in  open  day,  or  (as  we  should 
say)  "in  a  fair  light;"  but  they  mean 
to  do  it  when  their  victim  is  not 
aware  of  their  design.  The  phrase, 
"the  upright  in  heart,"  may  either 
denote  their  own  conviction  that  those 
whom  they  designed  so  to  attack  were 
upright  in  heart — thus  knowing  that 
they  were  innocent ;  or  it  may  be  a 
statement  of  the  advisers  in  the  case, 
that  those  whom  they  counselled  icere 
thus  upright — a  statement  on  their 
part  that  the  attack  was  made  on  the 
righteous.  The  latter  is  probably  the 
true  construction. 

3.  If  the  foundations  be  destroyed. 
These  are  still  to  be  regarded  as  the 


words  of  the  psalmist's  advisers ;  cr 
as  an  argument  why  he  should  make 
his  escape.  The  word  "foundations/' 
here,  refers  to  those  things  on  which 
society  rests,  or  by  which  social  order 
is  sustained — the  great  principles  of 
truth  and  righteousness  that  uphold 
society,  as  the  foundations  on  which 
an  edifice  rests  uphold  the  building. 
The  reference  is  to  a  destruction  of 
those  things  in  a  community,  when, 
truth  is  no  longer  respected ;  when 
justice  is  no  longer  practised ;  when 
fraud  and  violence  have  taken  the 
place  of  honesty  and  honour;  when 
error  prevails ;  when  a  character  for 
integrity  and  virtue  affords  no  longer 
any  security.  This  is  supposed  to  be 
the  case  in  the  circumstances  referred 
to  in  the  psalm,  when  there  was  no 
respect  paid  to  truth  and  justice,  and 
when  the  righteous,  therefore,  could 
find  no  security.  It  is  under  these 
circumstances  the  advice  is  given 
(ver.  1),  that  the  righteous  should 
seek  safety,  in  flight.  %  Wliat  can 
the  righteous  do  /  What  source  of 
safety  or  confidence  has  he  ?  His 
trust  for  his  own  safety,  and  for  the 
good  of  society,  has  always  been  in  the 
prevalence  of  just  principles,  and  he 
hasnoother  resource.  "Whatever others 
may  do;  whatever  reliance  they  may 
place  on  such  things,  he  can  have  no 
confidence  in  fraud,  dishonesty,  and 
error — in  secret  machinations  and 
plans  of  treachery  and  deceit.  His 
reliance  is,  and  must  be,  in  the  pre- 
valence of  just  principles;  in  the  ob- 
servance of  law;  in  the  diffusion  of 
truth ;  in  plans  and  deeds  which  are 
honourable  and  pure.  When  these 
no  longer  prevail,  the  argument  is, 
there  is  nothing  on  which  he  can  re- 
pose confidence  in  executing  the  plans 
on  which  his  heart  is  fixed,  and  his 
proper  course  would  be  to  flee  (ver.  1). 
Part  of  this  is  true ;  part  not.  It  is 
true  that  all  the  hope  of  the  righteous 


PSALM  XL 


101 


4  The    Lord    is   in   his  c  holy 
temple,  the  Lord's  throne  is  in 

c  Hah.  ii.  20. 


heaven  :  his  eyes  behold,  his  eye- 
lids try,  the  children  of  men. 
5  The  Lord  trieth  the  right- 


is  in  the  prevalence  of  principles  of 
truth  and  justice,  and  that  for  the 
success  of  the  objects  nearest  to  his 
heart,  whether  of  a  private  or  public 
nature,  he  has  no  other  resource  or 
hope ;  but  it  is  not  always  true,  even 
when  injustice,  fraud,  and  error  pre- 
vail, that  he  should  withdraw  from 
society  and  seek  his  safety  in  flight, 
aud  leave  the  world  to  its  own  course. 
His  presence  may  be  the  very  thing 
to  counteract  this;  his  duty  may  be 
to  remain  and  face  the  evil,  and  to  en- 
deavour to  secure  a  better  state  of 
things.  So  the  psalmist  understood 
in  his  case. 

4.  The  Loed  is  in  his  holy  temple. 
Heb.,  "  Jehovah  is  in  the  temple  of 
his  holiness."  That  is,  he  is  in  hea- 
ven, regarded  as  his  temple  or  dwell- 
ing-place. This  is  the  answer  of  the 
psalmist  to  the  suggestions  of  his  ad- 
visers that  he  should  flee  from  danger. 
The  answer  is,  in  substance,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  fear;  that  he  had  a 
protector  in  heaven ;  and  that  he 
might  appeal  to  Him  for  defence.  The 
idea  is,  that  God,  the  protector  of  the 
righteous,  is  always  in  the  heavens ; 
that  his  throne  is  always  accessible ; 
and  that  to  it  the  persecuted  may 
come,  and  may  always  be  safe.  ^[  The 
Loed's  throne  is  in  heaven.  God  is 
a  king,  ruling  the  universe.  As  such, 
the  seat  of  his  power  or  dominion  is 
represented  as  in  heaven,  where  he 
administers  his  government.  That 
throne  is  fixed,  and  the  affairs  of  his 
universe  will  be  administered  with  jus- 
tice. The  righteous,  therefore,  may 
hope  in  his  protection,  and  need  not 
flee  when  the  wicked  assail  them. 
The  idea  here  is  that  of  unwavering 
confidence  in  God  as  sitting  upon  the 
throne  of  the  universe,  and  as  admi- 
•nistering  its  affairs  with  justice  and 
truth.  Comp.  Isa.  lxvi.  1,  "  Heaven 
is  my  throne."  See  Xotes  on  that 
verse.  r  Sis  eyes  lehold.  He  sees 
everything  in  all  parts  of  his  vast  em- 
pire, and  therefore  he  knows  all  the 


purposes  of  the  wicked,  and  all  the 
wants  of  the  righteous.  The  thought 
here,  as  one  imparting  a  sense  of 
safety,  is,  that  God  sees  us.  He  is 
not  ignorant  of  what  our  enemies  are 
doing,  and  he  is  not  ignorant  of  what 
we  need.  If  he  were,  the  case  would 
be  different.  We  might  then  despair 
of  safety,  and  feel  that  our  enemies 
could  overcome  and  destroy  us.  It  is 
much,  in  the  trials  of  life,  to  have 
this  assurance — this  constant  feeling 
— that  God  sees  us.  He  knows  our 
condition,  our  wants,  our  dangers;  he 
knows  all  that  our  enemies  are  doing 
— all  their  machinations  against  us. 
Knowing  all  this,  we  may  be  assured 
that  he  will  interpose  when  it  is  best 
that  he  should  interpose,  and  that  he 
will  suffer  nothing  to  come  upon  us 
which  it  is  not  best  that  he  should 
permit.  When  evil  befals  us,  there- 
fore, it  does  not  come  because  God 
does  not  kuow  it,  or  because  he  could 
not  prevent  it,  but  because,  seeing  it 
all,  he  judges  that  it  is  best  that  it 
should  thus  occur.  Comp.  Gen.  xvi. 
13.  *~  Sis  eyelids  try.  That  is,  they 
prove,  penetrate  into,  as  if  by  seeing 
through  them.  The  "eyelids"  here 
are  synonymous  with  the  eyes.  The 
form  of  the  language  is  varied  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  custom  common  in 
Hebrew,  and  there  is  attributed  here 
to  the  eyelids  what  properly  belongs 
to  the  eyes — the  power  of  seeing. 
•7  The  children  of  men.  All  men, 
good  and  bad.  He  knows  them  all — 
all  their  purposes,  their  designs,  their 
wishes,  their  dangers.  He  knows, 
therefore,  what  our  enemies  are  do- 
ing ;  he  knows  what  are  our  perils ; 
and  we  may  safely  leave  our  cause 
with  him.  We  should  not,  therefore, 
listen  to  the  counsel  which  advises  us 
to  flee  (ver.  1),  but  should  rather  put 
our  trust  in  him  who  dwells  in  the 
heavens. 

5.  The  Loed  trieth  the  righteocs. 
That  is,  he  proves  them,  searches 
them,  tests  the  reality  of  their  piety. 


102 


PSALM  XI. 


eous :  but  the  wicked,  and  him 
that  loveth  violence,  his  soul 
hateth. 

6  Upon  the  wicked  he   shall 

His  dealings  with  them  are  such  as 
to  test  the  genuineness  of  their  reli- 
gion, and  are  designed  to  show  their 
sincerity  and  the  real  power  of  their 
religious  principles.  It  is  not  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  them,  or  pun- 
ishing them,  that  he  deals  with  them 
as  he  docs,  but  it  is  to  show  the  reality 
of  their  attachment  to  him.  This  lan- 
guage seem  sheretobeusedto  show  the 
feeling  of  the  persecuted  and  afflicted 
author  of  the  psalm.  He  understood 
the  reason  why  these  calamities  were 
suffered  to  come  upon  him, — to  wit, 
as  a  trial  of  his  faith ; — and  therefore 
it  was  his  duty  to  remain  and  bear 
these  troubles,  and  not  to  attempt  to 
escape  from  them  by  flight.  He  says, 
therefore,  that  these  troubles  in  the 
case  of  the  righteous  were  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  purpose  of  the 
Divine  dealings  towards  the  wicked, 
on  whom  God  would  "  raiu"  snares, 
fire,  and  brimstone.  In  their  case 
his  judgments  were  for  the  purpose 
of  punishing  and  destroying;  in  the 
case  of  the  righteous  it  was  to  "  try" 
them,  or  to  test  the  reality  of  their 
religion.  ^j"  But  the  tricked.  The 
wicked  in  general.  All  the  wicked. 
*^  And  him  that  loveth  violence.  Re- 
ferring particularly  here  to  those  wrho 
were  engaged  in  persecuting  him  who 
was  the  author  of  this  psalm.  They 
were  contemplating  acts  of  violence 
towards  him  (ver.  2);  he  says  that 
all  such  persons  were  the  objects  of 
the  Divine  displeasure,  and  would  be 
appropriately  punished.  %  His  soul 
hateth;  i.e.  he  hates.  God  is  often 
spoken  of  in  language  appropriate  to 
man  ;  and  he  is  here  referred  to  as 
having  a  soul, — as  he  is  elsewhere  as 
having  eyes,  hands,  or  feet.  The  mean- 
ing is,  that  all  such  persons  were  the 
objects  of  the  Divine  abhorrence,  and 
that  the  Divine  dealings  with  them 
were  not,  as  with  the  righteous,  to 
try  them,  but  to  punish  and  destroy 


rain  ]  snares,  fire  <*  and  brimstone, 
and  an  2  horrible  tempest :  this 
shall  be  the  portion  of  their  cup. 

1  Or,  quick  hurtling  coals.        d  Gen.  xix.  24. 
2  Or,  burning. 

them.  Knowing  this,  the  persecuted 
author  of  the  psalm,  instead  of  fleeing, 
calmly  committed  himself  and  his 
cause  to  God. 

6.  Upon  the  tricked.  Upon  all  the 
wicked.  %  He  shall  rain.  He  shall 
pour  down  as  in  a  furious  tempest. 
■~  Snares.  It  seems  rather  incon- 
gruous to  speak  of  raining  down 
"  snares,"  —  understanding  by  the 
word  snares,  as  it  is  used  with  us,  that 
which  entangles,  as  the  snares  by 
which  wTe  catch  a  bird,  or  by  which  a 
wild  animal  is  taken.  Corap.  Notes  on 
Job  xviii.  8—10.  The  word  here  used, 
however,  seems  to  refer  to  anything 
by  which  one  is  taken  in  his  career 
or  course,  or  is  involved  in  difficul- 
ties ;  and  the  meaning  is,  that  God 
would  arrest  or  seize  upon  the  wicked, 
as  a  wild  beast  is  secured  by  the 
snares  or  the  toils  of  the  hunter.  By 
their  being  sent  down  as  in  a  "  rain," 
is  denoted  that  such  means  of  their 
arrest  and  punishment  would  exist  in 
abundance,  so  that  they  could  not  es- 
cape. ^~  Fire  and  brimstone.  There 
is  probably  an  allusion  here  to  the 
destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
Gen.  xix.  24.  As  those  cities  were  emi- 
nent for  their  wickedness,  and  were 
destroyed  on  account  of  their  guilt, 
they  furnished  an  illustration  of  the 
manner  in  which  God  would  treat  the 
wicked  in  all  future  times.  As  tliey 
were  destroyed  on  account  of  their 
wickedness,  so  will  all  the  wicked  be 
destroyed.  ^[  And  an  horrible  tem- 
pest. As  a  furious  blast  of  wind 
sweeps  away  houses  and  trees,  spread- 
ing wide  desolation,  so  will  the  wicked 
be  swept  away  by  the  manifestation 
of  the  wrath  of  God.  \  This  shall 
be  the  portion  of  their  cup.  That  is, ' 
this  shall  be  what  they  shall  drink. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  li.  17.  The  idea  is, 
that  the  Lord  holds  out  to  them  a 
cup  for  them  to  drink — a  cup  contain- 
ing a  deadly  mixture.     The  allusion 


PSALM  xir. 


103 


7    For   the    righteous    Lord 
loveth  righteousness;  his  coun- 


is  to  the  mode  of  administering  pun- 
ishment by  a  poisonous  draught — not 
an  unfrequeut  mode  of  punishment  in 
ancient  times.  The  idea  in  the  whole 
verse  is,  that  the  wicked  would  be 
destroyed,  and  that,  therefore,  there 
was  nothing  ultimately  to  be  appre- 
hended from  them.  God  would  pro- 
tect his  own  friends,  and  would  de- 
stroy all  those  that  sought  their 
hurt.  In  these  circumstances  the 
righteous  should  confide  in  him  as 
their  protector,  and  not  "  flee." 

7.  For  the  righteous  Lobd  loveth 
righteousness.  This  would  be  more 
correctly  rendered,  "  For  Jehovah  is 
righteous;  he  loves  righteousness." 
The  idea  is,  that  God  is  himself 
righteous,  and  consequently  he  loves 
those  who  are  righteous.  He  may  be 
confided  in,  therefore,  by  the  righteous 
as  their  friend,  and  being  under  his 
protection  they  have  nothing  to  fear. 
^  Sis  countenance  doth  behold  the 
upright.  The  word  rendered  "  coun- 
tenance" is,  in  the  Hebrew,  in  the 
plural  number; — literally,"  his  faces." 
It  is  not  easy  to  account  for  this  use 
of  the  plural,  though  it  is  common 
in  the  Scriptures.  There  may  be  an 
allusion  to  the  fact  that  man  seems  to 
have  two  faces — one  on  the  right  side, 
and  one  on  the  left,  two  eyes,  two 
cheeks,  two  nostrils,  etc.,  as  if  made 
up  of  two  persons.  Applied  to  God, 
it  has  no  other  signification  than  it 
has  when  applied  to  man ;  nor  should 
we  seek  to  find  anything  mystical 
in  the  fact  that  the  plural  form  is 
used.  The  term  here,  like  the  eyelids 
in  ver.  6,  is  equivalent  to  eyes,  since 
the  most  remarkable  feature  of  the 
countenance  is  the  eyes;  and  the 
idea  is,  that  God  looks  upon  the 
upright ;  that  is,  he  sees  their  dangers 
and  their  wants ;  he  looks  upon  them 
with  favour  and  affection.  Being 
thus  constantly  under  his  eye,  and 
being  objects  of  his  favourable  regard, 
they  can  have  nothing  to  fear ;  or,  in 
other  words,  they  are  safe.  This, 
then,  is  the  argument  of  the  righteous 


tenance  doth  behold  the  upright. 


man,  in  reply  to  the  suggestion  (ver. 
1)  that  he  should  "flee  "  from  danger. 
The  argument  is,  that  God  would  be 
his  defender,  and  that  he  might  safely 
rely  on  His  protection.  The  wicked 
have  everything  to  fear;  the  right- 
eous, nothing.  The  one  is  never  safe ; 
the  other,  always.  The  one  will  be 
delivered  out  of  all  his  troubles  ;  the 
end  of  the  other  can  be  only  ruin. 

PSALM  XII. 

This  psalm  purports  to  be  "  A  Psalm  of 
David,"  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  it  was  composed  by  him.  On  what 
occasion  it  was  composed  is  now  un- 
known, and  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm 
itself  to  enable  us  to  decide.  Some  have 
supposed  that  it  Avas  written  in  view  of 
the  persecution  of  David  by  Saul ;  and 
others,  that  it  was  in  view  of  the  rebel- 
lion of  Absalom.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm,  however,  which  shows  that  it  has 
any  special  reference  to  those  persecu- 
tions or  troubles  ;  nothing  which  might 
not  have  been  uttered  if  those  troubles 
had  never  occurred.  All  the  expressions 
in  the  psalm  are  of  a  general  character, 
and  seem  rather  to  refer  to  a  prevailing 
state  of  iniquity  than  to  any  particular 
manifestation  of  wickedness  as  pertain- 
ing to  the  psalmist  himself. 

The  psalm  undoubtedly  does  refer  to 
prevailing  iniquity,  and  it  is  not  difficult 
to  determine  to  vthsAform  of  iniquity  it 
refers.  It  was  a  general  failure  of 
fidelity  among  good  men;  a  general 
withdrawal  from  active  duties  of  such 
men  as  had  before  been  found  faithful ; 
a  want  of  that  firmness  and  zeal  which 
it  was  proper  to  expect  from  those  who 
professed  to  be  good  men.  Particularly 
it  refers  to  prevailing  modes  of  speech 
among  those  from  whom  it  was  right  to 
expect  better  things  : — a  condition  in 
which  there  was  a  want  of  seriousness 
and  sincerity  in  conversation  ;  in  which 
flattery  abounded;  in  which  double 
meanings  in  conversation  were  common  ; 
in  which  promises  solemnly  made  could 
not  be  relied  on ;  and  in  which  there 
was,  in  consequence,  great  wrong  done  to 
the  poor  and  the  unsuspecting — those 
who,  on  account  of  their  ignorance  and 
their  unsuspicious  nature,  were  greatly 
injured  by  putting  confidence  in  such, 


104 


PSALM  XII. 


PSALM  XII. 

To  the  chief  Musician  upon  l  Sheminith. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 


IJELP,   Lord; 


for   the   godly 


promises  and  assurances.  In  this  state 
of  tilings  the  psalmist  felt  that  it  was 
proper  to  call  on  God  to  protect  those 
who  were  exposed  to  such  Avronu-. 

The  psalm,  therefore,  is  composed  of 
these  parts  : — 

I.  A  statement  of  the  prevailing  condi- 
tion of  things,  as  a  reason  why  it  was 
proper  for  God  to  interpose,  vers.  1,  2. 

II.  The  fact  that  the  Lord  would 
interpose  in  such  cases,  and  would  cut 
oft'  this  class  of  persons,  vers.  3-5. 

III.  The  strong  contrast  between  the 
words  of  the  Lord  and  the  language 
which  was  then  in  prevalent  use,  ver.  6. 
The  words  of  the  Lord  were  pure;  pure 
as  silver  tried  by  the  severest  tests  of  lire. 

IY.  A  deep  couviction  on  the  part  of 
the  psalmist  that  God  would  be  the  pro- 
tector of  those  who  were  thus  exposed  to 
injury  and  wrong  ;  particularly  he  would 
keep  them  irom  the  purposes  of  such  a 
generation  for  ever,  ver.  7- 

V.  The  closing  verse,  "  The  wicked 
walk  on  every  side,  when  the  vilest  men 
are  exalted  "  (ver.  8),  seems  to  be  but 
the  carrying  out  of  the  idea  of  the  Divine 
protection  in  the  psalm :  '•  Let  the 
wicked  walk  about,  therefore,  on  every 
side  when  vile  men  are  exalted  to 
power;  for  God  is  the  protector  of  his 
people,  and  all  such  men  are  under  his 
control."  Or  it  may  be  the  statement  of 
a  fact  that  wickedness  did  abound,  or 
that  men  seemed  to  be  unrestrained  when 
wicked  men  were  in  power,  though  with 
the  idea  that  God  saw  them,  and  would 
bo  check  and  restrain  them  that  the 
injured  and  the  wronged  would  be  pro- 
tected. 

The  title  to  the  psalm— "To  the  chief 
Musician  upon  bheminith  " — is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  sixth  Psalm,  except 
that  the  words  "On  Xeginoth,*'  used 
there,  are  here  omitted.  {See  Notes  on 
that  psalm. 

1.  Help,  Loed.  Heb.,"Save,  Je- 
hovah." The  idea  is  that  there  was 
no  human  help,  and,  therefore,  the 
Divine  help  is  implored.  The  psalmist 
saw  that  those  on  whom  reliance  was 
usually  placed  for  the  promotion  of 
the  cause  of  truth  and  virtue  now 


man  ceaseth ;  for  the  faithful 
fail  from  among  the  children  of 
men. 

1  the  eighth,  Psa.  vi.,  title. 


failed,  and  hence  he  invites  the  Divine 
interposition,  "f  For  the  godly  man. 
The  word  here  used  properly  denotes 
the  merciful  man — Tpn,  hhasid.  It 
is  a  term  applied  to  the  righteous, 
because  it  is  a  prominent  trait  in  the 
character  of  a  pious  man  that  he  is 
merciful,  kind,  benignant.  Hence  the 
general  character  is  often  denoted  by 
the  special  characteristic;  in  the  same 
way  as  we  speak  of  a  pious  man  as  a 
good  man,  a  just  man,  a  righteous 
inan.  The  idea  suggested  by  the  use 
of  the  term  here  is,  that  it  is  always 
a  characteristic  of  a  pious  man  that 
he  is  merciful  or  benignant.  Coinp. 
Ps.  iv.  3  ;  xxxii.  6,  where  the  same 
word  is  rendered  godly ; — Ps.  xxx.  4 ; 
xxxi.  23;  xxxvii.  28;  1.  5;  lii.  9; 
lxxix.  2 ;  lxxxv.  8,  where  it  is  rendered 
saints; — and  Deut.  xxxiii.  8;  Ps.  xvi. 
10;  lxxxvi.  2  ;  lxxxix.  19,  where  it 
is  rendered  holy,  f  Ceaseth.  The 
word  here  used — ~\i2.1,gamar — means 
properly  to  bring  to  an  end ;  to  com- 
plete; to  perfect.  Hence  it  means  to 
come  to  an  end,  to  cease,  to  fail.  Ge- 
senilis. —  This  might  occur  either 
by  then'  being  cut  off  by  death ;  or 
by  their  ceasing  to  exert  their  influ- 
ence in  favour  of  religion ;  that  is,  by 
a  general  prevalence  of  wickedness 
among  those  who  professed  to  be  the 
friends  of  God.  The  latter  seems  to 
be  the  meaning  here,  since,  in  the 
following  verses,  the  psalmist  proceeds 
to  specify  the  manner  in  which  they 
"fail,"  not  by  death,  but  by  speaking 
vanity,  falsehood,  and  flattery.  That 
is,  their  conduct  was  such  that  their 
influence  failed,  or  was  lost  to  the 
community.  No  reliance  could  be 
placed  on  them,  and,  therefore,  the 
psalmist  so  earnestly  calls  on  God  for 
his  interposition.  The  idea  is,  that 
when  men  professing  religion  become 
conformed  to  the  world, — when  they 
live  like  other  men, — when  they  cease 


PSALM  XII. 


105 


2  They  speak  vanity  every  one 
with  his  neighbour :  unth  flatter- 
ing lips,  and  with  l  a  double  heart, 
do  they  speak. 

1  an  heart  and  an  heart. 


3  The  Lord  shall  cut  off  all 
flattering  lips,  and  the  tongue 
that  speaketh  2  proud  c  things  ; 

8  great. 

e  1  Sura.  ii.  3 ;  Dan.  vii.  8,  25 


to  exert  an  influence  in  favour  of 
piety, — when  they  fall  into  habits  of 
sin,  it  is  a  time  to  call  on  God  with 
special  earnestness  for  his  aid.  Often 
such  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  pro- 
fessed friends  of  religion  makes  such 
an  appeal  to  God  more  proper  than 
even  the  death  of  good  men  does,  for, 
in  the  latter  case,  their  influence  is 
simply  withdrawn ;  in  the  former,  not 
only  is  this  influence  which  they  might 
exert  lost  to  the  church,  but  there  is 
a  positive  bad  influence  to  be  counter- 
acted. The  fall  of  a  professor  of 
religion  into  sin  is  a  greater  loss  to 
the  church  than  his  death  would  be. 
%  For  the  faithful.  Those  who  pro- 
fess faith ;  those  who  are  bound  by 
their  vows  to  be  faithful  to  God  and 
to  his  cause.  The  word  is  equivalent 
to  the  believing,  and  is  properly  ex- 
pressive of  trust  or  faith  in  God. 
^[  Fail  from  among  the  children  of 
men.  Fail,  as  above  noted,  by  their 
misconduct ;  by  being  false  to  the 
trust  committed  to  them. 

2.  They  speak  vanity.  This  is  a 
statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
"  godly  "  and  the  "  faithful "  fail,  as 
stated  in  ver.  1.  One  of  the  ways 
was  that  there  was  a  disregard  of 
truth ;  that  no  confidence  could  be 
placed  on  the  statements  of  those 
who  professed  to  be  pious ;  that  they 
dealt  falsely  with  their  neighbours. 
The  word  vanity  here  is  equivalent  to 
falsehood.  What  they  spoke  was  a 
vain  and  empty  thing,  instead  of  being 
the  truth.  It  had  no  reality,  and 
could  not  be  depended  on.  %  Every 
one  with  his  neighbour.  In  his  state- 
ments and  promises.  No  reliance 
could  be  placed  on  his  word.  %  With 
flattering  lips.  Heb.,  "  Lips  of  smooth- 
ness." The  verb  from  which  the 
word   here    used    is    derived — n&n. 

I      —   T      ? 

hhalalc — means  properly  to  divide,  to 
distribute;     then,    to    make    things 


equal  or  smooth;  then,  to  make  smooth 
or  to  shape,  as  an  artisan  does,  as 
with  a  plane ;  and  then,  to  malce 
things  smooth  with  the  tongue,  that  is, 
to  flatter.  See  Ps.  v.  9  ;  Prov.  v.  3  ; 
xxvi.  28;  xxviii.  23;  xxix.  5.  The 
meaning  is,  that  no  confidence  could 
be  placed  in  the  statements  made. 
There  Avas  no  certainty  that  they 
were  founded  on  truth ;  none  that 
they  were  not  intended  to  deceive. 
Flattery  is  the  ascribing  of  qualities 
to  another  which  he  is  known  not  to 
possess, — usually  with  some  sinister 
or  base  design.  %  And  ivith  a  double 
heart.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  a  heart  and 
a  heart ;  that  is,  as  it  were,  with  two 
hearts,  one  that  gives  utterance  to 
the  words,  and  the  other  that  retains 
a  different  sentiment.  Thus,  in  Deut. 
xxv.  13,  the  phrase  in  Hebrew,  a 
stone  and  a  stone  means,  as  it  is 
translated,  "  divers  weights  "■ — one 
stone  or  weight  to  buy  with,  and 
another  to  sell  with.  So  the  flatterer. 
He  has  one  heart  to  give  utterance  to 
the  words  which  he  uses  towards  his 
neighbour,  and  another  that  conceals 
his  real  purpose  or  design.  No  con- 
fidence, therefore,  could  be  placed  in 
such  persons.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job 
xxxii.  22. 

3.  The  Loed  shall  cut  off.  This 
might  be  rendered,  "  May  the  Lord 
cut  off,"  implying  a  wish  on  the  part 
of  the  psalmist  that  it  might  occur. 
But  probably  the  common  rendering 
is  the  correct  one.  It  is  the  state- 
ment of  a  solemn  truth,  designed  for 
warning,  that  all  such  persons  would 
be  punished.  %  All  flattering  lips. 
The  meaning  is,  that  he  will  cut  oil' all 
persons  who  use  flattery ;  that  is,  he 
will  cut  them  off  from  the  favours 
which  he  will  show  to  his  own  people, 
or  will  punish  them.  The  word  here 
used  is  the  common  one  to  denote 
disowning  or  excommunicating,  and 
F  2 


106 


PSALM  XII. 


4  Who  have  said,  With  our 
tongue  will  we  prevail;  our  lips 
are  l  our  own :  who  is  lord  over 
us  ? 


derives  its  meaning  from  the  act  of 
separating  offenders  from  a  commu- 
nity. See  Gen.  xvii.  14  ;  Lev.  xvii. 
10 ;  xviii.  29 ;  xx.  3,  6  ;  et  scepe. 
%  And  the  tongue  that  speaketh  proud 
things.  That  boasts,  or  is  self-confi- 
dent. For  an  example  of  this,  see 
Isa.  xxviii.  15;  and  compare  the 
Notes  on  that  passage.  It  was  this 
disposition  to  falsehood,  flattery,  and 
boasting,  which  constituted'  the  fact 
stated  in  ver.  1,  that  "godly"  and 
"faithful  "  men — men  on  whom  re- 
liance might  be  placed,  whose  word 
might  be  trusted,  and  whose  pro- 
mised aid  in  the  cause  of  truth  might 
be  depended  on — had  seemed  to  "fail" 
among  men.  That  is,  no  such  men 
could  he  found. 

4.  Who  have  said.  Who  habitually 
say.  This  does  not  mean  that  they 
had  formally  and  openly  said  this — for 
none  would  be  likely  to  do  so — but 
that  they  had  practically  and  really 
said  this  by  their  conduct.  They 
acted  as  if  it  were  the  real  principle 
on  which  they  framed  their  lives,  that 
they  might  use  their  tongues  as  they 
pleased.  %  With  our  tongue.  Literally, 
"as  to,"  or  "in  respect  to  our  tongue;" 
that  is,  by  our  tongue.  It  was  by 
the  tongue  that  they  expected  to 
accomplish  their  purposes.  It  was 
not  by  direct  power,  or  by  violence, 
but  by  the  power  of  speech.  ^[  Will 
tve  prevail.  Literally,  "  We  will  do 
mightily;"  that  is,  they  would  accom- 
plish their  purposes.  They  relied  on 
the  power  of  speech — on  their  ability 
in  influencing  others ;  in  deceiving 
others  ;  in  persuading  others  to  fall  in 
with  their  plans.  ^[  Our  tips  are  our 
own.  That  is,  we  may  use  them  as 
we  please  ;  no  one  has  a  right  to  con- 
trol us  in  the  use  of  what  properly 
belongs  to  ourselves.  It  caunot  be 
meant  that  they  intended  to  assert 
this  openly  as  a  right,  for  there  are 
perhaps  none  who  will  not  admit  in 


5  For  the  oppression  of  the 
poor,  for  the  sighing  of  the  needy, 
now  will  T  arise,  saith  the  Lord  ; 

1  with  us. 


words  that  they  are  responsible  for 
what  they  sag,  as  well  as  for  what 
they  do.  But  their  conduct  was  such 
that  this  was  the  fair  interpretation 
to  be  placed  on  what  they  said.  They 
tvould  speak  this  if  they  openly  pro- 
fessed and  avowed  what  was  their  real 
opinion.  ^[  Who  is  lord  over  us  ? 
That  is,  who  has  a  right  to  control  us 
in  the  case  ?  There  are  many  who 
practically  avow  this  as  a  principle 
of  conduct,  and  who  seem  to  feel  that 
they  are  not  responsible  for  their 
tvords,  however  much  they  may  admit 
their  responsibility  for  their  actions. 
There  is  usually  a  greater  degree  of 
recklessness  among  men  in  regard  to 
their  speech  than  in  regard  to  their 
conduct ;  and  many  a  man  who  would 
shrink  from  doing  another  wrong  by 
an  act  of  dishonesty  in  business,  may 
be  utterly  reckless  as  to  doing  him 
wrong  by  an  unkind  remark. 

5.  For  the  oppression  of  the  poor. 
That  i=,  on  account  of  the  wrong  done 
to  the  poor  in  the  manner  specified 
above — by  the  abuse  of  the  power  of 
speech.  On  account  of  the  slanders 
uttered  against  them,  or  the  frauds 
perpetrated  onthem  by  the  abuse  of 
this  power.  The  reference  is  to  the 
wrongs  dene  when  no  confidence 
could  be  placed  in  men's  words;  when 
they  uttered  words  of  "  vanity  "  and 
"  flattery  "  (ver.  2) ;  when  promises 
were  made  only  to  be  broken,  and 
obligations  assumed  never  to  be  ful- 
filled. In  such  a  state  of  things  the 
poor  were  the  most  likely  to  suffer. 
In  performing  service  for  others — in 
daily  labour  on  a  farm  or  in  a  mechan- 
ical employment — they  would  depend 
for  support  on  the  promises  made  by 
their  employers  ;  and  when  their  pay 
was  withheld,  they  and  their  families 
must  suffer.  Conrp.  James  v.  4.  Rich 
men,  having  other  resources,  would 
not  thus  suffer;  but  the  poor  must 
always   suffer  when  there  is  in  the 


PSALM  XII. 


107 


I  will  set  him  in  safety  from  him 
that  1  puffeth  at  him. 

6  The  words  of  the  Lord  are 

1  Or,  would  ensnare  him. 


community  a  disregard  of  the  obliga- 
tion of  promises.  In  like  manner, 
the  poor  would  be  most  likely  to  u  be 
taken  in  "  by  the  acts  of  unprincipled 
men,  and  to  be  deceived  in  their  small 
dealings  with  them.  Other  classes  of 
the  community  would  be  on  their 
guard;  but  the  poor,  unacquainted 
with  the  arts  of  cunning  men,  are 
always  liable — though  on  a  small 
scale,  yet  of  importance  to  them — to 
be  wronged  by  the  false  statements 
and  promises  of  those  against  whom 
they  can  have  no  redress.  %  For  the 
sighing  of  the  needy,  etc.  The  word 
needy  here  is  synonymous  with  poor. 
It  refers  to  those  in  humble  circum- 
stances, who  were  peculiarly  liable  to 
be  wronged  by  deceitful  statements 
and  promises.  %  I  toill  set  him  in 
safety.  I  will  make  him  safe.  I  will 
save  him  from  the  evils  which  they 
thought  to  bring  upon  him.  The 
general  idea  is,  that  God  is  the  vindi- 
cator of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed. 
IT  From  him  that  puffeth  at  him. 
Professor  Alexander  renders  this,  "  I 
will  place  in  safety  him  that  shall 
pant  for  it."  Gesenius  renders  it, 
"  Whom  they  puffed  at ;  i.  e.,  the 
oppressed."  The  language  in  the  ori- 
ginal is  difficult.  It  may  mean  either 
"  he  pants  for  it,"  or  "  he  puffs  at 
him  ;*'  and  the  meaning  can  only  be 
determined  by  the  connexion.  That 
would  rather  seem  to  be  what  is  indi- 
cated in  our  common  version  •  to  wit, 
that  the  persons  referred  to  as  oppress- 
ing the  poor  and  needy,  puffed  at 
them  ;  that  is,  they  looked  upon  them 
with  contempt,  and  felt  that  with  a 
puff  of  their  breath  they  could  blow 
them  away.  They  regarded  them  as 
insignificant  and  worthless.  By  this 
construction,  also,  the  connexion  with 
the  main  statement  will  be  best  pre- 
served— that  the  injury  referred  to  in 
the  psalm  was  done  by  words,  by  the 
breath  of  the  mouth — thus  indicating 


'pure  words  ;  as  silver  tried  in  a 
furnace  of  earth,  purified  seven 
times. 

/  Psa.  cxix.  140. 


that  by  a  word  or  a  breath  they  could 
destroy  them. 

6.  The  words  of  the  Lord.  In  con- 
trast with  the  words  of  the  persons 
referred  to  in  vers.  2 — 4.  Their 
words  were  vanity,  flattery,  and  false- 
hood ;  and  no  reliance  could  be  placed 
on  them.  In  contrast  with  these 
words,  the  words  of  the  Lord  were 
pure.  They  ivere  to  be  relied  on.  All 
his  sayings  were  true  and  faithful. 
The  design  is  to  bring  his  words  into 
contrast  with  the  sayings  of  such  men, 
and  to  show  how  much  more  safety 
there  is  in  relying  on  his  promises 
than  on  the  promises  made  by  such 
men.  Man  failed,  but  God  would  not. 
Reliance  could  not  be  placed  on  the 
words  of  even  the  professedly  "  godly" 
and  "  faithful "  (ver,  I),  but  entire 
confidence  might  be  placed  in  the 
words  of  Jehovah,  All  his  words  were 
true,  pure,  faithful,  so  that  even  when 
his  own  professed  friends  failed,  and 
no  confidence  could  be  placed  in 
them,  yet  there  was  still  reason  for 
unwavering  confidence  in  God  him- 
self. ^[  Are  pure  words.  That  is, 
they  are  without  any  mixture  of 
falsehood — for  this  idea  is  implied  in 
the  comparison  which  the  psalmist 
makes  when  he  says  that  they  are 
like  silver  purified  in  the  furnace, 
that  is,  from  which  all  the  dross  has 
been  removed.  %  As  silver  tried  in 
a  furnace  of  earth.  The  word  here 
rendered  furnace  properly  means  a 
tvorkshop.  Perhaps  it  corresponds 
nearly  with  our  word  laboratory,  as 
the  term  is  now  used  by  chemists. 
It  evidently  refers  to  some  place 
where  the  metal  was  tried  and  puri- 
fied. The  words  rendered  "  of  earth" 
literally  mean  "  on  the  earth,"  or  "  in 
the  earth."  The  language  does  not 
mean  that  the  "  furnace"  was  made  of 
earth,  as  would  seem  to  be  implied  in 
our  version,  but  that  the  "  furnace" 
or  laboratory   was    erected    on    the 


108 


PSALM  XII. 


7  Thou  shalt  keep  them,  O 
Lord,  thou  shalt  preserve  l  them 
from  this  generation  for  ever. 

1  him,  i.e.,  every  one  of  them. 


8  The  wicked  walk  on  every 
side,  when  the  vilest  2  men  are 
exalted. 

2  of  the  sons  of  men. 


earth,  or  in  the  earth.  It  may  refer 
to  something  like  a  crucihle  placed 
on  the  ground,  around  which  a  fire  of 
intense  heat  could  be  made.  It  is 
probable  that  some  such  structure 
would  be  made  near  the  mines  where 
ore  was  obtained,  and  that  the  ore 
would  be  thus  purified  from  dross  be- 
fore it  was  removed.  If  Purified 
seven  times.  By  passing  it  seven 
times — that  is,  very  often — through 
the  fire.  The  word  seven  in  the 
Scriptures  denotes  a  complete  or  per- 
fect number,  and  is  often  used  to  de- 
note  frequency.  The  idea  here  would 
seem  to  be  that  the  process  was  re- 
peated until  the  silver  became  entirely 
pure.  The  sense  is,  that  the  words 
of  the  Lord  are  perfectly  pure.  There 
is  no  admixture  of  falsehood  in  his 
statements ;  there  is  no  deception  in 
his  promises ;  there  is  no  flattery  in 
what  he  says.  This  was  the  ground 
of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  psalm- 
ist— that  while  men  (even  those  who 
professed  to  be  good  men)  so  failed 
that  no  reliance  could  be  placed  on 
their  statements,  the  most  perfect 
trust  could  be  reposed  on  all  the 
statements  of  God. 

7.  Thou  shalt  keep  them.  That  is, 
the  persons  referred  to  in  ver.  5 — the 
poor  and  the  needy  who  were  suffer- 
ing from  the  wrongs  inflicted  on 
them.  The  idea  is,  that  God  would 
guard  and  defend  them.  They  were 
safe  in  his  hands.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxvii. 
3 — 7.  %  From  this  generation.  This 
generation,  or  this  race  of  detractors, 
flatterers,  and  oppressors.  The  idea 
is,  that  that  entire  generation  was 
eminently  wicked,  and  that  none  but 
God  could  deliver  the  poor  and  the 
needy  from  their  designs.  %  For 
ever.  That  is,  constantly,  or  as  long 
as  they  would  need  the  Divine  pro- 
tection. God  would  not  interpose 
and  save  them  from  the  present  trou- 
ble, and  then  leave  them  to  the  de- 


signs of  their  enemies,  but  he  would 
alivays  interpose  as  often  as  there  was  ' 
any  need  of  his  help.  That  is,  they 
were  now,  and  would  be  at  all  times, 
entirely  safe.  They  had  nothing  to 
fear,  for  God  was  their  refuge  and 
their  help. 

8.  The  wicked  walk  on  every  side. 
Everywhere.  They  have  full  license, 
or  seem  to  be  wholly  unrestrained. 
^  When  the  vilest  men  are  exalted. 
Marg.,  "  The  vilest  of  the  sons  of  men 
are  exalted."  This  expression  has 
been  very  variously  translated.  Bishop 
Horsley  renders  it,  "  When  the  scorn 
of  the  sons  of  men  is  exalted."  De 
Wette,  "  They  exalt  themselves ;  ter- 
ror to  the  sons  of  men."  Luther, 
"  Where  such  wicked  people  rule 
among  the  sons  of  men."  Hengsten- 
berg,  "  Like  exaltation  is  disgrace  to 
the  sons  of  men."  Prof.  Alexander 
seems  inclined  to  favour  this  last 
view.  According  to  this  interpreta- 
tion, the  meaning  is,  that  "  although 
the  wicked  are  now  in  the  ascendant, 
and  the  righteous  are  treated  with 
contempt,  this  disgrace  is  really  an 

exaltation,  because  only in  man's 

judgment,  not  in  God's,  who  will 
abundantly  indemnify  his  people 
for  the  dishonour  put  upon  them." 
The  word  rendered  in  our  version 
"the  vilest" — lTlb}> zullooth — means, 
according  to  Gesenius,  trembling,  ter- 
ror. It  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the 
Scriptures.  The  verb  from  which  it  is 
derived — y^\,zalal — means  to  shake, 
to  tremble  ;  then  (as  one  shakes  out, 
or  casts  away  worthless  things)  to  be 
vile,  abject,  despised,  worthless.  Per- 
haps, however,  the  common  version 
expresses  the  idea  more  accurately 
than  any  of  these  proposed  amend- 
ments. I  would  offer  the  following 
as  a  fair  translation  of  the  passage : 
"The  wicked  walk  on  every  side; 
[it  is]  as  the  lifting  up,  or  the  exalta- 
tion of  vileness   among  the   sons  of 


PSALM   XIII. 


109 


PSALM  XIII. 

To  the  l  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

TJ  OW  long  wilt  thou  forget  me, 


men."  That  is,  the  state  of  things  is 
as  if  the  vilest  were  exalted,  or  were 
honoured.  It  seems  to  he  the  very- 
exaltation  of  wickedness  or  depravity 
in  the  world.  A  state  of  things  ex- 
ists in  which,  from  the  prevalence  of 
iniquity,  the  wicked  seem  to  go  un- 
restrained; in  which  no  regard  is 
paid  to  truth;  in  which  falsehood 
and  flattery  abound ;  and  it  is  as  if 
honour  were  done  to  the  worst  forms 
of  sin,  and  the  most  abandoned  seem 
to  be  the  most  exalted.  This  appears 
to  be  the  reason  in  the  mind  of  the 
psalmist  why  the  Divine  interposition 
is  necessary  ;  with  this  idea  the  psalm 
commences,  and  with  this  it  appro- 
priately closes.  There  was  a  state  of 
wide-spread  depravity  and  successful 
iniquity,  as  if  all  honour  were  con- 
ferred on  wicked  and  abandoned  men, 
while  the  virtuous  were  oppressed 
and  degraded.  The  psalm  ex- 
presses confidence  in  God — confidence 
in  his  faithful  word  and  promises; 
but  the  psalmist  sees  a  state  of  things 
wherein  it  was  eminently  desirable 
that  God  should  interpose,  for  the 
righteous  seemed  to  have  failed  out 
of  the  earth,  and  the  wicked  seemed 
to  be  wholly  in  the  ascendancy. 

PSALM  XIII. 

This  psalm  consists  properly  of  three 
parts  : — 

I.  A  complaint  as  of  one  who  was 
forsaken  by  God ;  who  was  persecuted, 
and  who  saw  no  means  of  deliverance ; 
who  took  counsel  with  his  own  heart 
how  he  might  be  delivered,  but  who 
found  no  way  in  which  it  could  be  done, 
vers.  1,  2. 

II.  An  earnest  prayer  to  God  that  He 
would  interpose ;  that  He  would  attend 
to  the  cry  of  the  sufferer ;  that  He  would 
enlighten  his  mind ;  that  his  enemy 
might  not  be  allowed  to  prevail  against 
him,  and  rejoice  over  his  fall,  vers.  2,  3. 

III.  A  cheerful  confidence  in  God  that 
he  would  grant  this  favour,  and  interpose 
in  his  behalf,  vers.  5,  6. 

This  is  entitled,  "A  Psalm  of  David," 


O  Lord  ?  for  ever  ?  how  long 
wilt  thou  hide  ?thy  face  from 
me? 

1  Or,  overseer.         g  Psa.  Ixxxviii.  14. 


and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he 
was  not  the  author.  Yet  there  are  in  it  no 
indications  of  the  time  when  it  was  written 
or  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
composed.  It  would  seem  to  have  been 
in  a  time  of  persecution,  and  it  would 
be  most  natural  to  refer  its  composition 
to  the  persecutions  which  David  expe- 
rienced from  Saul.  Most  of  the  Rabbi- 
nical writers  understand  it  as  referring 
to  the  whole  Hebrew  people,  and  as 
expressing  then-  sentiments  and  feel- 
ings in  times  of  persecution  in  general. 
Ivimchi  understands  it  as  referring  to  the 
present  exile  and  trials  of  the  Jewish 
people.  Be  Wette. — The  psalm,  though 
undoubtedly  composed  with  reference  to 
the  peculiar  circumstances  and  trials  of 
the  author,  contains  sentiments  appli- 
cable at  all  times  to  believers,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  exemplifying  the  way  in 
which  pious  feeling  expresses  itself  in 
times  of  persecution  and  trial.  Indi- 
viduals are  not  unfrequently  in  circum- 
stances in  which  the  language  of  this 
psalm  exactly  expresses  the  feelings  of 
their  hearts ;  and  the  psalm  is  of  great 
and  permanent  value,  therefore,  in  the 
church,  as  illustrating  the  fact  that  good 
men  may  sometimes  feel  desolate  and 
forsaken,  as  if  even  God  had  left  them ; 
the  fact  that  they  will,  in  such  circum- 
stances, cry  earnestly  to  God  for  his 
interposition ;  and  the  fact  that  they 
will  have,  and  will  manifest,  as  the  result 
of  such  an  appeal  to  God,  a  cheerful 
confidence  in  his  protecting  care. 

The  title—"  To  the  chief  Musician  " 
(marg.,  overseer) — is  the  same  as  that 
prefixed  to  the  fourth  Psalm,  with  the 
omission  of  the  words  "  On  Neginoth." 
See  the  Notes  on  that  title. 

1.  How  long  wilt  tliou  forget  me,  O 
Lord  ?  Literally,  until  token.  The 
psalmist  breaks  out  into  this  cry  in 
the  midst  of  his  troubles.  He  had 
apparently  borne  them  as  long  as  he 
could.  It  seemed  as  if  they  would 
never  come  to  an  end.  We  may  pre- 
sume that  he  had  been  patient  and 
unmurmuring  ;  that  he  had  borne  his 
trials  long  with  the  hope  and  belief 
that  they  would  soon  terminate ;  that 
he  had  waited  patiently  for  deliver- 


110 


PSALM    XIIL 


2  How  long  shall  I  take  coun- 
sel in  my  soul,  having  sorrow  in 

ance,  uttering  no  words  of  complaint ; 
but  now  he  begins  to  despair.  He 
feels  tbat  bis  troubles  will  never  end. 
He  sees  no  prospect  of  deliverance; 
no  signs  or  tokens  tbat  God  would 
interpose ;  and  he  breaks  out,  there- 
fore, in  this  language  of  tender  com- 
plaint, as  if  he  was  utterly  forsaken, 
and  would  be  for  ever.  The  mind, 
even  of  a  good  man,  is  not  unfre- 
quently  in  this  condition.  He  is 
borne  down  with  troubles.  He  has 
no  disposition  to  murmur  or  com- 
plain. He  bears  all  patiently  and 
long.  He  hopes  for  relief.  He  looks 
for  it.  But  relief  does  not  come ; 
and  it  seems  now  that  his  troubles 
never  will  terminate.  The  darkness 
deepens;  his  mind  is  overwhelmed; 
he  goes  to  God,  and  asks — not  with 
complaining  or  murmuring,  but  with 
feelings  bordering  on  despair — 
whether  these  troubles  never  will 
cease;  whether  he  may  never  hope 
for  deliverance.  %  For  ever  ?  He 
had  been  forgotten  so  long,  and  there 
appeared  to  be  so  little  prospect  of 
deliverance,  that  it  seemed  as  if  God 
never  would  return  and  visit  him 
with  mercy.  The  expression  denotes 
a  state  of  mind  on  the  verge  of  de- 
spair. *~  Hoiv  long.  Referring  to  a 
second  aspect  or  phase  of  his  troubles. 
The  first  was,  that.be  seemed  to  be 
forgotten.  The  second  referred  to 
here  is,  that  God  seemed  to  hide  his 
face  from  him,  and  he  asked  how  long 
this  was  to  continue.  ^  Wilt  thou 
hide  thy  face  from  me.  Favour — 
friendship — is  shown  by  turning  the 
face  benign  an  tly  towards  one ;  by 
smiling  upon  him  ; — in  Scriptural 
language,  by  "lifting  up  the  light  of 
the  countenance "  upon  one.  See 
Notes  on  Psalm  iv.  6.  Aversion, 
hatred,  displeasure,  are  shown  by 
turning  away  the  countenance.  God 
seemed  to  the  psalmist  thus  to  show 
marks  of  displeasure  towards  him, 
and  he  earnestly  asks  how  long  this 
was  to  continue. 

2.  Hoiv  long.     This   refers  to   the 


my  heart  daily  ?  how  long  shall 
mine  enemy  be  exalted  over  me  ? 


third  aspect  of  the  case,  or  the  third 
phase  of  the  trouble,  i.e.,  that  he  was 
perplexed  and  embarrassed,  having  a 
deep  and  heavy  sorrow  in  his  heart, 
and  he  asks  how  long  this  was  to  con- 
tinue, ^j"  Shall  1  take  counsel  in  my 
soul.  This  refers  to  the  methods 
which  he  endeavoured  to  devise  to 
escape  from  trouble.  He  was  per- 
plexed, persecuted,  and  apparently 
forsaken ;  and  being  thus  apparently 
forsaken,he  was  constrained  to  attempt 
to  devise  some  plan  for  his  own  de- 
liverance, without  interposition  or 
help  from  on  high.  He  was  under  a 
necessity  of  relying  on  himself;  and 
he  asks  how  long  this  was  to  continue, 
or  when  he  might  hope  that  God 
would  interpose  to  aid  him  by  his 
counsels,  and  thus  to  deliver  him. 
^  Having  sorrow  in  my  heart  daily. 
Every  day;  constantly.  That  is, 
there  was  no  intermission  to  his 
troubles.  The  sorrow  in  his  heart 
seems  to  have  been  not.  merely  that 
which  was  caused  by  troubles  from 
without,  but  also  that  which  sprang 
from  the  painful  necessity  of  attempt- 
ing to  form  plans  for  his  own  relief, 
— plans  which  seemed  to  be  in  vain. 
^  How  long  shall  mine  enemy  be 
exalted  over  me  /  This  is  the  fourth 
form  or  phase  of  his  trouble,  and  he 
asks  how  long  this  was  to  continue. 
This  clause  suggests  perhaps  the  exact 
form  of  the  trial.  It  was  that  which 
arose  from  the  designs  of  an  enemy 
who  persecuted  and  oppressed  the 
psalmist,  and  who  had  done  it  so 
effectually  that  he  seemed  to  have 
triumphed  over  him,  or  to  have  him 
completely  in  his  power.  All  the 
other  forms  of  the  trial — the  fact  that 
he  seemed  to  be  forgotten  ;  that  God 
had  apparently  averted  his  face; 
that  he  was  left  to  form  plans  of 
deliverance  which  seemed  to  be  vain, 
were  connected  with  the  fact  here 
adverted  to,  that  an  enemy  had  per- 
secuted him,  and  had  been  suffered 
to  gain  a  triumph  over  him.  Who 
this  enemy  was  we  do  not  know. 


TSALM   XIII. 


Ill 


3  Consider  and  hear  me,  0 
Lord  my  God ;  lighten  mine 
eyes,  lest  I  sleep  fc  the  sleep  of 
death ; 

h  Jer.  li.  39. 


4  Lest  mine  enemy  say,  I 
have  prevailed  against  him ;  and 
those  that  trouble  me  rejoice 
when  I  am  moved. 

5  But  I  have  trusted  in  thy 


3.  Consider  and  hear  me.  Literally, 
"  Look,  hear  me."  God  had  seemed 
to  avert  his  face  as  if  he  would  not 
even  look  upon  him  (ver.  1)  ;  and  the 
psalmist  now  prays  that  he  would  look 
upon  him — that  he  would  regard  his 
wants — that  he  would  attend  to  his 
cry.  So  we  pray  to  one  who  turns 
away  from  us  as  if  he  were  not  dis- 
posed to  hear,  and  as  if  he  cared 
nothing  about  us.  %  Lighten  mine 
eyes.  The  allusion  here  is,  probably, 
to  his  exhaustion,  arising  from  trouble 
and  despair,  as  if  he  were  about  to  die. 
The  sight  grows  dim  as  death  ap- 
proaches ;  and  he  seemed  to  feel  that 
death  was  near.  He  says  that  unless 
God  should  interpose,  the  darkness 
would  deepen,  and  he  must  die.  The 
prayer,  therefore,  that  God  would 
"  enlighten  his  eyes,"  was  a  prayer 
that  he  would  interpose  and  save  him 
from  that  death  which  he  felt  was 
rapidly  approaching.  ^  Lest  I  sleep 
the  sleep  of  death.  Literally,  "  Lest 
I  sleep  the  death ;"  that  is,  in  death, 
or,  as  in  the  common  version,  the 
sleep  of  death.  The  idea  is,  that 
death,  whose  approach  was  indicated 
by  the  dimness  of  vision,  was  fast 
stealing  over  him  as  a  sleep,  and  that 
unless  his  clearness  of  vision  were 
restored,  it  would  soon  end  in  the 
total  darkness — the  deep  and  pro- 
found sleep — of  death.  Death  is 
often  compared  to  sleep.  See  Notes 
on  1  Cor.  xi.  30;  John  xi.  11,  13; 
1  Thess.  iv.  14;  Daniel  xii.  2.  The 
resemblance  between  the  two  is  so 
obvious  as  to  have  been  remarked  in 
all  ages,  and  the  comparison  is  found 
in  the  writings  of  all  nations.  It  is 
only,  however,  in  connexion  with 
Christianity  that  the  idea  has  been 
fully  carried  out  by  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection ;  for  as  we  lie  down 
at  night  with  the  hope  of  awaking  to 
the  pursuits  and  enjoyments  of  a  new 


day,  so  the  Christian  lies  down  in 
death  with  the  hope  of- awaking  in 
the  morning  of  the  resurrection  to 
the  pursuits  and  enjoyments  of  a  new 
and  eternal  day.  Everywhere  else 
death  is  to  the  mind  a  long  and  un- 
broken sleep.     Comp.  Jer.  li.  39,  57. 

4.  Lest  mine  enemy  say,  I  have  pre- 
vailed against  him.  I  have  over- 
powered him  ;  I  have  conquered  him. 
That  is,  to  triumph  over  him  as  having 
obtained  a  complete  victory,  ^f  And 
those  that  trouble  me.  Heb.,  My 
adversaries.  The  reference  here  is 
the  same  as  in  the  former  member  of 
the  verse.  It  is  to  the  enemies  that 
seemed  almost  to  have  triumphed  over 
him  already,  and  under  whose  power 
he  was  ready  to  sink.  %  Rejoice. 
Exult ;  triumph.  ■[[  When  1  am 
moved.  Moved  from  my  steadfastness 
or  firmness ;  when  I  am  overcome. 
Hitherto  he  had  been  able  to  hold  out 
against  them ;  now  he  began  to  de- 
spair, and  to  fear  that  they  would 
accomplish  their  object  by  overcoming 
and  subduing  him.  His  ground  of 
apprehension  and  of  appeal  was,  that 
by  his  being  vanquished  the  cause  in 
which  he  was  engaged  would  suffer, 
and  that  the  enemies  of  religion 
would  triumph. 

5.  But  I  have  trusted  in  thy  mercy. 
In  thy  favour ;  thy  friendship ;  thy 
promises.  His  original  confidence  had 
been  in  God  only,  and  not  in  himself. 
That  confidence  he  still  maintained ; 
and  now,  as  the  result  of  that,  he 
begins  to  exult  in  the  confidence  that 
he  would  be  safe.  The  idea  is,  "  I 
have  trusted  in  the  mercy  of  God;  I 
still  trust,  and  I  will  trust  for  ever." 
%  My  heart  shall  rejoice  in  thy  salva- 
tion. The  word  salvation  here  does 
not  refer  to  salvation  in  the  future 
world,  but  to  deliverance  from  his 
present  troubles,  or  to  God's  interpo- 
sition in  putting  him  into  a  condition 


112 


PSALM    XIV. 


mercy;  my  heart  shall  rejoice  in 
thy  salvation. 

6  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord, 


because  he  hath  dealt  bountifully 
with  me. 


of  safety.  *  The  idea  is,  that  he  had 
entire  confidence  that  God  would  in- 
terpose, and  that  there  would  yet  be 
cause  to  rejoice  in  that  salvation  as 
actually  accomplished.  He  now  calls 
on  his  heart  to  rejoice  in  the  assurance 
that  it  would  be  his.  So  with  us. 
There  will  not  only  be  rejoicing  in 
salvation  when  actually  accomplished, 
but  there  may,  and  should  be,  in  the 
firm  conviction  that  it  will  be  ours. 

6.  I  will  sing  unto  the  Loed,  be- 
cause he  hath  dealt  bountifully  with 
me.  The  word  which  is  here  rendered 
dealt  bountifxdly—^iy^,  gamal—  means 
properly  to  deal  with  any  one;  to 
treat  any  one  well  or  ill ;  and  then, 
to  requite,  or  recompense.  When  used 
absolutely,  as  it  is  here,  it  is  com- 
monly employed  in  a  good  sense, 
meaning  to  deal  favourably,  or  kindly, 
towards  any  one;  to  treat  any  one 
with  favour.  It  means  here  that  God 
had  shown  him  kindness  or  favour, 
and  had  thus  laid  the  foundation  for 
gratitude  and  praise.  The  psalm 
closes,  therefore,  with  expressions  of 
joy,  thankfulness,  triumph.  Though 
it  begins  with  depression  and  sadness, 
it  ends  with  joy.  This  is  often  ob- 
servable in  the  Psalms.  In  the  com- 
mencement it  often  occurs  that 
the  mind  is  overwhelmed  with  sor- 
row, and  there  is  earnest  pleading 
with  God.  Light,  under  the  influence 
of  prayer,  breaks  in  gradually  upon 
the  soul.  The  clouds  disperse ;  the 
darkness  disappears.  New  views  of 
the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God  are 
imparted  ;  an  assurance  of  his  favour 
is  brought  to  the  soul;  confidence  in 
his  mercy  springs  up  in  the  heart ; 
and  the  psalm  that  began  with  sor- 
rowful complaining  ends  with  the 
language  of  praise  and  of  joy.  So,  too, 
it  is  in  our  own  experience.  Afflicted, 
depressed,  and  sad,  we  go  to  God. 
Everything  seems  dark.  We  have  no 
peace — no  clear  and  cheerful  views — 
no  joy.     As  we  wait  upon  God,  new 


views  of  his  character,  his  mercy,  his 
love,  break  upon  the  mind.  The 
clouds  open.  Light  beams  upon  us. 
Our  souls  take  hold  of  the  promises  of 
God,  and  we,  who  went  to  his  throne 
sad  and  desponding,  rise  from  our 
devotions  filled  with  praise  and  joy, 
submissive  to  the  trials  which  made  us  so 
Bad,  and  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that  all 
things  will  work  together  for  our  good. 

PSALM   XIV. 

This  purports  to  be  one  of  David's 
psalms,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
the  correctness  of  the  superscription. 
Yet  Ave  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  time 
and  the  circumstances  of  its  composition. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  that 
throws  any  light  on  this  point,  and  con- 
jecture would  be  vain.  It  would  seem 
to  have  been  composed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  an  affecting  conviction  of  the 
depth  and  extent  of  human  depravity, 
and  in  view  of  prevalent  impiety  and 
neglect  of  God ;  but  such  a  state  of 
things  was  not  confined  to  any  one 
period  of  the  life  of  David,  as  it  is  not  to 
any  one  country  or  period  of  the  world. 
Unhappily  there  has  been  no  country 
and  no  age  in  which,  in  view  of  existing 
facts,  such  a  psalm  as  this  might  not 
have  been  composed  ;  or  in  which,  the 
entire  proof  on  which  the  psalmist  relies 
to  support  his  melancholy  conclusions, 
might  not  have  been  found. 

The  psalm  embraces  the  following 
points : — 

I.  A  statement  of  prevalent  depraAity, 
particularly  in  denying  the  existence  of 
God,  or  in  expressing  the  wish  that  there 
were  no  God,  ver.  1. 

II.  The  evidence  of  this,  vers.  2-1. 
This  is  found  in  two  things  : — (r/)  first, 
in  the  representation  that  the  Lord 
looked  down  from  heaven  for  the  very 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  there 
were  any  that  "understood  and  sought 
after  God,"  and  that  the  result  of  this 
investigation  was  that  allheui  gone  aside, 
and  had  become  defiled  with  sin,  vers. 
2,  3.  (b)  The  second  proof  is  a  prevail- 
ing disposition  on  the  part  of  the  wicked 
to  judge  severely  of  the  conduct  of  God's 
people ;    to   magnify  then    errors  and 


PSALM   XIV. 


113 


PSALM  XIV. 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

rilHE  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart, 
J-    There  is  no  God.     They  are 


faults  ;  to  make  use  of  their  imperfec- 
tions to  sustain  themselves  in  their  own 
course  of  life — repi'esented  by  their 
*'  eating  up  the  sins  of  God's  people  as 
they  eat  bread,"  ver.  4.  There  was  an 
utter  want  of  kindness  and  charity  in 
regard  to  the  imperfections  of  others; 
and  a  desire  to  find  the  people  of  God  so 
offending  that  they  could,  by  their  im- 
perfections and  faults,  sustain  and  vin- 
dicate their  own  conduct  in  neglecting 
religion.  The  idea  is  that,  in  their 
apprehension,  the  religion  of  such  per- 
sons was  not  desirable, — that  the  God 
whom  they  professed  to  serve  could  not 
be  G>>d. 

III.  Tet,  the  psalmist  says,  they  were 
not  wholly  calm  and  satisfied  with  the 
conclusion  which  they  were  endeavour- 
ing to  reach,  that  there  was  no  God. 
Notwithstanding  their  expressed  wish 
or  desire  (ver.  1),  that  there  was,  or  that 
there  might  be  no  God,  their  minds  were 
not  at  case  in  that  conclusion  or  desire. 

They  were,  says  the  psalmist,  "in 
great  fear,"  for  there  was  evidence 
which  they  could  not  deny  or  resist  that 
God  was  "in  the  generation  of  the 
righteous,"  or  that  there  was  a  God 
such  as  the  righteous  served,  ver.  5.  This 
evidence  was  found  in  the  manifestation 
of  his  favour  towards  them ;  in  his 
interposition  in  their  behalf,  in  the  proof 
which  could  not  be  resisted  or  denied 
that  he  was  their  friend.  These  facts 
produced  "fear"  or  apprehension  in  the 
*  minds  of  the  wicked,  notwithstanding 
all  their  efforts  to  be  calm. 

IV.  The  psalmist  says  that  their  course 
was  designed  to  bring  shame  upon  the 
counsel  or  purposes  of  the  "  poor  "  (that 
is,  the  people  of  God,  who  were  mainly 
u^ong  the  poor,  or  the  humble  and  op- 
pressed classes  of  the  community) — be- 
cause they  regarded  God  as  their  refuge, 
ver.  G.  As  God  was  then*  only  refuge, 
as  they  had  no  human  hope  or  reliance, 
as  all  their  hope  would  fail  if  their  hope 
in  God  failed,  so  the  attempt  to  show 
that  there  was  no  God  was  adapted  and 
designed  to  overwhelm  them  with  shame 
and  confusion — still  more  to  aggravate 
their  sufferings  by  taking  away  their 
only  hope,  and  leaving  them  to  despair. 
Their  religion  was  their  only  consolation, 
and  the  purpose  of  those  who  wished  that 


corrupt ;  they  have  done  abomin- 
able works ;  there  is  none  that 
doeth  good. 


there  were  no  God  was  to  take  even 
this  last  comfort  away. 

V.  The  psalm  closes,  in  view  of  these 
thoughts,  with  an  earnest  prayer  that 
God  would  interpose  to  deliver  his  poor 
and  oppressed  people,  and  with  the  state- 
ment that  when  this  should  occur,  his 
people  would  rejoice,  ver.  7.  Instead  of 
their  low  and  oppressed  condition — a 
condition  wherein  their  enemies  tri- 
umphed over  them,  and  endeavoured 
still  further  to  aggravate  their  sorrows 
by  taking  away  even  their  faith  in  God 
— they  would  rejoice  in  him,  and  in  the 
full  proof  of  his  existence  and  of  his 
favour  towards  them. 

The  psalm,  therefore,  is  designed  to 
describe  a  condition  of  things  in  which 
wickedness  abounds,  and  when  it  takes 
this  form — an  attempt  to  show  that  there 
is  no  God;  that  is,  when  there  is  a 
prevalence  of  atheism,  and  when  the 
design  of  this  is  to  aggravate  the  suffer- 
ings and  the  trials  of  the  professed  friends 
of  God  by  unsettling  their  faith  in  the 
Divine  existence. 

The  title  is  the  same  as  in  Ps.  xi.  and 
xii.     Comp.  Notes  on  the  title  to  Ps.  iv. 

1.  The  fool.  The  word  fool  is  often 
used  in  the  Scriptures  to  denote  a 
wicked  man — as  sin  is  the  essence  of 
folly.  Comp.  Job  ii.  10 ;  Ps.  lxxiv. 
18;  Gen.  xxxiv.  7;  Deut.  xxii.  21. 
The  Hebrew  word  is  rendered  vile 
person  in  Isaiah  xxxii.  5,  6.  Else- 
where it  is  rendered  fool,  foolish,  and 
foolish  man.  It  is  designed  to  con- 
vey the  idea  that  wickedness  or  im- 
piety is  essential  folly,  or  to  use  a  term 
in  describing  the  wicked  which  will, 
perhaps,  more  than  any  other,  make 
the  mind  averse  to  the  sin — for  there 
is  many  a  man  who  would  see  more 
in  the  word  fool  to  he  hated  than  in 
the  word  ivicked;  who  would  rather 
be  called  a  sinner  than  a  fool. 
IT  Hath  said.  That  is,  has  thought, 
for  the  reference  is  to  what  is  passiug 
in  his  mind,  %  In  his  heart.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  x.  11.  He  may  not 
have  said  this  to  others ;  he  may  not 
have  taken  the  position  openly  before 


Ill 


PSALM   XIV. 


2  The  Lord  looked  down  from 
Leaven  upon  the  children  of  men, 


V  the  world  that  there  is  no  God,  but 
such  a  thought  has  passed  through 
his  mind,  aud  he  has  cherished  it ; 
and  such  a  thought,  either  as  a  mat- 
ter of  belief  or  of  desire,  is  at  the 
foundation  of  his  conduct.  He  acts 
as  if  such  were  his  belief  or  his  wish. 
1[  There  is  no  God.  The  words 
"  there  is "  are  not  in  the  original. 
The  literal  rendering  would  be  either 
"no  God,"  "nothing  of  God,"  or 
"  God  is  not."     The  idea  is  that,  in 

^  his  apprehension,  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  God,  or  no  such  being 
as  God.  The  more  correct  idea  in 
the  passage  is,  that  this  was  the  be- 
lief of  him  who  is  here  called  a 
"  fool ;"  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  language  would  convey  the  idea 
of  desire — or  of  a  wish  that  this 
might  be  so  ;  but  still  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  such  is  the  wish  or  desire 
of  the  wicked,  and  that  they  listen 
eagerly  to  any  suggestions  or  argu- 
ments which,  in  their  apprehension, 
would  go  to  demonstrate  that  there  is 
no  such  being  as  God.  The  exact  state 
of  mind,  however,  indicated  by  the 
language  here,  undoubtedly  is  that 
such  was  the  opinion  or  the  belief  of 
him  who  is  here  called  a  fool.  If  this 
is  the  true  interpretation,  then  the 
passage  would  prove  that  there  have 
been  men  who  were  atheists.  The 
passage  would  prove,  also,  in  its  con- 
nexion, that  such  a  belief  was  closely 
linked,  either  as  a  cause  or  a  con- 
sequent, with  a  corrupt  life ;  for  this 
statement  immediately  follows  in  re- 
gard to  the  character  of  those  who 
are  represented  as  saying  that  there 
is  no  God.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
belief  that  there  is  no  God  is  com- 
monly founded  on  the  desire  to  lead  a 
wicked  life ;  or,  the  opinion  that  there 
is  no  God  is  embraced  by  those  who 
in  fact  lead  such  a  life,  with  a  desire 
to  sustain  themselves  in  their  depra- 
vity, and  to  avoid  the  fear  of  future 
retribution.  A  man  who  wishes  to 
lead  an  upright  life,  desires  to  find 
evidence  that  there  is  a  God,  and  to 


to  see  if  there  were  any  that  did 
understand,  and  seek  God. 


such  a  man  nothing  would  be  more 
dark  and  distressing  than  anything 
which  would  compel  him  to  doubt  the 
fact  of  God's  existence.  It  is  only  a 
wicked  man  who  finds  pleasure  in  an 
argument  to  prove  that  there  is  no 
God,  and  the  wish  that  there  were  no 
God  springs  up  only  in  a  bad  heart. 
%  They  are  corrupt.  That  is,  they 
have  done  corruptly ;  or,  their  con- 
duct is  corrupt.  %  They  have  done 
abominable  works.  They  have  done 
that  which  is  to  be  abominated  or 
abhorred ;  that  which  is  to  be  de- 
tested, and  which  is  fitted  to  fill  the 
mind  with  horror.  %  There  is  none 
that  doeth  good.  Depravity  is  "uni- 
versal. All  have  fallen  into  sin ;  all 
fail  to  do  good.  None  are  found  who 
are  disposed  to  worship  their  Maker, 
and  to  keep  his  laws.  This  was  ori- 
ginally spoken,  undoubtedly,  with  re- 
ference to  the  age  in  which  the  psalm- 
ist lived;  but  it  is  applied  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  Rom.  hi.  10  (see  Notes 
on  that  passage),  as  an  argument  for 
the  universal  depravity  of  mankind. 

2.  The  Loed  looked  down  from 
heaven.  The  original  word  here — 
f]pl£,  shakaph — conveys  the  idea  of 
bending  forward,  and  hence  of  an  in- 
tense and  anxious  looking,  as  we  bend 
forward  when  we  wish  to  examine 
anything  with  attention,  or  when  we 
look  out  for  one  who  is  expected  to 
come.  The  idea  is  that  God  looked 
intently,  or  so  as  to  secure  a  close 
examination,  upon  the  children  of 
men,  for  the  express  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining whether  there  were  any  that 
were  good.  He  looked  at  all  men; 
he  examined  all  their  pretensions  to 
goodness,  and  he  saw  none  who  could 
be  regarded  as  exempt  from  the 
charge  of  depravity.  Nothing  could 
more  clearly  prove  the  doctrine  of 
universal  depravity  than  to  say  that 
an  Omniscient  God  made  an  express 
*  examination  on  this  very  point,  that 
he  looked  over  all  the  world,  and  that 
in  the  multitudes  which  passed  under 
the  notice  of  his  eve  not  o)ie  could  be 


PSALM  XIV. 


115 


3  They  are  all  gone  aside,  they 
are  all  together  become  l  filthy ; 


stiukiiHi. 


there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no, 
not  one. 


found  who  could  bo  pronounced  right- 
eous. If  God  could  not  find  such  an 
one,  assuredly  man  cannot.  %  Upon 
the  children  of  men.  Upon  mankind ; 
upon  the  human  race.  They  are 
called  "children,"  or  sons  (Hebrew), 
because  they  are  all  the  descendants 
of  the  man  that  God  created — of 
Adam.  Indeed  the  original  word 
here  is  Adam — Q1S-  And  it  may  be 
questionable  whether,  since  this  be- 
came in  fact  a  proper  name,  desig- 
nating the  first  man,  it  would  not 
have  been  proper  to  retain  the  idea 
in  the  translation  —  "the  sons  of 
Adam ;"  that  is,  all  his  descendants. 
The  phrase  occurs  frequently  to  de- 
note the  human  race,  Deut.  xxxii.  8; 
Ps.  xi.  4;  xxi.  10;  xxxi.  19;  xxxvi. 
7 ;  Ivii.  4 ;  et  scepe.  %.  To  see  if  there 
were  any  that  did  understand.  If 
there  were  one  acting  wisely — to  wit, 
in  seeking  God.  "  Acting  wisely" 
here  stands  in  contrast  with  the  folly 
referred  to  in  the  first  verse.  Reli- 
gion is  always  represented  in  the 
Scriptures  as  true  wisdom,  *[  And 
seek  God.  The  knowledge  of  him ; 
his  favour  and  friendship.  Wisdom 
is  shown  by  a  desire  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  being  and  perfee- 
•tions  of  God,  as  well  as  in  the  actual 
possession  of  that  knowledge ;  and  in 
no  way  can  the  true  character  of  man 
be  better  determined  than  by  the  ac- 
tual interest  which  is  felt  in  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  the  character  of 
him  who  made  and  who  governs  the 
universe.  It  is  one  of  the  clearest 
proofs  of  human  depravity  that  there 
is  no  prevailing  desire  among  men 
thus  to  ascertain  the  character  of 
God. 

3.  They  are  all  gone  aside.  This 
J  verse  states  the  result  of  the  Divine 
investigation  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
vious verse.  The  result,  as  seen  by 
God  himself,  was,  that  all  were  seen 
to  have  gone  aside,  and  to  have  be- 
come   filthy.      The    word    rendered 


"  gone  aside  "  means  properly  to  go 
off,  to  turn  aside  or  away,  to  depart ; 
as,  for  example,  to  turn  out  of  the 
right  way  or  path,  Ex.  xxxii.  8. 
Then  it  means  to  turn  away  from 
God;  to  fall  away  from  his  worship; 
to  apostatize,  1  Sam.  xii.  20 ;  2  Kings 
xviii.  6 ;  2  Chron.  xxv.  27.  This  is 
the  idea  here — that  they  had  all  apos- 
tatized from  the  living  God.  The 
word  "all"  in  the  circumstances 
makes  the  statement  as  universal  as 
it  can  be  made;  and  no  term  could 
be  used  more  clearly  affirming  the 
doctrine  of  universal  depravity.  ^[ 
They  are  all  together  become  filthy. 
The  word  "  all "  here  is  supplied  by 
the  translators.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary, however,  to  introduce  it  in  order 
that  the  idea  of  universal  depravity 
might  be  expressed,  for  that  is  im- 
plied in  the  word  rendered  together, 
IIPP,  yahhddv.  That  word  properly 
conveys  the  idea  that  the  same  cha- 
racter or  conduct  pervaded  all,  or 
that  the  same  thing  might  be  ex- 
pressed of  all  those  referred  to.  They 
were  united  in  this  thin? — that  thev 
had  become  defiled  or  filthy.  The 
word  is  used  with  reference  to  per- 
sons, as  meaning  that  they  are  all 
in  one  place,  Gen.  xiii.  6;  xxii.  6;  or 
to  events,  as  meaning  that  they  oc- 
curred at  one  time,  Ps.  iv.  8.  They 
were  all  as  one.  Comp.  1  Chron.  x. 
6.  The  idea  is  that,  in  respect  to 
the  statement  made,  they  were  alike. 
What  would  describe  one  would  de- 
scribe all.  The  word  rendered  "  be- 
come filthy"  is,  in  the  margin,  ren- 
dered stinking.  In  Arabic  the  word 
means  to  become  sharp,  or  sour  as 
milk ;  and  hence  the  idea  of  becom- 
ing corrupt  in  a  moral  sense.  Gese- 
nius,  Lex.  The  word  is  found  only 
here,  and  in  the  parallel  Ps.  liii.  3,  and 
in  Job  xv.  16,  in  each  of  which  places 
it  is  rendered  filthy.  It  relates  here^ 
to  character,  and  means  that  their 
character  was  morally  corrupt  or  de- 


116 


PSALM  XIV. 


4  Have  all  the  workers  of  ini- 
quity no  knowledge  ?  who  eat  up 


filed.  The  term  is  often  used  in  that 
sense  now.  %  There  is  none  that 
doeth  good,  no,  not  one.  Nothing 
could  more  clearly  express  the  idea 
of  universal  depravity  than  this  ex- 
pression. It  is  not  merely  that  no 
one  could  be  found  who  did  good, 
but  the  expression  is  repeated  to  give 
emphasis  to  the  statement.  This  en- 
tire passage  is  quoted  in  Rom.  iii.  10 
— 12,  in  proof  of  the  doctrine  of  uni- 
versal depravity.  See  Notes  on  that 
passage. 

4.  Have  all  the  worker*  of  iniquity 
no  knowledge  ?  Literally,  "  Do  they 
not  know,  all  the  workers  of  iniquity, 
eating  my  people,  they  eat  bread ; 
Jehovah  they  call  not."  The  several 
statements  in  this  verse  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  fact  of  their  depravity  are 
— (a)  that  they  have  no  knowledge  of 
God;  (b)  that  they  find  pleasure  in 
the  errors  and  imperfections  of  the 
people  of  God — sustaining  themselves 
in  their  own  wickedness  by  the  fact 
that  the  professed  friends  of  God  are 
inconsistent  in  their  lives;  and  (c) 
that  they  do  not  call  on  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  or  that  they  offer  no  wor- 
ship to  him.  The  whole  verse  might 
have  been,  and  should  have  been  put 
in  the  form  of  a  question.  The  first 
statement  implied  in  the  question  is, 
that  they  have  no  knowledge.  This 
can  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of  guilt 
only  (1)  as  they  have  opportunities  of 
obtaining  knowledge;  (2)  as  they  neg- 
lect to  improve  those  opportunities, 
and  remain  in  voluntary  ignorance; 
and  (3)  as  they  do  this  from  a  desigu 
to  practise  wickedness.  See  this 
argument  stated  at  length  by  the 
apostle  Paul  in  Rom.  i.  19 — 28. 
Comp.  Notes  on  that  passage.  This 
proof  of  human  depravity  is  every- 
where manifested  still  in  the  world, 
— in  the  fact  that  men  have  the 
opportunities  of  gaining  the  know- 
ledge of  God  if  they  chose  to  do  it ;  in 
the  fact  that  they  voluntarily  neglect 
those  opportunities;  and  in  the  fact 


my  people  as  they  eat  bread,  and 
call  not  upon  the  Lord. 


that  the  reason  of  this  is  that  they 
love  iniquity.  %  Who  eat  up  my 
people  as  they  eat  bread.  They  sus- 
tain themselves  in  their  own  course 
of  life  by  the  imperfections  of  the 
people  of  God.  That  is,  they  make 
use  of  their  inconsistencies  to  confirm 
j  themselves  in  the  belief  that  there  is 
1  no  God.  Thev  arsrue  that  a  religion 
which  produces  no  better  fruits  than 
what  is  seen  in  the  lives  of  its  pro- 
fessed friends  can  be  of  no  value,  or 
caunot  be  genuine;  that  if  a  pro- 
fessed belief  in  God  produces  no  hap- 
pier results  than  are  found  in  their 
lives,  it  could  be  of  no  advantage  to 
worship  God ;  that  they  are  them- 
selves as  good  as  those  are  who  profess 
to  be  religious,  and  that,  therefore, 
there  can  be  no  evidence  from  the 
lives  of  the  professed  friends  of  God 
that  religion  is  either  true  or  of  any 
value.  No  inconsiderable  part  of  the 
evidence  in  favour  of  religion,  it  is  in- 
tended, shall  be  derived  from  the  lives 
of  its  friends ;  and  when  that  evidence 
is  not  furnished,  of  course  no  small 
part  of  the  proof  of  its  reality  and 
value  is  lost.  Hence  so  much  im- 
portance is  attached  everywhere  in 
the  Bible  to  the  necessity  of  a  con- 
sistent life  on  the  part  of  the  pro- 
fessed friends  of  religion.  Comp.  Isa. 
xliii.  10.  The  words  "my  people" 
here  are  properly  to  be  regarded  as 
the  words  of  the  psalmist,  identifying 
himself  with  the  people  of  God,  and 
speaking  of  them  thus  as  his  own 
people.  Thus  one  speaks  of  his  own 
family  or  his  own  friends.  Comp. 
Ruth  i.  16.  Or  this  may  be  spoken 
by  David,  considered  as  the  head  or 
ruler  of  the  nation,  and  he  may  thus 
speak  of  the  people  of  God  as  his 
people.  The  connexion  does  not  allow 
of  the  construction  which  would  re- 
fer the  words  to  God.  %  And  call 
not  upon  the  Loed.  They  do  not 
worship  Jehovah.  They  give  this 
evidence  of  wickedness  that  they  do 
not  pray;  that  they  do  not   invoke 


PSALM  XIV, 


117 


5  *  There   were  they  in  great 
fear  :  *  for  God  is  in  the  genera- 

1  they  feared  a  fear. 


the  blessing  of  their  Maker;  that  they 
do  not  publicly  acknowledge  him  as 
God.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  is 
placed  as  the  last  or  the  crowning 
thing  in '  the  evidence  of  their  de- 
pravity ;  and  if  rightly  considered, 
it  is  so.  To  one  who  should  look  at 
things  as  they  are ;  to  one  who  sees 
all  the  claims  and  obligations  which 
rest  upon  mankind ;  to  one  who  ap- 
preciates his  own  guilt,  his  depend- 
ance,  and  his  exposure  to  death  and 
woe ;  to  one  who  understands  aright 
why  man  wras  made, — there  can  be  no 
more  striking  proof  of  human  de- 
pravity than  in  the  fact  that  a  man 
in  no  way  acknowledges  his  Maker, — 
that  he  renders  him  no  homage, — 
that  he  never  supplicates  his  favour, 
— never  deprecates  his  wrath, — that, 
amidst  the  trials,  the  temptations,  the 
perils  of  life,  he  endeavours  to  make 
his  way  through  the  world  as  if  there 
tvere  no  God.  The  highest  crime  that 
Gabriel  could  commit  would  be  to  re- 
nounce all  allegiance  to  his  Maker,  and 
henceforward  to  live  as  if  there  were 
no  God.  All  other  iniquities  that  he 
might  commit  would  spring  out  of 
that,  and  would  be  secondary  to  that. 
The  great  sin  of  man  consists  in  re- 
nouncing God,  and  attempting  to  live 
as  if  there  were  no  Supreme  Being  to 
whom  he  owes  allegiance.  All  other 
sins  spring  out  of  that,  and  are  sub- 
ordinate to  it. 

5.  There  tvere  they  in  great  fear. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  they  feared  a  fear. 
The  idea  is,  that  they  were  in  great 
terror  or  consternation.  They  were 
not  calm  in  their  belief  that  there  was 
no  God.  They  endeavoured  to  be. 
They  washed  to  satisfy  themselves 
that  there  was  no  God,  and  that  they 
had  nothing  to  dread.  But  they 
could  not  do  this.  In  spite  of  all 
their  efforts,  there  was  such  proof  of 
his  existence,  and  of  his  being  the 
friend  of  the  righteous,  and  conse- 
quently the  enemy  of  such  as  they 


tion  of  the  righteous. 

6  Te  have  shamed  the  counsel 

i  Psa.  liii.  5. 


themselves  were,  as  to  fill  their  minds 
with  alarm.  Men  cannot,  by  an  effort 
of  will,  get  rid  of  the  evidence  that 
there  is  a  God.  In  the  face  of  all 
their  attempts  to  convince  themselves 
of  this,  the  demonstration  of  his  exis- 
tence will  press  upon  them,  and  will 
often  fill  their  minds  with  terror. 
%  For  God  is  in  the  generation  of 
the  righteous.  The  word  generation 
here,  as  applied  to  the  righteous,  seems 
to  refer  to  them  as  a  race,  or  as  a 
class  of  men.  Comp.  Ps.  xxiv.  6; 
lxxiii.  15 ;  cxii.  2.  It  commonly  in 
the  Scriptures  refers  to  a  certain  age 
or  duration,  as  it  is  used  by  us,  reckon- 
ing an  age  or  generation  as  about 
thirty  or  forty  years  (comp.  Job  xlii. 
16);  but  in  the  use  of  the  term  before 
us  the  idea. of  an  age  is  dropped,  and 
the  righteous  are  spoken  of  merely  as 
a  class  or  race  of  persons.  The  idea 
here  is,  that  there  were  such  manifest 
proofs  that  God  was  among  the  righ- 
teous, and  that  he  was  their  friend, 
that  the  wicked  could  not  resist  the 
force  of  that  evidence,  however  much 
they  might  desire  it,  and  however 
much  they  might  wish  to  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  God. 
The  evidence  that  he  ivas  among  the 
righteous  would,  of  course,  alarm 
them,  because  the  very  fact  that  he 
was  the  friend  of  the  righteous  de- 
monstrated that  he  must  be  the  enemy 
of  the  wicked,  and,  of  course,  that 
they  were  exposed  to  his  wrath. 

6.  Ye  have  shamed.  The  address 
here  is  made  directly  to  the  wicked 
themselves,  to  show  them  the  base- 
ness of  their  own  conduct,  and,  per- 
haps, in  connexion  with  the  previous 
verse,  to  show  them  wrhat  occasion 
they  had  for  fear.  The  idea  in  the 
verse  seems  to  be,  that  as  God  was 
the  protector  of  the  "  poor  "  who  had 
come  to  him  for  "refuge,"  and  as 
they  had  "  shamed  the  counsel  of  the 
poor  "  who  had  done  this,  they  had 
real  occasion  for  alarm.     The  phrase 


118 


PSALM  XIV. 


of  the  poor ;  because  the  Lord  is 
his  refuge. 

7  l  Oh  that  the   salvation   of 

1  icho  icill  give. 


ye 
that 


Israel  were  come,  *  out  of  Zion ! 
When  the  Lord  bringeth  back 
the  captivity  of  his  people,  Jacob 


k  Rom.  xi.  26. 


have  shamed''  seems  to  mean 
they  had  despised  it,  or  had 
treated  it  with  derision,  that  is,  they 
had  laughed  at,  or  had  mocked  the 
purpose  of  the  poor  in  putting  their 
trust  in  Jehovah.  •[  The  counsel. 
The  purpose,  the  plan,  the  act — of 
the  poor;  that  is,  in  putting  their 
trust  in  the  Lord.  They  had  derided 
this  as  vain  and  foolish,  since  they 
maintained  that  there  was  no  God 
(ver.  1).  They  therefore  regarded 
such  an  act  as  mere  illusion.  %  The 
poor.  The  righteous,  considered  as 
poor,  or  as  afflicted.  The  word  here 
rendered    pooi — *>yy,    ani  —  means 

'  T 

more  properly,  afflicted,  distressed, 
needy.  It  is  often  rendered  afflicted, 
Joh  xxxiv.  28 ;  Ps.  xviii.  27  ;  xxii. 
24 ;  xxv.  16 ;  lxxxii.  3  ;  et  al.  In 
Ps.  ix.  12  and  x.  12  it  is  rendered 
humble.  The  common  rendering,  how- 
ever, is  "  poor/'  but  it  refers  properly 
to  the  righteous,  with  the  idea  that 
they  are  afflicted,  needy,  and  in  humble 
circumstances.  This  is  the  idea  here. 
The  wicked  had  derided  those  who,  in 
circumstances  of  poverty,  depression, 

V  want,  trial,  had  no  other  resource,  and 
who  had  sought  their  comfort  in  God. 
These  reproaches  tended  to  take  away 
their  last  consolation,  and  to  cover 
them  with  confusion  ;  it  was  proper, 
therefore,  that  they  who  had  done 
this  should  be  overwhelmed  with  fear. 
If -there  is  anything  which  deserves 
punishment  it  is  the  act  which  would 
take  away  from  the  world  the  last 
hope  of  the  wretched — that  there  is 
a  God.  %  Because  the  Lord  is  his 
refuge.  He  has  made  the  Lord  his 
refuge.  In  his  poverty,  affliction,  and 
trouble,  he  has  come  to  God,  and  put 
his  trust  in  him.  This  source  of  com- 
fort, the  doctrine  of  the  wicked — that 
there  "  was  no  God  " — tended  to  de- 
stroy.  Atheism  cuts  off  every  hope  of 

V  man,  and  leaves  the  wretched  to  de- 
spair.  It  would  put  out  the  last  light 


that  gleams  on  the  earth,  and  cover 
the  world  with  total  and  eternal 
night. 

7.  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israel. 
Marg.,  Who  will  give,  etc.  The  Hebrew 
literally  is,  "  Who  will  give  out  of 
Zion  salvation  to  Israel  ?"  The  word 
Israel  refers  primarily  to  the  Hebrew 
people,  and  then  it  is  used  generally 
to  denote  the  people  of  God.  The 
wish  here  expressed  is  in  view  of  the 
facts  referred  to  in  the  previous  verses 
—the  general  prevalence  of  iniquity 
and  of  practical  atheism,  and  the 
sufferings  of  the  people  of  God  on  that 
account.  This  state  of  things  sug- 
gests the  earnest  desire  that  from  all 
such  evils  the  people  of  God  might  be 
delivered.  The  expression  in  the  ori- 
ginal, as  in  the  margin,  "  Who  icill 
give,"  is  a  common  expression  in 
Hebrew,  and  means  the  same  as  in 
our  translation,  "  Oh  that."  It  is  ex- 
pressive of  an  earnest  desire,  as  if  the 
thing  were  in  the  hand  of  another, 
that  he  would  impart  that  blessing  or 
favour.  %  Out  of  Zion.  On  the 
word  Zion,  see  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  8.  It 
,  is  referred  to  here,  as  it  is  often,  as 
I  the  seat  or  dwelling-place  of  God ; 
the  place  from  whence  he  issued  his 
commands,  and  from  whence  he  put 
forth  his  power.  Thus  in  Ps.  iii.  4, 
"  He  heard  me  out  of  his  holy  hill." 
Ps.  xx.  2,  "The  Lord  ....  strengthen 
thee  out  of  Zion."  Ps.  exxviii.  5, 
"The  Lord  shall  bless  thee  out  of 
Zion."  Here  the  phrase  expresses  a 
wish  that  God,  who  had  his  dwelling 
in  Zion,  would  put  forth  his  power  in 
granting  complete  deliverance  to  his 
people.  Tf  When  the  Lord  bringeth 
back.  Literally  "  In  Jehovah's  bring- 
ing back  the  captivity  of  his  people." 
\  That  is,  the  particular  salvation 
which  the  psalmist  prayed  for  was 
that  Jehovah  would  return  the  cap- 
vtivity  of  his  people,  or  restore  them 
1  from  captivity.      %  The  captivity  of 


PSALM  XV. 


119 


shall  rejoice,  and  Israel  shall  be 

his  people.  This  is  anguage  taken 
from  a  captivity  iu  a  foreign  land.  It 
is  not  necessary,  however,  to  suppose 
that  any  such  literal  captivity  is  here 
referred  to,  nor  would  it  he  necessary 
to  infer  from  this  that  the  psalm  was 
written  in  the  Babylonian  captivity, 
or  in  any  other  particular  exile  of  the 
Hebrew  people.  The  truth  was,  that 
the  Hebrews  were  often  in  this  state 
(see  the  Book  of  Judges,  passim), 
and  this  language  came  to  be  the 
common  method  of  expressing  any 
condition  of  oppression  and  trouble, 
or  of  a  low  state  of  religion  in  the 
land.  Comp.  Job  xlii.  10.  *!"  Jacob 
shall  rejoice.  Another  name  for  the 
Hebrew  people,  as  descended  from 
Jacob,  Isa.  ii.  3 ;  xli.  21 ;  x.  21 ; 
xiv.  1 ;  Amos  vii.  2  ;  et  s&pe.  Pro- 
fessor Alexander  renders  this,  "Let 
Jacob  exult ;  let  Israel  joy."  The 
idea  seems  to  be,  that  such  a  restora- 
^  tion  would  give  great  joy  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  and  the  language  expresses 
a  desire  that  this  might  soon  occur — 
perhaps  expressing  the  idea  also  that 
in  the  certainty  of  such  an  ultimate 
restoration,  such  a  complete  salvation, 
the  people  of  God  might  noiv  rejoice. 
Thus,  too,  it  will  not  only  be  true 
that  the  redeemed  will  be  happy  in 
heaven,  but  they  may  exult  even  now 
in  the  prospect,  the  certainty,  that 
they  icill  obtain  complete  salvation. 


PSALM  XV. 

This  psalm  refers  to  a  single  subject, 
but  that  the  most  important  which  can 
come  before  the  human  mind.  It  is  the 
question,  Who  is  truly  religious  ?  who 
will  enter  heaven  ?  who  will  be  saved  ? 
The  psalm  contains  a  statement  of  what 
real  religion  is ;  one  of  the  most  explicit 
and  formal  of  the  statements  which  we 
have  in  the  Old  Testament  on  that 
subject.  The  fomi  in  which  the  matter 
is  presented  is  that  of  a  question  in  the 
first  verse,  and  of  the  answer  to  that 
question  in  the  other  verses  of  the  psalm. ' 

I.  The  question,  ver.  1.  The  question 
is,  AYho  shall  be  permitted  to  reside  with 
God  in  his  tabernacle  ?    who  shall  be 


glad. 


entitled  to  the  privilege  of  dwelling  on 
his  holy  hill  (that  is,  Zion,  regarded  as 
the  dwelling-place  of  God,  and  the 
emblem  of  heaven)  ?  In  other  words, 
Who  has  such  a  character  as  to  be  en- 
titled to  hope  for  the  favour  and  friend- 
ship of  God  ? 

II.  The  answer,  vers.  2  5.  The 
answer  embraces  the  following  particu- 
lars :  — 

(1)  The  man  who  is  upright,  just, 
honest,  truthful,  ver.  2. 

(2)  The  man  who  treats  his  neighbour 
properly ;  who  does  not  slander  or 
reproach  him ;  who  does  not  readily 
listen  to  calumnious  reports  hi  regard  to 
him,  ver.  3. 

(3)  The  man  who  regards  the  righ- 
teous and  the  wicked  as  they  should  be 
regarded  ;  who  looks  with  proper  dis- 
approbation on  all  who  are  '"vile"  in 
their  character,  and  Avith  true  respect  on 
all  who  fear  the  Lord,  ver.  4. 

(4)  The  man  who  is  faithful  to  an 
engagement,  though  it  proves  to  be 
against  his  own  interest,  ver.  4. 

(5)  The  man  who  does  not  take 
advantage  of  the  necessities  of  others, 
who  does  not  put  out  his  money  "  to 
usury,"  and  who,  if  a  magistrate,  does 
not  take  a  bribe  to  induce  him  to  con- 
demn the  innocent,  ver.  5. 

These  are  characteristics  of  true  reli- 
gion everywhere,  and  it  is  as  true  now 
as  it  was  when  this  psalm  was  composed 
that  it  is  only  those  who  possess  this 
character  who  hare  a  right  to  regard 
themselves  as  the  friends  of  God,  or  who 
have  a  well-founded  hope  of  dwelling 
with  him  in  heaven. 

The  psalm  pm-ports,  in  the  title,  to  be 
"A  Psalm  of  David."  It  is  not  known 
on  what  occasion  it  was  written,  nor  is  it 
material  to  know  this  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  psalm.  It  has  been  supposed 
by  some  that  it  was  composed  on  the 
occasion  when  the  ark  was  earned  up 
from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  (2  Sam. 
vi.  12,  seq.),  but  there  is  nothing  in  the 
psalm  itself  which  should  lead  us  to  refer 
it  to  that  occasion,  or  to  any  other 
special  occasion.  It  seems  rather — like 
Ps.  i. — to  be  adapted  to  all  times  and  all 
places.  It  contains  a  general  illustra- 
tion of  the  nature  of  true  religion,  and 
there  has  been  no  state  of  things  in  the 
world  in  which  such  a  psalm  might  not 
be  appropriately  composed ;  there  is 
none  in  which  it  may  not  be  appropri- 
ately read  and  pondered. 


120 


PSALM   XV. 


PSALM  XV. 

&  Psalm  of  David. 

J"  ORD,  who  shall  1  abide  in  thy 
•^  tabernacle  ?  who  shall  dwell 


sojourn. 


1.  Lord,  tcho  shall  abide  in  thy 
tabernacle  ?  Marg.,  sojourn.  The 
Hebrew  word  means  properly  to  so- 
journ ;  that  is,  to  abide  in  a  place  as 
a  sojourner  or  stranger ;  not  perma- 
nently, but  only  for  a  while.  The 
idea  in  this  place  is  taken  from  the 
word  tabernacle  or  tent,  with  which 
one  naturally  associates  the  thought 
of  sojourning,  rather  than  that  of  a 
permanent  abode.  Comp.  Heb.  xi.  9. 
It  should  not  be  inferred,  however, 
that  it  is  meant  here  that  the  resi- 
dence with  God  would  be  temporary. 
The  idea  of  permanency  is  fully  ex- 
pressed in  the  other  member  of  the 
sentence,  and  the  language  here  is 
only  such  as  was  customary  in  speak- 
ing of  the  righteous — language  de- 
rived from  the  fact  that  in  early 
times  men  dwelt  in  tents  rather  than 
in  permanent  habitations.  ^~  Who 
shall  dicell  in  thy  holy  hill  1  Zion, 
regarded  as  the  dwelling-place  of 
God,  and  the  type  of  heaven — the 
eternal  abode  of  the  Most  High.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  6.  The  question  is 
equivalent  to  .asking,  Who  is  quali- 
fied to  dwell  with  God  ?  who  may 
properly  be  regarded  as  his  friend  ? 
who  has  a  title  to  his  favour  ?  who  is 
truly  pious  ?  By  us  the  same  ques- 
tion would  be  put  in  another  form, 
though  implying  the  same  thing : 
Who  is  qualified  to  become  a  member 
of  the  church;  who  has  evidence  of 
true  conversion  and  real  piety  ?  who 
is  he  who  is  prepared  for  heaven  ? 

2.  He  that  tvalketh  uprightly. 
Heb.,  "  walking  perfectly ;"  that  is, 
one  who  walks  or  lives  perfectly.  The 
word  "  icalk "  in  the  Scriptures  is 
often  used  to  denote  the  manner  of 
life; — life  being  represented  as  a 
journey.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1.  The 
word  here  rendered  "  uprightly,"  or, 
in  the  H?brew,  peifectly,  means  that 
which  is  complete  in    all    its  parts ; 


in  thy  holy  hill  ? 

2  He  that  walketh  uprightly, 
and  worketh  righteousness,  and 
speak eth  the  truth  in  his  heart. 

3  He  that  backbiteth  not  with 


where  no  part  is  wanting  or  is  defec- 
tive. See  the  word  explained  in  the 
Notes  on  Job  i.  1.  The  word  is  not 
used  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  often 
employed  now,  as  denoting  absolute 
freedom  from  sin,  but  as  meaning  that 
the  character  was  complete  in  all  its 
parts ;  or  that  the  person  referred  to 
v\  as  upright  alike  in  regard  to  God 
and  to  man.  See  the  sentiment  here 
expressed  explained  in  the  Notes  on 
Isa.  xxxiii.  15.  *i"  And  icorketh  right- 
eousness. Does  right.  That  is,  he 
does  what  is  proper  to  be  done  in  re- 
lation to  God  and  to  man.  Compare 
Micah  vi.  8.  The  doctrine  is  every- 
where laid  down  in  the  Scriptures 
that  no  man  can  be  a  friend  of  God 
who  does  not  do  habitually  what  is 
right.  See  1  John  iii.  6 — 10.  r  And 
speaketh  the  truth  in  his  heart.  He 
uses  language  that  is  sincere,  and  that 
is  in  accordance  with  his  real  belief. 
This  is  opposed  to  all  mere  outward 
professions,  and  all  hypocritical  pre- 
tences. His  religion  has  its  seat  in 
the  heart,  and  is  not  the  religion  of 
forms;  his  acts  are  the  expressions  of 
upright  intentions  and  purposes,  and 
are  not  performed  for  selfish  and  hypo- 
critical ends.  This  is  everywhere  the 
nature  of  true  religion. 

3.  He  that  backbiteth  not  with  his 
tongue.  The  word  backbite  means  to 
censure;    slander;    reproach;   speak 

evil    of.     The    Hebrew    word — by). 

-  -i 

ragal — a  verb  formed  from  the  word 
foot,  means  properly  to  foot  it,  and 
then  to  go  about.  Then  it  means  to 
go  about  as  a  tale-bearer  or  slan- 
derer; to  circulate  reports  unfavour- 
able to  others.  It  is  not  improperly 
rendered  here  backbite ;  and  the  idea 
is,  that  it  is  essential  to  true  piety 
that  one  should  not  be  a  slanderer,  or 
should  not  circulate  evil  reports  in 
regard  to  others.  On  the  use  of  the 
tongue,  see  Notes  on  James  iii.  2 — 11. 


PSALM  XV. 


121 


his  tongue,  nor  doeth  evil  to  his 
neighbour,  nor  l  taketh  up  a  re- 
proach against  his  neighbour. 

1  Or,  recciretk,  or,  endurdh. 


^[  Nor  doeth  evil  to  his  neighbour. 
That  does  his  neighbour  no  harm. 
This  refers  to  injury  in  any  way, 
whether  by  word  or  deed.  The  idea 
is,  that  the  man  who  will  be  admitted 
to  dwell  on  the  holy  hill  of  Zion,  the 
man  who  is  truly  religious,  is  one 
who  does  no  injury  to  any  one;  who 
always  does  that  which  is  right  to 
others.  The  word  neighbour  usually 
refers  to  one  who  resides  near  us; 
and  then  it  denotes  all  persons  who  are 
near  to  us  in  the  sense  that  we  have 
business  relations  with  them  ; — all 
persons  with  whom  we  have  anything 
to  do.  It  is  used  in  this  sense  here 
as  referring  to  our  dealings  with 
other  persons.  •[[  Nor  taketh  up  a 
reproach.  Marg.,  or  receiveth,  or,  en- 
dureth.  The  idea  is  that  of  taking  tip, 
or  receiving  as  true,  or  readily  giving 
credit  to  it.  He  is  slow  to  believe 
evil  of  another.  He  does  not  grasp 
at  it  greedily  as  if  he  had  pleasure  in 
it.  He  does  not  himself  originate 
such  a  reproach,  nor  does  he  readily 
and  cheerfully  credit  it  when  it  is 
stated  by  others.  If  he  is  constrained 
to  believe  it,  it  is  only  because  the 
evidence  becomes  so  strong  that  he 
cannot  resist  it,  and  his  believing  it  is 
contrary  to  all  the  desires  of  his 
heart.  This  is  true  religion  every- 
where; but  this  is  contrary  to  the 
conduct  of  no  small  part  of  the  world. 
There  are  large  classes  of  persons  to 
whom  nothing  is  more  acceptable 
than  reproachful  accusations  of  others, 
and  who  embrace  no  reports  more 
readily  than  they  do  those  which  im- 
pute bad  conduct  or  bad  motives  to 
them.  Often  there  is  nothing  more 
marked  in  true  conversion  than  the 
change  which  is  produced  in  this  re- 
spect. He  who  delighted  in  gossip 
and  in  slanderous  reports  of  others  ; 
who  found  pleasure  in  the  alleged 
failings  and  errors  of  his  neighbours; 

VOL.  I. 


4  In  whose  eyes  a  vile  person 
is  contemned ;  but  he  honoureth 
them  that  fear  the  Lord.  He 
that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt,  and 


changeth  not. 


who  gladly  lent  a  listening  ear  to  the 
first  intimations  of  this  kind,  and  who 
cheerfully  contributed  his  influence 
in  giving  circulation  to  such  things, 
augmenting  such  reports  as  they 
passed  through  his  hands, — now  sin- 
cerely rejoices  on  hearing  everybody 
well  spoken  of,  and  does  all  that  can 
be  done  consistently  with  truth  to 
check  such  reports,  and  to  secure  to 
every  man  a  good  name. 

4.  In  ichose  eyes  a  vile  person  is 
contemned.  That  is,  who  does  not 
show  respect  to  a  man  of  base  or  bad 
character  on  account  of  his  wealth, 
his  position,  or  his  rank  in  life.  He 
estimates  character  as  it  is  in  itself, 
and  not  as  derived  from  rank,  rela- 
tionship, or  station.  While,  as  stated 
in  the  previous  verse,  he  is  not 
disposed  to  take  up  a  false  or  evil 
report  against  another,  he  is  at  the 
same  time  disposed  to  do  justice  to 
all,  and  does  not  honour  those  who  do 
not  deserve  to  be  honoured,  or  apolo- 
gise for  base  conduct  because  it  is 
committed  by  one  of  exalted  station 
or  rank.  Loving  virtue  and  piety 
for  their  own  sake,  he  hates  all  that 
is  opposite;  and  where  conduct  de- 
serves reprobation,  no  matter  where 
found,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  avow 
his  conviction  in  regard  to  it.  The 
sentiment  here  is  substantially  the 
same  as  in  Psalm  i.  1.  See  Xotes  on 
that  verse,  \  But  he  honoureth  them 
that  fear  the  Lokd.  No  matter  in 
what  rank  or  condition  of  life  they 
may  be  found.  Where  there  is  true 
piety  he  honours  it.  He  is  willing 
to  be  known  as  one  that  honours  it, 
and  is  willing  to  bear  all  the  reproach 
that  may  be  connected  with  such  a 
deeply  cherished  respect,  and  with 
such  an  avowal.  Comp.  Psalm  i.  1. 
•([  He  that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt, 
and  changeth  not.  Who  has  made  a 
promise,  or  entered  into  a  contract, 
G 


122 


PSALM  XV. 


5  He  (hat  putteth.  not  out  his 
money  to  usury,  l  nor  taketh  re- 


tlic  innocent.     He 

/  E/.ek.  xviii.  8,  17;  xxii.  12. 


ward  against 


that  is  likely  to  turn  out  contrary  to 
his  expectations,  to  bis  own  disad- 
vantage ;  but  who  still  adheres  to  his 
engagement.  If  the  thing  itself  is 
wrong ;  if  he  has  made  a  promise,  or 
pledged  himself  to  do  a  wicked  thing, 
he  cannot  be  under  obligation  to  ex- 
ecute it ;  he  should  at  once  abandon 
it  (comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  xiv.  9)  ; 
but  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  violate  an 
agreement  simply  because  it  will  be  a 
loss  to  him,  or  because  he  ascertains 
that  it  will  not  be,  as  he  supposed,  to 
bis  advantage.  The  principles  here 
laid  down  will  extend  to  all  contracts 
or  agreements,  pecuniary  or  other- 
wise, and  should  be  a  general  prin- 
ciple regulating  all  our  transactions 
with  our  fellow-men.  The  only  limi- 
tation in  the  rule  is  that  above  stated, 
when  the  promise  or  the  contract 
would  involve  that  which  is  morally 
wrong. 

5.  He  that  putteth  not  out  his 
money  to  usury.  The  word  usury 
formerly  denoted  legal  interest,  or  a 
premium  for  the  use  of  money.  In 
this  sense  the  word  is  no  longer  used 
in  our  language,  but  it  always  now  de- 
notes unlawftd  interest ;  "a  premium 
or  compensation  paid,  or  stipulated  to 
be  paid,  for  the  use  of  money  borrowed 
or  retained,  beyond  the  rate  of  inte- 
rest established  by  law."  Webster. — 
The  Hebrew  word  used  here— TTlEb, 
neshech — means  interest,  that  is,  a 
premium  or  compensation  for  the 
use  of  money  in  any  manner,  or  to 
any  extent.  The  reference  is  to  the 
law  of  the  Hebrews,  which  forbade 
such  a  loaning  of  money  to  the  poor, 
and  especially  to  poor  Israelites,  Ex. 
xxii.  25;  Lev.  xxv.  35,  36,  37. 
Although  this  was  forbidden  in  re- 
spect to  the  Israelites,  yet  the  lending 
of  money  on  interest,  or  "usury" 
in  a  lawful  sense,  was  allowed  towards 
"strangers,"  or  towards  the  people 
of  other  nations.  See  Deut.  xxiii. 
19,  20.  The  ground  of  the  distinc- 
tion  was,   that   the    Hebrews    were 


regarded  as  a  nation  of  brethren ; 
that,  as  such,  they  should  be  willing 
to  accommodate  and  aid  each  other ; 
that  they  should  not  do  anything 
that  could  be  regarded  as  unbrotherly. 
In  respect  to  other  people  it  was 
allowed,  not  because  it  was  proper  to 
take  advantage  of  their  wants,  and  to 
oppress  them,  but  because  this  pecu- 
liar reason  did  not  exist  in  regard  to 
them.  That  might  be  improper  in  a 
family,  among  brothers  and  sisters, 
which  would  be  entirely  proper  to- 
wards those  who  did  not  sustain  this 
peculiar  relation;  and  we  may  con- 
ceive of  cases — such  cases  in  fact 
often  occur — u  hen  it  would  be  unkind 
in  the  highest  degree  to  exact  inte- 
rest of  a  brother,  or  an  intimate 
friend,  while  it  is  perfectly  proper  to 
receive  the  ordinary  allowance  for 
the  use  of  money  in  our  business 
transactions  (that  is,  the  ordinary 
rate  of  interest)  of  those  who  do  not 
sustain  to  us  this  peculiar  relation. 
The  fact  that  it  was  allowed  to  the 
Hebrews  to  take  interest  of  the  peo- 
ple of  other  nations,  shows  that  there 
was  nothing  morally  wrong  in  the 
thing  itself;  and,  in  fact,  there  can 
be  no  reason  why  a  man,  to  whom  it 
is  an  accommodation,  should  not  pay 
for  the  use  of  money  as  well  as  for 
the  use  of  any  other  property.  The 
thing  forbidden  here,# therefore,  is  not 
the  taking  of  interest  in  any  case, 
but  the  taking  of  interest  in  such  a 
way  as  would  be  oppressive  and  hard, 
— as  of  a  Hebrew  demanding  it  from 
bis  poor  and  needy  brother ;  and,  by 
consequence,  it  would  forbid  the  ex- 
acting of  unusual  and  unlawful  rates 
of  interest,  or  taking  advantage  of 
the  necessities  of  others — by  evading 
the  provisions  of  law,  and  making 
their  circumstances  an  occasion  of  ex- 
tortion. In  one  word,  the  thing  for- 
bidden is  a  harsh,  grasping,  griping 
disposition ;  a  disposition  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  embarrassments  of 
others    to    increase   our   own   gains. 


PSALM  XVI 

that    doetli    these    things    shall 


123 


never  "!  be  moved. 

m  2  Pet.  i.  10. 


Kindness,  and  an  accommodating 
spirit  in  business  transactions,  are  as 
much  demanded  now  by  the  princi- 
ples of  religion  as  they  were  when 
this  psalm  was  written,  or  as  they 
were  under  the  law  which  forbade 
the  taking  of  interest  from  a  poor 
and  needy  brother.  %  Nor  taketh 
reward  against  the  innocent.  Who 
does  not  take  a  bribe;  that  is,  does 
not  accept  a  pecuniary  consideration, 
or  any  other  consideration,  to  induce 
him  to  decide  a  cause  against  justice. 
He  is  not,  in  any  way,  to  allow  any 
such  considerations  to  influence  him, 
or  to  sway  his  judgment.  The  taking 
of  bribes  is  often  expressly  forbidden 
in  the  Scriptures.  See  Ex.  xxiii.  8; 
Deut.  xvi.  19;  xxvii.  25;  Prov.  xvii. 

23.  %  He  that  doeth  these  things 
shall  never  be  moved.  That  is,  in 
answer  to  the  question  in  ver.  1,  he 
shall  be  permitted  to  "  abide  in  the 
tabernacle"  of  God,  and  to  "  dwell  in 
his  holy  hill."  He  shall  have  a  solid 
foundation  of  hope ;  he  is  a  friend  of 
God,  and  shall  enjoy  his  favour  for 
ever.  In  other  words,  these  things 
constitute  true  religion ;  and  he  who 
has  such  a  character  will  obtain  eternal 
life.  His  foundation  is  sure;  he 
will  be  safe  in  all  the  storms  of  life, 
and  safe  when  the  cold  waves  of  death 
beat  around  him.     Comp.  Matt.  vii. 

24,  25. 

PSALM  XVI. 

This  psalm  expresses  a  confident 
expectation  of  eternal  life  and  happi- 
ness, founded  on  the  evidence  of  true 
attachment  to  God.  It  expresses  the 
deep  conviction  that  one  who  loves  God 
will  not  be  left  in  the  grave,  and  will  not 
be  suffered  to  see  permanent  "corrup- 
tion," or  to  perish  in  the  grave,  for  ever. 

The  contents  of  the  psalm  are  the 
following  : — 

(1)  An  earnest  prayer  of  the  author 
for  preservation  on  the  ground  that  he 
had  put  his  trust  in  God,  ver.  1. 

(2)  A  statement  of  his  attachment  to 
God,  vers.  2,  3,  founded  partly  on  his 
consciousness  of  such  attachment  (ver. 


2),  and  partly  on  the  fact  that  he  truly 
loved  the  friends  of  God,  ver.  3. 

(3)  A  statement  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  no  sympathy  with  those  who  rejected 
the  true  God  ;  that  he  did  not,  and  would 
not,  participate  in  their  worship.  The 
Lord  was  his  portion,  and  his  inherit- 
ance, vers.  4,  5. 

(4)  Thankfulness  that  the  lines  had 
fallen  unto  him  in  such  pleasant  places  ; 
that  he  had  had  his  birth  and  lot  where 
the  true  God  was  adored,  and  not  in  a 
land  of  idolaters,  vers.  6,  7. 

(5)  A  confident  expectation,  on  the 
ground  of  his  attachment  to  God,  that 
he  would  be  happy  for  ever  ;  that  he 
would  not  be  left  to  perish  in  the  grave  ; 
that  he  would  obtain  eternal  life  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  vers.  8-11.  This 
expectation  implies  the  following  par- 
ticulars :  — 

(a)  That  he  would  never  be  moved ; 
that  is,  that  he  Avould  not  be  disap- 
pointed and  cast  off,  ver.  8. 

(b)  That,  though  he  was  to  die,  his 
flesh  would  rest  in  hope,  ver.  9. 

(c)  That  he  would  not  be  left  in  the 
regions  of  the  dead,  nor  suffered  to  lie 
for  ever  in  the  grave,  ver.  10. 

(d)  That  God  would  show  him  the 
path  of  life,  and  give  him  a  place  at  his 
right  hand,  ver.  11. 

Nothing  can  be  determined  with 
certainty  in  regard  to  the  occasion  on 
which  the  psalm  was  composed.  It  is 
such  a  psalm  as  might  be  composed  at 
any  time  in  view  of  solemn  reflections  on 
life,  death,  the  grave,  and  the  world 
beyond ;  on  the  question  whether  the 
grave  is  the  end  of  man,  or  whether 
there  will  be  a  future.  It  is  made  up  of 
happy  reflections  on  the  lot  and  the 
hopes  of  the  pious ;  expressing  the 
belief  that,  although  they  were  to  die, 
there  was  a  brighter  world  beyond  — 
although  the)'  were  to  be  laid  in  the 
grave,  they  would  not  always  remain 
there ;  that  they  would  be  released  from 
the  tomb,  and  be  raised  up  to  the  right 
hand  of  God.  It  expresses  more  clearly 
than  can  be  found  almost  anywhere  else 
in  the  Old  Testament  a  belief  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection— an  assu- 
rance that  those  who  love  God,  and  keep 
his  commandments,  will  not  always  re- 
main in  the  grave. 

The  psalm  is  appealed  to  by  Peter 
(Acts    ii.    25-31),   and  by  Paul  (Acts 


124 


PSALM  XVI. 


PSALM  XVI. 

1  Michtam  of  David. 

p  RESERVE  me,  0  God  :  for  in 
■*•    tliee  do  I  put  my  trust. 

1  Or,  A  golden  Psalm,  Psa.  lvi. — lx. 


2  0  my  soid,  thou  hast  said 
unto  the  Lord,  Thou  art  my 
Lord  :  "  my  goodness  extendeth 
not  to  thee ; 

n  Job  xxxv.  7,  8. 


xiii.  35-37),  as  referring  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  and  is  adduced  by  them 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  they  re- 
garded it  as  proving  that  He  would  be 
raised  from  the  dead.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  suppose,  in  order  to  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  psalm,  that  it  had 
an  exclusive  reference  to  the  Messiah, 
but  only  that  it  referred  to  him  in  the 
highest  sense,  or  that  it  had  its  complete 
fulfilment  in  him.  Comp.  Introduction 
to  Isaiah,  §  7,  iii.  It  undoubtedly  ex- 
pressed the  feelings  of  David  in  refer- 
ence to  himself —his  own  hopes  in  view 
of  death ; — while  it  is  true  that  he  was 
directed  to  use  language  in  describing 
his  own  feelings  and  hopes  which  could 
have  a  complete  fulfilment  only  in  the 
Messiah.  In  a  more  full  and  complete 
sense,  it  was  true  that  he  would  not  be 
left  in  the  grave,  and  that  he  would 
not  be  allowed  "to  see  corruption." 
It  was  actually  true  in  the  sense  in 
which  David  used  the  term  as  appli- 
cable to  himself  that  he  would  not  be 
"left"  permanently  and  ultimately  in 
the  grave,  under  the  dominion  of  corrup- 
tion ;  it  was  literally  true  of  the  Messiah, 
as  Peter  and  Paul  argued,  that  he  did  not 
" see  corruption;"  that  he  was  raised 
from  the  grave  without  undergoing  that 
change  in  the  tomb  through  which  all 
others  must  pass.  As  David  used  the 
language  (as  applicable  to  himself),  the 
hope  suggested  in  the  psalm  will  be 
fulfilled  in  the  future  resurrection  of  the 
righteous  ;  as  the  words  are  to  be  literally 
understood,  they  could  be  fulfilled  only 
in  Christ,  who  rose  from  the  dead  with- 
out seeing  corruption.  The  argument  of 
Peter  and  Paul  is,  that  this  prophetic 
language  was  found  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  that  it  could  have  a  complete 
fulfilment  only  in  the  resurrection  of 
Christ.  David,  though  he  would  rise  as 
he  anticipated,  did,  in  fact,  return  to  cor- 
ruption. Of  the  Messiah  it  was  literally 
true  that  his  body  did  not  undergo  any 
change  in  the  grave.  The  reference  to 
the  Messiah  is,  that  it  had  its  highest 
and  most  complete  fulfilment  hi  him. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Acts  ii.  2-5-31. 

The  title  of  the  psalm  is,  "  Michtam  of 
David."      The    word  Michtam   occurs 


only  in  the  following  places,  in  all  ofl 
which  it  is  used  as  the  title  of  a  psalm  : " 
Ps.    xvi.,    lvi.,    lvii,,    lviii.,    lix.,    lx. 
Gesenius    supposes     that    it    means    a| 
writing,   especially  a  poem,   psalm,   orl 
song  ;  and  that  its  sense  is  the  same  as! 
the  title   to    the  psalm    of    Hezekiahj, 
(Isaiah   xxxviii.    9),  where    the  word 
used  is  rendered  writing.     According  tc 
Gesenius  the  word  here  used— DPDTDj 
Michtam— is  the  same  as  the  word  em- 
ployed in  Isaiah— UJjDTp,  Michtab—ihc 
last  letter  3,  b,  having  been  gradually 
changed  to  D,  m.   Others,  unaptly,  Gese-J 
ni u s  say  s,have  derived  the  word  from  Dl"l  2 
Chethem,  gold,  meaning  a  golden  psalm  I 
that  is,  precious,  or  pre-eminent.     Dl 
"Wette  renders  it,  Schrift,  writing.  It  iaj 
perhaps,   impossible  now  to  determii 
why  some  of  the  psalms  of  David  shoulj 
have  been  merely  termed  writings,  whif 
others  are  mentioned  under  more  specif 
titles. 

1.  Preserve  me,  0  God.    Keep  m( 
guard  me  ;  save  me.     This  langua^ 
implies  that  there  was  imminent  dai 
ger  of  some   kind — perhaps,   as   tl 
subsequent  part  of  the  psalm  wou*' 
seem    to  indicate,    danger  of  deat 
See  vers.  8 — 10.     The  idea  here 
that  God  was  able  to  preserve  hj 
from  the  impending  danger,  and  tl 
he  might  hope  he  would  do  it.    % 
in  thee  do  I  put  my  trust.     That 
my  hope  is  in  thee.     He  had  no  otl 
reliance  than  God;  hut  he  had  coij 
dence  in  him — he  felt  assured  tl 
there  teas  safety  there. 

2.  O  my  soul,  thou  hast  said  u{ 
the  Lord.     The  words  "0  my  soi 
are   not    in   the   original.     A   lite 
rendering  of  the  passage  would 
"  Thou  hast  said  unto  the  Lord," 
leaving    something    to    be   snpplj 
De  Wette  renders  it,  "  To  Jehoval 
call ;  thou  art  my  Lord."    Luther,! 
have  said  to  the  Lord."     The  l{ 
Vulgate,  "  Thou,  my  soul,  hast  sail 


PSALM  XVI. 


125 


3  But  to  the  saints  that  are  in 
the  earth,  and  to  the  excellent, 

the  Lord."     The  LXX.,  "  I  have  said 
unto  the  Lord."     Bishop  Horsley,  "  I 
have  said  unto  Jehovah."  The  speaker 
evidently  is  the  psalmist;  he  is  de- 
scribing his  feelings  towards  the  Lord, 
and  the  idea  is  equivalent  to  the  ex- 
pression "  /have  said  unto  the  Lord." 
Some  word  must  necessarily  be  un- 
derstood,  and   our    translators   have 
probably  expressed  the  true  sense  by 
inserting  the  words,    "  O  my   soul." 
The  state  of  mind  indicated  is  that  in 
which  one  is  carefully  looking  at  him- 
self, his  own  perils,  his  own  ground  of 
hope,  and  when  he  finds  in  himself  a 
ground  of  just  confidence  that  he  has 
put   his  trust   in    God,  and   in  God 
done.  We  have  such  a  form  of  appeal 
in  Ps.  xlii.  5,  11  ;  xliii.  5,  "  Why  art 
♦hou  cast    down,    O  my   soul  ?"      ^f 
Thou   art   my  Lord.      Thou   hast  a 
right  to  rule  over  me ;  or,  I  acknow- 
ledge thee  as  my  Lord,  my  sovereign. 
The  word  here  is  not  Jehovah,  but 
Adonai — a  word  of  more  general  sig- 
j.  ification  than  Jehovah.     The  sense 
is,  I  have  acknowledged  Jehovah  to 
he  my  Lord  and  my  God.     I  receive 
him  and  rest  upon  him  as  such.     ^  My 
^odness  extendeth  not  to  thee.     This 
.ssage  has  been  very  variously  ren- 
red.     Professor    Alexander    trans- 
ites  it,  "  My  good  (is)   not  besides 
thee  (or,  beyond  thee) ;"  meaning,  as 
he   supposes,   "  My   happiness  is  not 
beside  thee,  independent  of,  or  sepa- 
rable   from    thee."      So   De  Wette, 
'  There  is  no  success  (or  good  fortune) 
Lo  me  out  of  thee."     Others  render 
..,  "  My   goodness  is  not  such  as  to 
~  itle    me    to     thy    regard."     And 
;l.ers,  "  My  happiness  is  not  obliga- 
y  or  incumbent  on  thee ;  thou  art 
„  bound  to  provide  for  it."     The 
Latin  Vulgate  renders  it,  "  My  good 
is  not  given  unless  by  thee."     Bishop 
'Vi'slev,    "Thou    art   my   good — not 
sides  thee."     I  think  the  meaning 
''My  good  is  nowhere  except  in 
je  ;  1  have  no  source  of  good  of  any 
I — happiness,    hope,    life,  safety, 
\tion — but  in  thee.     My  good  is 


0  in  whom  is  all  my  delight. 

o  Mai.  iii.  17. 


not  without  thee."  This  accords  with 
the  idea  in  the  other  member  of  the 
sentence,  where  he  acknowledges  Je- 
hovah as  his  Lord ;  in  other  words, 
he  found  in  Jehovah  all  that  is  im- 
plied in  the  idea  of  an  object  of  wor- 
ship— all  that  is  properly  expressed 
by  the  notion  of  a  God.  He  re- 
nounced all  other  gods,  and  found  his 
happiness — his  all — in  Jehovah. 

3.  But  to  the  saints  that  are  in  the 
earth.  This  verse  also  has  been  very 
variously  rendered.  Our  translators 
seem  to  have  understood  it,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  previous  verse,  as  mean- 
ing that  his  "  goodness,"  or  piety,  was 
not  of  so  pure  and  elevated  a  character 
that  it  could  in  any  way  extend  to 
God  so  as  to  benefit  him,  but  that  it 
might  be  of  service  to  the  saints  on 
earth,  and  that  so,  by  benefiting  them, 
he  might  show  his  attachment  to  God 
himself.  But  if  the  interpretation  of 
the  previous  verse  above  proposed  be 
the  correct  one,  then  this  interpreta- 
tion cannot  be  admitted  here.  This 
verse  is  probably  to  be  regarded  as  a 
further  statement  of  the  evidence  of 
the  attachment  of  the  psalmist  to  God. 
In  the  previous  verse,  according  to  the 
interpretation  proposed,  he  states  that 
his  happiness — his  all — was  centered 
in  God.  He  had  no  hope  of  anything 
except  in  him ;  none  beyond  him ; 
none  besides  him.  In  this  verse  he 
states,  as  a  further  proof  of  his 
attachment  to  him,  that  he  regarded 
with  deep  affection  the  saints  of  God; 
that  he  found  his  happiness,  not  in 
the  society  of  the  wicked,  but  in  the 
friendship  of  the  excellent  of  the 
earth.  The  verse  may  be  thus  ren- 
dered : — "  As  to  the  saints  in  the 
earth  (or  in  respect  to  the  saints  in 
the  earth),  and  to  the  excellent,  all  my 
delight  is  in  them."  In  the  former 
verse  he  had  stated  that,  as  to  God, 
or  in  respect  to  God,  he  had  no  source 
of  blessing,  no  hope,  no  joy,  beyond 
him,  or  independent  of  him  ;  in  this 
verse  he  says  that  in  respect  to  the 
saints — the  excellent  of  the  earth — 


126 


PSALM  XVI. 


4  Their  sorrows  shall  be  multi- 
plied that  1  hasten  after  another 


all  his  delight  was  in  them.  Thus  he 
was  conscious  of  true  attachment  to 
God  and  to  his  people.  Thus  he  had 
what  must  ever  be  essentially  the  evi- 
dence of  true  piety — a  feeling  that 
God  is  all  in  all,  and  real  love  for 
those  who  are  his;  a  feeling  that 
there  is  nothing  beyond  God,  or  ivith- 
out  God,  that  can  meet  the  wants  of 
the  soul,  and  a  sincere  affection  for  all 
who  are  his  friends  on  earth.  De 
Wette  has  well  expressed  the  sense  of 
the  passage,  "  The  holy,  who  are  in 
the  land,  and  the  noble, — I  have  all  my 
pleasure  in  them."  ^[  In  the  earth. 
In  the  land ;  or,  perhaps,  more  gene- 
rally, on  earth.  God  was  in  heaven, 
and  all  his  hopes  there  were  in  him. 
In  respect  to  those  who  dwelt  on  the 
earth,  his  delight  was  with  the  saints 
alone.  %  Andtothe  excellent.  The  word 
here  used  means  properly  large,  great, 
mighty  ;  then  it  is  applied  to  nobles, 
princes,  chiefs  ;  and  then  to  those 
who  excel  in  moral  qualities,  in  piety, 
and  virtue.  This  is  the  idea  here, 
and  thus  it  corresponds  with  the  word 
saints  in  the  former  member  of  the 
verse.  The  idea  is  that  he  fouud  his 
pleasure,  not  in  the  rich  and  the 
great,  not  in  princes  and  nobles,  but 
in  those  who  were  distinguished  for 
virtue  and  piety.  In  heaven  he  had 
none  but  God ;  on  earth  he  found  his 
happiness  only  in  those  who  were  the 
friends  of  God.  %  In  zvhom  is  all  my 
delight.  I  find  all  my  happiness  in 
their  society  and  friendship.  The 
true  state  of  my  heart  is  indicated  by 
my  love  for  them.  Everywhere,  and  at 
all  times,  love  for  those  who  love  God, 
and  a  disposition  to  find  our  happiness 
in  their  friendship,  will  be  a  charac- 
teristic of  true  piety. 

4.  Their  sorrows  shall  be  midti- 
plied.  The  word  here  rendered  sor- 
rows— rTi3S3?f  atztzeboth — may  mean 
either  idols  or  sorrows.  Comp.  Isa. 
xlviii.  5  ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  24;  Job  ix.  28; 
Ps.  cxlvii.  3.  Some  propose  to  ren- 
der it,  "  Their  idols  are  multiplied ;" 


god  :     their 

1  Or,  give  gifts  to  another. 


drink-offerings 


of 


that  is,  many  are  the  gods  which 
others  worship,  while  I  worship  one 
God  only.  So  Gesenius  understands 
it.  So  also  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase 
renders  it.  But  the  common  con- 
struction is  probably  the  correct  one, 
meaning  that  sorrow,  pain,  anguish, 
must  always  attend  the  worship  of 
any  other  gods  than  the  true  God; 
and  that  therefore  the  psalmist  would 
not  be  found  among  their  number, 
or  be  united  with  them  in  their  devo- 
tions. %  That  hasten  after  another 
god.  Prof.  Alexander  renders  this, 
"Another  they  have  purchased." 
Bishop  Horsley,  "  Who  betroth  them- 
selves to  another."  The  LXX.,  "  Af- 
ter these  things  they  are  in  haste." 
The  Latin  Vulgate,  "Afterwards  they 
make  haste."  The  Hebrew  word — 
"IHTOj  mahar  —  properly  means  to 
hasten ;  to  be  quick,  prompt,  apt.  It 
is  twice  used  (Ex.  xxii.  16)  in  the 
sense  of  buying  or  endowing;  that  is, 
procuring  a  wife  by  a  price  paid  to 
her  parents ;  but  the  common  mean- 
ing of  the  word  is  to  hasten,  and  this 
is  clearly  the  sense  here.  The  idea 
is  that  the  persons  referred  to  show 
a  readiness  or  vjillingness  to  forsake 
the  true  God,  and  to  render  service 
to  other  gods.  Their  conduct  shows 
that  they  do  not  hesitate  to  do  this 
when  it  is  proposed  to  them;  that 
they  embrace  the  first  opportunity  to 
do  it.  Men  hesitate  and  delay  when 
it  is  proposed  to  them  to  serve  the 
true  God ;  they  readily  embrace  an 
opposite  course, — following  the  world 
and  sin.  ^j  Their  drink-offerings  of 
blood.  It  was  usual  to  pour  out  a 
drink-offering  of  wine  or  water  in  the 
worship  of  idol  gods,  and  even  of  the 
true  God.  Thus  Jacob  (Gen.  xxxv. 
14)  is  said  to  have  set  up  a  pillar  in 
Padan-aram,  and  to  have  "  poured  a 
drink-offering  thereon."  Comp.  Ex. 
xxix.  40,  41;  xxx.  9;  Lev.  xxiii.  13; 
Numb.  xv.  5.  The  phrase  "  drink- 
offerings  of  blood  "  would  seem  to  im- 
ply that  the  blood  of  the  animals  slain 


PSALM  XVI. 


127 


blood  will  I  not  offer,  nor  take 
up  their  names  p  into  my  lips. 
5  The  Lord  is  the  portion  <z  of 


in  sacrifice  was  often  mingled  with  the 
wine  or  water  that  was  thus  poured 
out  in  the  services  of  the  heathen 
gods.  So  Jarchi,  Aben  Ezra,  and 
Michaelis  suppose.  It  would  seem, 
also,  that  the  wosshippers  themselves 
drank  this  mingled  cup.  They  did 
this  when  they  bound  themselves  by 
a  solemn  oath  to  perform  any  danger- 
ous service.  De  Wette. — The  eating, 
and  consequently  the  drinking  of 
blood,  was  solemnly  forbidden  to  the 
Israelites  (comp.  Gen.  ix.  4;  Lev.  iii. 
17 ;  vii.  26 ;  xvii.  10) ;  and  the  idea 
here  is,  that  the  psalmist  had  solemnly 
resolved  that  he  would  not  partake  of 
the  abominations  of  the  heathen,  or 
be  united  with  them  in  any  way  in 
their  worship.  %  Nor  take  up  their 
names  into  my  lips.  As  objects  of 
worship.  That  is,  I  will  not  in  any 
way  acknowledge  them  as  gods,  or 
render  to  them  the  homage  which  is 
due  to  God.  The  very  mention  of 
the  name  of  any  other  god  than  the 
true  God  was  solemnly  forbidden  by 
the  law  of  Moses  (Ex.  xxiii.  13), 
"  And  make  no  mention  of  the  name 
of  other  gods,  neither  let  it  be  heard 
out  of  your  mouth."  So  the  apostle 
Paul  says  (Eph.  v.  3),  "  But  fornica- 
tion, and  all  uncleanness,  or  covetous- 
ness,  let  it  not  once  be  named  among 
you,  as  becometh  saints."  The  idea  in 
these  places  seems  to  be,  that  the 
mere  mention  of  these  things  would 
teud  to  produce  dangerous  familiarity 
with  them,  and  by  such  familiarity 
take  oft*  something  of  the  repugnance 
and  horror  with  which  they  should 
be  regarded.  They  were,  in  other 
words,  to  be  utterly  avoided;  they 
were  never  to  be  thought  of  or  named ; 
they  were  to  be  treated  as  though 
they  were  not.  No  one  can  safely  so 
familiarize  himself  with  vice  as  to 
render  it  a  frequent  subject  of  con- 
versation. Pollution  will  flow  into 
the  heart  from  words  which  describe 


l  mine   inheritance    and   of    my 
cup  :  thou  maintainest  my  lot. 

p  Hos.  ii.  17.      q  Lam.  iii.  24.      l  my  part. 


pollution,  even  when  there  is  no  in- 
tention that  the  use  of  such  words 
should  produce  contamination.  No 
one  can  be  familiar  with  stories  or 
songs  of  a  polluted  nature,  and  still 
retain  a  heart  of  purity.  "  The  very 
passage  of  a  polluted  thought  through 
the  mind  leaves  pollution  behind  it." 
How  much  more  is  the  mind  polluted 
when  the  thought  is  dwelt  upon, 
and  when  utterance  is  given  to  it  in 
language ! 

5.  The  Loed  is  the  portion  of  mine 
inheritance.  In  contradistinction  from 
idols.  The  margin  here  is,  of  my 
part.  The  word  properly  means  lot, 
portion,  part;  and  is  applicable  to 
the  portion  of  booty  or  plunder  that 
fell  to  any  one ;  or  to  the  portion  of 
land  that  belonged  to  any  one  in  the 
division  of  an  estate,  2  Kings  ix.  10, 
36,  37.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
Jehovah  was  the  being  whom  the 
psalmist  worshipped  as  God,  and  that 
he  sought  no  possession  or  comfort 
which  did  not  proceed  from  him. 
%  And  my  cup.  The  allusion  here  is 
to  what  we  drink;  and  hence  the 
term  is  used  in  the  sense  of  lot  or 
portion.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  Ii.  17. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xi.  6.  The  idea 
here  is  this : — "  The  cup  that  I  drink 
— that  cheers,  refreshes,  and  sustains 
me — is  the  Lord.  I  find  comfort, 
refreshment,  happiness,  in  him  alone; 
not  in  the  intoxicating  bowl;  not  in 
sensual  joys;  but  in  God — in  his 
being, perfections, friendship."  ^[  Thou 
maintainest  my  lot.  Thou  dost  de- 
fend my  portion,  or  that  which  is 
allotted  to  me.  The  reference  is  to 
what  he  specifies  in  the  following 
verse  as  his  inheritance,  and  he  says 
that  that  which  was  so  valuable  to 
him  was  sustained  or  preserved  by 
God.  He  was  the  portion  of  his 
soul;  he  was  the  source  of  all  his 
joy ;  he  maintained  or  preserved  all 
that  was  dear  to  his  heart. 


128 


PSALM  XVI. 


6  The  lines  are  fallen  nnto  me 
in  pleasant  places ;  yea,  I  have  a 
goodly  heritage. 

7  I  wilL  bless  the  Lord,  who 
hath  given  me  counsel ;  my  reins 

r  Acts  ii.  25,  etc. 


6.  The  lines.  The  word  here  used 
refers  to  the  lines  employed  in 
measuring  and  dividing  land,  Amos 
vii.  17;  2  Sam.  viii.  2.  Hence  the 
word  comes  to  denote  a  portion  of 
land  that  is  measured  out  (or  that  is 
surveyed  off)  to  any  one, — his  pos- 
session or  property ;  and  hence  the 
word  refers  to  the  condition  in  life. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  in  running 
out  such  a  survey,  his  inheritance  had 
been  fixed  in  a  pleasant  and  desirable 
part  of  the  land.  %  Are  fallen  unto 
me.  Referring  to  the  appropriation 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  land  by 
lot.  The  idea  is,  that  the  land  was 
surveyed  into  distinct  portions,  and 
then  that  the  part  which  fell  to  any 
one  was  determined  by  lot.  This 
was  actually  the  case  in  distributing 
the  laud  of  Canaan,  Numb.  xxvi. 
55;  xxxiii.  54;  xxxvi.  2;  Josh.  xv. — 
xix.  ^[  In  pleasant  places.  In  a 
pleasant  or  desirable  part  of  the  land. 
IT  Yea,  1  have  a  goodly  heritage.  A 
good,  a  desirable  inheritance.  The 
meaning  is,  that  he  regarded  it  as  a 
desirable  heritage  that  he  lived  where 
the  true  God  wras  known ;  where  he 
enjoyed  his  favour  and  friendship. 

7.  I  will  bless  the  Loed,  who  hath 
given  me  counsel.  Probably  the  re- 
ference here  is  to  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  had  counselled  him  to  choose 
him  as  his  portion,  or  had  inclined 
him  to  his  service.  There  is  nothing 
for  which  a  heart  rightly  affected  is 
more  disposed  to  praise  God  than  for 
the  fact  that  by  his  grace  it  has  been 
inclined  to  serve  him  ;  and  the  time 
when  the  heart  was  given  away  to 
God  is  recalled  ever  onwards  as  the 
happiest  period  of  life.  ^[  My  reins, 
etc.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  9.  The  reins 
are  here  put  for  the  mind,  the  soul. 
They  were  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the 
affections,  xL  20;  Job  xix.  27. 


also  instruct  me  in  the,  night- 
seasons. 

8  r  I  have  set  the  Lord  always 
before  me :  because  he  <  is  at  my 
right  hand,  I  shall  not  be  moved. 

s  Psa.  lxxiii.  23—26. 


The  meaning  here  is,  that  in  the 
wakeful  hours  of  night,  when  medi- 
tating on -the  Divine  character  and 
goodness,  he  found  instruction  in  re- 
gard to  God.  Comp.  Ps.  xvii.  3. 
Everything  then  is  favourable  for 
reflection.  The  natural  calmness  and 
composure  of  the  mind ;  the  stillness 
of  night ;  the  starry  heavens ;  the 
consciousness  that  we  are  alone  with 
God,  and  that  no  human  eye  is  upon 
us,— all  these  things  are  favourable 
to  profound  religious  meditation. 
They  who  are  kept  wakeful  by  night 
need  not  find  this  an  unprofitable 
portion  of  their  lives.  Some  of  the 
most  instructive  hours  of  life  are 
those  which  are  spent  when  the  eyes 
refuse  to  close  themselves  in  slumber, 
and  when  the  universal  stillness  in- 
vites to  contemplation  on  Divine 
things. 

8.  I  have  set  the  Loed  always  be- 
fore me.  By  night  as  well  as  by  day  : 
in  my  private  meditations  as  well  as 
in  my  public  professions. .  I  have 
regarded  myself  always  as  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God ;  I  have  endeavoured 
always  to  feel  that  his  eye  was  upon 
me.  This,  too,  is  one  of  the  certain 
characteristics  of  piety, that  we  always 
feel  that  we  are  in  the  presence  of 
God,  and  that  we  always  act  as  if  his 
eye  were  upon  us.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Acts  ii.  25.  If  Because  he  is  at  my 
right  hand.  The  right  hand  was  re- 
garded as  the  post  of  honour  and 
dignity,  but  it  is  also  mentioned  as  a 
position  of  defence  or  protection.  To 
have  one  at  our  right  hand  is  to  have 
one  near  us  who  can  defend  us.  Thus, 
in  Ps.  cix.  31,  "  He  shall  stand  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  poor,  to  save 
him,"  etc.  So  Psalm  ex.  5,  "  The 
Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike 
through  kings  in  the  day  of  his 
wrath."     Ps.  exxi.  5,  "  The  Lord  is 


PSALM  XVI. 


129 


9  Therefore  my  heart  is  glad, 
and  my  glory  rejoiceth  :  my  tiesh 


thy  Keeper ;  the  Lord  is  thy  shade 
upon  thy  right  hand."  The  idea  is, 
that  as  we  use  the  right  hand  in  our 
own  defence,  we  seem  to  have  an 
additional  and  a  needed  helper  when 
one  is  at  our  right  hand.  The  sense 
here  is,  that  the  psalmist  felt  that 
God,  as  his  Protector,  was  always  near 
him;-. always  ready  to  interpose  for 
his  defence.  We  have  a  somewhat 
similar  expression  when  we  say  of  any 
one  that  he  is  "  at  hand ;"  that  is,  he 
is  near  us.  ^  I  shall  not  be  moved. 
I  shall  be  safe ;  I  shall  not  he  dis- 
turbed by  fear ;  I  shall  be  protected 
from  my  enemies.  See  Ps.  x.  6 ;  xv. 
5.  Comp.  Ps.  xlvi.  5.  The  language 
here  is  that  of  one  who  has  confidence 
in  God  in  time  of  great  calamities, 
and  who  feels  that  he  is  safe  under 
the  Divine  favour  and  protection. 

9.  Therefore  my  heart  is  glad.  In 
view  of  this  fact,  that  my  confidence 
is  in  God  alone,  and  my  belief  that  he 
is  my  Protector  and  Friend.  See 
Notes  on  Acts  ii.  26.  %  And  my 
glory  rejoiceth.  The  LXX.  translate 
this,  "  my  tongue,"  and  this  transla- 
tion is  followed  by  Peter  in  his  quo- 
tation of  the  passage  in  Acts  ii.  26. 
See  Notes  on  that  passage.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  whatever  there 
was  in  him  that  was  honourable,  dig- 
nified, or  glorious, — all  the  faculties 
of  his  soul,  as  well  as  his  heart, — had 
occasion  to  rejoice  in  God.  His  whole 
nature — his  undying  soul — hia  exalted 
powers  as  he  was  made  by  God — all 
— all,  found  cause  of  exultation  in  the 
favour  aud  friendship  of  God.  The 
heart — the  understanding — the  ima- 
gination— the  whole  immortal  soul, 
found  occasion  for  joy  in  God.  *[[  My 
flesh  also.  My  body.  Or,  it  may 
mean,  his  whole  person,  he  himself, 
though  the  direct  allusion  is  to  the 
body  considered  as  lying  in  the  grave, 
ver.  10.  The  language  is  such  as  one 
would  use  of  himself  when  he  reflected 
on  his  own  death,  and  it  is  equivalent 
to  saying,  "  I  myself,  when  I  am  dead, 
shall  rest  in  hope;  my  soul  will  not 


also  shall 1  rest  in  hope. 

1    dwell  confidently. 


be  left  to  abide  in  the  gloomy  place 
of  the  dead ;  nor  will  my  body  remain 
permanently  in  the  grave  under  the 
power  of  corruption.  In  reference  to 
my  soul  and  my  body — my  whole  na- 
ture— I  shall  descend  to  the  grave 
in  the  hope  of  a  future  life."  %  Shall 
rest.  Marg.,  dwell  confidently.  The 
Hebrew  is  literally  "  shall  dwell  in 
confidence"  or  hope.  The  word  here 
rendered  "  shall  rest"  means  properly 
to  let  oneself  down ;  to  lie  down,  Num. 
ix.  17 ;  Ex.  xxiv.  16 ;  then,  to  lay  one- 
self down,  to  lie  down,  as,  for  exam- 
ple, a  lion  lying  down,  Deut.  xxxiii. 
20 ;  or  a  people  in  tents,  Num.  xxiv. 
2;  and  hence,  to  rest,  to  take  rest, 
Judges  v.  17 ;  and  then  to  abide, 
to  dwell.  —  Gesenius,  Lex.  Per- 
haps the  sense  here  is  that  of  lying 
down,  considered  as  lying  in  the 
grave,  and  the  expression  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying,  "  When  I  die  I  shall 
lie  down  in  the  grave  in  hope  or  con- 
fidence, not  in  despair.  I  shall  ex- 
pect to  rise  and  live  again."  ^[  In 
hope.  The  word  here  used  means 
trust,  confidence,  security.  It  is  the 
opposite  of  despair.  As  used  here,  it 
would  refer  to  a  state  of  mind  in  which 
there  was  an  expectation  -of  living 
again,  as  distinguished  from  that 
state  of  mind  in  which  it  was  felt 
that  the  grave  was  the  end  of  man. 
What  is  particularly  to  be  remarked 
here  is,  that  this  trust  or  confidence 
extended  to  the  "  flesh  "  as  well  as  to 
the  "  soul ;"  and  the  language  is  such 
as  would  be  naturally  used  by  one 
who  believed  in  the  resurrection  of 
the  body.  Language  of  this  kind  oc- 
curs elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament, 
showing  that  the  doctrine  of  the  re- 
surrection of  the  body  was  one  to 
which  the  sacred  wrriters  were  not 
strangers,  and  that  although  the  doc- 
trine was  not  as  explicitly  and  for- 
mally stated  in  the  Old  Testament  as 
in  the  New,  yet  that  it  was  a  doctrine 
which  had  been  at  some  time  commu- 
nicated to  man.  See  Notes  on  Isa. 
xxvi.  19 ;  Dan.  xii.  2.  As  applicable 
G2 


130 


PSALM  XVI. 


10  For  thou  wilt  not  leare  '  my     soul  in  hell :    neither  wilt  thou 

t  Acts  iii.  15. 


to  David,  the  language  here  used  is 
expressive  of  his  belief  that  he  would 
rise  again,  or  would  not  perish  in  the 
grave  when  his  body  died ;  as  appli- 
cable to  the  Messiah,  as  applied  by 
Peter  (Acts  ii.  26),  it  means  that 
when  he  should  die  it  would  be  with 
the  hope  and  expectation  of  being 
raised  again  without  seeing  corrup- 
tion. The  language  is  such  as  to  be 
applicable  to  both  cases ;  and,  in  re- 
gard to  the  interpretation  of  the 
language,  it  makes  no  difference  whe- 
ther it  was  supposed  that  the  resur- 
rection would  occur  before  the  body 
should  moulder  back  to  dust,  or  whe- 
ther it  would  occur  at  a  much  more 
remote  period,  and  long  after  it  had 
gone  to  decay.  In  either  case  it 
would  be  true  that  it  was  laid  in  the 
grave  "  in  hope." 

10.  For  thou  ivilt  not  leave.     The 
language  here  used  implies,  of  course, 
that   what   is   here   called   the    soul 
would  be  in  the  abode  to  which  the 
name  hell  is  given,  but  how  long  it 
would  be  there  is  not  intimated.    The 
thought  simply  is,  that  it  would  not 
be  left  there ;    it  would  not  be  suf- 
fered to  remain  there.     Whether  it 
would  be  restored  to  life  again  in  a 
few  days,  or  after  a  longer  period,  is 
not    implied   in  the  term   used.     It 
would  be  fulfilled,  though,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  resurrec- 
tion should  occur  in  three  days ;  or 
though,  as  in  the  case    of  David,   it 
would  occur  only  after  many  ages; 
or   though,  as  Abraham    believed    of 
Isaac  if  he  was  offered  as  a  sacrifice 
(Heb.  xi.  19),  he  should  be  restored  to 
life  at  once.     In  other  words,  there  is 
no  allusion  iu  this  language  to  time. 
It  is  only  to  the  fact  that  there  would 
be  a  restoration  to  life.     %  My  soul. 
De  Wette  renders  this,  my  life.     The 
Hebrew  word — tiSSDi.  nephesh — which 
occurs  very  frequently  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, means  properly  breath;  then, 
the  vital  spirit,  life;  then,  the  rational 
soul,  the  mind ;  then,  an  animal,  or 


animated    thing — that    which    lives; 
then,  oneself.     Which  of  these  senses 
is  the  true  one  here  must  be  deter- 
mined from  the   connexion,  and  the 
meaning  could  probably  be  determined 
by  a  man's  asking  himself  what  he 
would  think  of  if  he  used  similar  lan- 
guage of  himself — "I    am  about  to 
die;    my  flesh  will  go  down  to  the 
grave,   and   will   rest  in   hope, — the 
hope  of  a  resurrection;  my  breath — 
my  soul — will  depart,  and  I  shall  be 
dead;    but  that  life,  that  soul,  will 
not  be  extinct :  it  will  not  be  left  in 
the  grave,  the  abode  of  the  dead ;  it 
will    live  again,  live   on    for   ever." 
It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  the 
language  here  would  embrace  the  im- 
mortal   part — that  which  is  distinct 
from  the  body;  and  that  the  word 
here  employed  may  be  properly  un- 
derstood of  the  soul  as  we  understand 
that  word.     The    psalmist    probably 
understood   by   it    that    part   of  his 
nature    which    was    not    mortal    or 
decaying ;  that  which  properly   con- 
stituted his  life.     %  In  hell—i^^b, 
to  Sheol.    See  Notes  on  Ps.  vi.  5 ;  lsa« 
v.  11.     This  word  does  not  necessa- 
rily mean  hell  in  the  sense  in  which 
that  term  is  now  commonly  employed, 
as  denoting  the  abode  of  the  wicked 
in  the  future  world,  or  the  place  of 
punishment ;  but  it  means  the  region 
or   abode  of  the  dead,  to  which  the 
grave   was   regarded   as  the  door  or 
entrance — the  under-world.    The  idea 
is,  that  the  soul  would  not  be  suf- 
fered to  remain  in  that  under-world — 
that  dull,  gloomy  abode  (comp.  Notes 
on  Job  x.  21,  22),  but  would  rise  again 
to  light  and  life.    This  language,  how- 
ever, gives  no  sanction  to  the  words 
used  in  the  creed,  "  he  descended  into 
hell,"  nor  to  the  opinion  that  Christ 
went  down  personally  to  "preach  to 
the  spirits  in  prison  " — the  souls  that 
are  lost  (comp.  Notes  on  1  Peter  iii. 
19) ;  but  it  is  language  derived  from 
the  prevailing  opinion  that   the  soul, 
through  the  grave,  descended  to  the 


PSALM  XVI. 


131 


suffer    thine    Holy   One  to   see  I  corruption. 


under- world — to  the  abodes  where  the 
dead  were  supposed  still  to  reside.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  9.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  soul  of  the  Saviour  at  his 
death  entered  into  "  paradise."  See 
Notes  on  Luke  xxiii.  43.  Tf  Neither 
wilt  thou  suffer.  Literally,  "  thou 
wilt  not  give  "  that  is,  he  would  not 
give  him  over  to  corruption,  or  would 
not  suffer  him  to  return  to  corruption. 
Tf  Thine  Holy  One.  See  Notes  on 
Acts  ii.  27.  The  reading  here  in  the 
text  is  in  the  plural  form,  "  thy  holy 
ones;"  the  marginal  reading  in  the 
Hebrew,  or  the  Keri,is  in  the  singular, 
"thine  Holy  One."  The  singular 
form  is  followed  by  the  Chaldee  Para- 
phrase, the  Latin  Vulgate,  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  the  Arabic,  and  in  the  New 
Testament,  Acts  ii.  27.  The  Maso- 
rites  have  also  pointed  the  text  as  if 
it  were  in  the  singular.  Many  manu- 
scripts and  earlier  editions  of  the  Bible, 
and  all  the  ancient  versions,  read  it  in 
the  same  manner.  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  this  is  the  true  read- 
ing. The  Hebrew  word  rendered 
holy  one — TDTTi  hhdsid — means  pro- 
perly  kind,  benevolent,  liberal,  good, 
merciful,  gracious,  pious.  Gesenius, 
Lex. — It  would  be  applicable  to  any 
persons  who  are  pious  or  religious, 
but  it  is  here  restricted  to  the  one 
whom  the  psalmist  had  in  his  eye — if 
the  psalm  referred  to  himself,  then  to 
himself;  if  to  the  Messiah,  then  to 
him.  The  term  is  several  times  given 
to  the  Saviour  as  being  especially 
adapted  to  him.  See  Mark  i.  24; 
Luke  iv.  34 ;  Acts  iii.  14 ;  comp.  Luke 
i.  35.  It  is  applied  to  him  as  being 
eminently  holy,  or  as  being  one  whom 
God  regarded  as  peculiarly  his  own. 
As  the  passage  here  is  expressly 
applied  to  him  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  (ch.  ii.  27),  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  was  intended  by  the 
Spirit  of  inspiration  to  designate  him 
in  this  place,  whatever  reference  it 
may  have  had  primarily  to  David 
himself,  ^f  To  see.  That  is,  to  ex- 
perience ;    to    be    acquainted    with. 


The  word  is  used  often  to  denote 
perceiving,  learning,  or  understand- 
ing anything  by  experience.  Thus, 
"  to  see  life,"  Eccl.  ix.  9 ;  "  to  see  death," 
Ps.  Ixxxix.  48;  "  to  see  sleep"  Eccl. 
viii.  16  ;  "  to  see  famine"  Jer.  v.  12; 
"  to  see  good,"  Ps.  xxxiv.  12  ;  "  to  see 
affliction,"  Lam.  iii.  1 ;  "  to  see  evil," 
Prov.  xxvii.  12.  Here  it  means  that 
he  would  not  experience  corruption  ; 
or  would  not  return  to  corruption. 
%  Corruption — rin\5)>  shahhath.  This 
word  is  frequently  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  is  translated  ditch  in  Job 
ix.  31 ;  Ps.  vii.  15  ;  corruption  (as 
here),  in  Job  xvii.  14;  Ps.  xlix.  9; 
Jonah  ii.  6 ;  pit,  in  Job  xxxiii.  18,  24, 
28,30;  Ps.  ix.  15;  xxx.  9;  xxxv.  7 ; 
Prov.  xxvi.  27  ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  17;  li. 
14 ;  Ezek.  xix.  4;  xxviii.  8  ;  grave,  in 
Job  xxxiii.  22 ;  and  destruction,  in 
Ps.  Iv.  23.  The  common  idea,  there- 
fore, according  to  our  translators,  is 
the  grave,  or  a  pit.  The  derivation 
seems  not  to  be  certain.  Gesenius 
supposes  that  it  is  derived  from  rniD, 
shuahh — to  sink  or  settle  down  ; 
hence,  a  pit  or  the  grave.  Others  de- 
rive it  from  rin^l),  shahhath,  not  used 
in  Kal,  to  destroy.  The  verb  is  used 
in  various  forms  frequently;  meaning 
to  destroy,  to  ruin,  to  lay  waste.  It 
is  translated  here  by  the  Latin  Vul- 
gate, corrupt ionem ;  by  the  Septua- 
gint,  foatyQopav,  corruption  ;  by  the 
Arabic  in  the  same  way.  The  same 
word  which  is  employed  by  the  LXX. 
is  employed  also  in  quoting  the  pas- 
sage in  the  New  Testament,  where 
the  argument  of  Peter  (Acts  ii.  27), 
and  of  Paul  (Acts  xiii.  35,  36,  37),  is 
founded  on  the  supposition  that  such 
is  the  sense  of  the  word  here  ;  that  it 
does  not  mean  merely  the  pit,  or  the 
grave  ;  that  the  idea  in  the  psalm  is 
not  that  the  person  referred  to  would 
not  go  down  to  the  grave,  or  would 
not  die,  but  that  he  would  not 
moulder  back  to  dust  in  the  grave,  or 
that  the  change  would  not  occur  to 
him  in  the  grave  which  does  to  those 
who  lie  lonsr  in  the  tomb.     Peter  and 


132 


PSALM  XVI. 


Paul  both  regard  this  as  a  distinct 
prophecy  that  the  Messiah  would  be 
raised  from  the  grave  icithout  re- 
turning to  corruption,  and  they  argue 
from  the  fact  that  David  did  return 
to  corruption  in  the  grave  like  other 
men,  that  the  passage  could  not  have 
referred  mainly  to  himself,  but  that  it 
had  a  proper  fulfilment,  and  its  high- 
est  fulfilment,  in  the  resurrection  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  inter- 
pretation the  believer  in  the  inspira- 
tion of  Peter  and  Paul  is  bound  to 
defend,  and  in  reference  to  this  it  may 
be  remarked,  (1)  that  it  cannot  be  de- 
monstrated that  this  is  not  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word.  The  word  may  be 
as  fairly  derived  from  the  verb  to 
corrupt,  as  from  the  verb  to  sink 
down,  and,  indeed,  more  naturally  and 
more  obviously.  The  grammatical 
form  would  rather  suggest  this  deri- 
vation than  the  other.  (2)  It  is  a 
fair  construction  of  the  original  word. 
It  is  such  a  construction  as  may  be 
put  upon  it  without  any  forced  appli- 
cation, or  any  design  to  defend  a 
theory  or  an  opinion.  In  other  words, 
it  is  not  a  mere  catch,  or  a  grasp  at  a 
possible  meaning  of  the  word,  but 
it  is  a  rendering  which,  on  every 
principle  of  grammatical  construction, 
may  be  regarded  as  a.  fair  interpreta- 
tion. Whatever  may  have  been  the 
exact  idea  iu  the  mind  of  David, 
whether  he  understood  this  as  refer- 
ring only  to  himself,  and  to  the 
belief  that  he  would  not  always  re- 
main in  the  grave,  and  under  the 
power  of  corruption ;  or  whether  he 
understood  it  as  inferring  primarily  to 
himself,  and  ultimately  and  mainly  to 
the  Messiah;  or  whether  he  under- 
stood it  as  referring  solely  to  the 
Messiah ;  or  whether  he  did  not  at 
all  understand  the  language  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  led  him  to  employ 
(comp.  Xotes  on  1  Pet.  i.  11,  12),  it  is 
equally  true  that  the  sense  which  the 
apostles  put  on  the  words,  in  their 
application  of  the  passage  to  the 
Messiah,  is  a  suitable  one.  (3)  The 
ancient  versions,  as  has  been  seen 
above,  confirm  this.  Without  an  ex- 
ception they  give  the  sense  of  cor- 


ruption— the  very  sense  which  has 
been  given  to  the  word  by  Peter  and 
Paul.  The  authors  of  these  versions 
had  no  theory  to  defend,  and  it  may 
be  presumed  that  they  had  a  just 
knowledge  of  the  true  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  word.  (4)  It  may  be  added 
that  this  interpretation  accords  with 
the  connexion  in  which  the  word 
occurs.  Though  it  may  be  admitted 
that  the  connexion  would  not  neces- 
sarily lead  to  this  view,  yet  this  in- 
terpretation is  in  entire  harmony  with 
the  statements  in  the  previous  verses, 
and  in  the  following  verse.  Thus,  in 
the  previous  verse,  the  psalmist  had 
said  that  "  his  flesh  would  rest  in 
hope," — a  sentiment  which  accords 
with  either  the  idea  that  he  would  at 
some  future  period  be  raised  from  the 
grave,  and  would  not  perish  for  ever, 
though  the  period  of  the  resurrection 
might  be  remote  ;  or  with  the  idea  of 
being  raised  up  so  soon  that  the  body 
would  not  return  to  corruption,  i.  e., 
before  the  change  consequent  on 
death  would  take  place.  The  senti- 
ment in  the  following  verse  also 
agrees  with  this  view.  That  senti- 
ment is,  that  there  is  a  path  to  life ; 
that  in  the  presence  of  God  there  is 
fulness  of  joy;  that  at  his  right  hand 
there  are  pleasures  for  evermore — a 
sentiment,  in  this  connexion,  founded 
on  the  belief  of  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  and  equally  true  whether 
the  dead  should  be  raised  immediately 
or  at  some  remote  period.  I  infer, 
therefore,  that  the  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul  made  a  legitimate  use  of  this 
passage ;  that  the  argument  which 
they  urged  was  derived  from  a  proper 
interpretation  of  the  language ;  that 
the  fair  construction  of  the  psalm,  and 
the  fact  that  David  had  returned  to 
corruption,  fully  justified  them  in  the 
application  which  they  made  of  the 
passage;  and  that,  therefore,  it  was 
the  design  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  con- 
vey the  idea  that  the  Messiah  would 
be  raised  from  the  dead  without 
undergoing  the  change  which  others 
undergo  in  the  grave;  and  that  it  was 
thus  predicted  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, that  he  would  be  raised  from 


PSALM  XVI. 


133 


11  Thou  wilt  show  me  the 
path  »  of  life :  in  thy  presence  is 
fulness  of  joy  ;  *  at  thy  right  hand 


the  dead  in  the  manner  in  which  he 
was. 

11.  Thou  wilt  shoio  me  the  path  of 
life.  In  this  connexion  this  means 
that  though  he  was  to  die, — to  de- 
scend to  the  regions  of  the  dead,  and 
to  lie  down  in  the  dark  grave, — yet 
there  ivas  a  path  again  to  the  living 
world,  and  that  that  path  would  he 
pointed  out  to  hiui  by  God.  In  other 
words,  he  would  not  be  suffered  to 
remain  among  the  dead,  or  to  wander 
away  for  ever  with  those  who  were  in 
the  under  "world,  but  he  would  be 
brought  back  to  the  living  world. 
This  is  language  which,  in  this  con- 
nexion, could  be  founded  only  on  a 
belief  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
The  word  "  life"  here  does  not  neces- 
sarily refer  to  heaven — to  eternal  life 
— though  the  connexion  shows  that 
this  is  the  ultimate  idea.  It  is  life 
in  contradistinction  from  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dead.  The  highest  form 
of  life  is  that  which  is  found  in  hea- 
ven, at  the  right  hand  of  God;  and 
the  connexion  shows  it  was  that  on 
which  the  eye  of  the  psalmist  was 
fixed.  %  In  thy  presence.  Literally, 
"with  thy  face."  Before  thy  face; 
or,  as  the  sense  is  correctly  expressed 
in  our  version,  in  thy  presence.  The 
reference  is  to  God's  presence  in  hea- 
ven, or  where  he  is  supposed  to  dwell. 
This  is  shown  by  the  additional  state- 
ment that  the  joy  mentioned  was  to 
be  found  at  his  "right  hand" — an 
expression  which  properly  refers  to 
heaven.  It  is  not  merely  a  return  to 
earth  which  is  anticipated  ;  it  is  an 
exaltation  to  heaven.  %  Is  fulness  of 
joy.  Not  partial  joy ;  not  imperfect 
joy ;  not  joy  intermingled  with  pain 
and  sorrow;  not  joy  which,  though 
in  itself  real,  does  not  satisfy  the  de- 
sires of  the  soul,  as  is  the  case  with 
much  of  the  happiness  which  we  ex- 
perience in  this  life, — but  joy,  full, 
satisfying,  unalloyed,  unclouded,  un- 
mingled  with   anything   that  would 


w  there    are  pleasures  *  for  ever- 
more. 


u  Matt.  vii.  14. 
to  Jude  24. 


v  Matt.  xxv.  33. 
x  Psa.  xxxvi.  8. 


diminish  its  fulness  or  its  brightness; 
joy  that  will  not  be  diminished,  as 
all  earthly  joys  must  be,  by  the  feel- 
ing that  it  must  soon  come  to  an  end. 
yi  At  thy  right  hand.  The  right  hand 
is  the  place  of  honour  (Notes,  ver.  8). 
Comp.  Mark  xvi.  19 ;  Heb.  i.  3 ;  Acts 
vii.  56 ;  and  it  here  refers  to  the  place 
which  the  saints  will  occupy  in  hea- 
ven. This  language  could  have  been 
used  only  by  one  who  believed  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  and  of 
the  future  state.  As  applicable  to  the 
author  of  the  psalm,  it  implies  that 
he  had  a  firm  belief  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  a  confident  hope 
of  happiness  hereafter;  as  applicable 
to  the  Messiah,  it  denotes  that  he 
would  be  raised  up  to  exalted  honour 
in  heaven;  as  applicable  to  believers 
now,  it  expresses  their  firm  and  as- 
sured faith  that  eternal  happiness  and 
exalted  honour  awrait  them  in  the  fu- 
ture world.  ^[  There  are  pleasures 
for  evermore.  Happiness  that  will  be 
eternal.  It  is  not  enjoyment  such  as 
we  have  on  earth,  which  we  feel  is 
soon  to  terminate;  it  is  joy  which 
can  have  no  end.  Here,  in  respect  to 
any  felicity  which  we  enjoy,  we  can- 
not but  feel  that  it  is  soon  to  cease. 
No  matter  how  secure  the  sources  of 
our  joy  may  seem  to  be,  we  know  that 
happiness  here  cannot  last  long,  for 
life  cannot  long  continue ;  and  even 
though  life  should  be  lengthened  out 
for  many  years,  we  have  no  certainty 
that  our  happiness  will  be  commen- 
surate even  with  our  existence  on 
earth.  The  dearest  friend  that  we 
have  may  soon  leave  us  to  return  no 
more ;  health,  the  source  of  so  many 
comforts,  and  essential  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  any  comfort  here,  may  soon 
fail;  property,  however  firmly  it  may 
be  secured,  may  "  take  to  itself  wings 
and  fly  away."  Soon,  at  any  rate,  if 
these  things  do  not  leave  us,  we  shall 
leave  them;  and  in  respect  to  happi- 
ness from  them,  we  shall  be  as  though 


134 


PSALM  XVII. 


PSALM  XVII. 

A  Prayer  of  David. 

TJEAR  i  tlie  right,    0   Lord, 
-"•  attend  imto  my  cry ;  give  ear 


they  had  not  been.  Not  so  will  it  be 
at  the  right  hand  of  God.  Happi- 
ness there,  whatever  may  be  its  na- 
ture, will  be  eternal.  Losses,  dis- 
appointment, bereavement,  sickness, 
can  never  occur  there;  nor  can  the 
anticipation  of  death,  though  at  the 
most  distant  period,  and  after  count- 
less millions  of  ages,  ever  mar  our 
joys.  How  different  in  all  these 
things  will  heaven  be  from  earth ! 
How  desirable  to  leave  the  earth,  and 
to  enter  on  those  eternal  joys  ! 

PSALM  XVII. 

This  psalm  is  entitled  "  A  Prayer  of 
David. ' '  By  whom  the  title  was  prefixed 
to  it,  is  not  known ;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  its  appropriateness.  It  is, 
throughout,  a  prayer — fervent,  earnest, 
believing.  It  was  evidently  uttered  in 
the  view  of  danger — danger  arising  from 
the  number  and  the  designs  of  his  ene- 
mies ;  but  on  what  particular  occasion  it 
was  composed  cannot  now  be  determined. 
There  Avere  many  occasions,  however,  in 
the  life  of  David  for  the  utterance  of  such 
a  prayer,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
in  the  dangers  which  so  frequently  beset 
him,  he  often  poured  out  such  warm  and 
earnest  appeals  to  God  for  help.  JJlto 
the  enemies  referred  to  were  cannot  now 
be  ascertained.  All  that  is  known  of 
them  is  that  they  were  "deadly"  or 
bitter  foes,  that  they  were  prosperous  in 
the  world,  and  that  they  were  proud 
(vers.  9,  10)  ;  that  they  were  fierce  and 
*  greedy,  like  a  lion  hunting  its  prey 
(ver.  12)  ;  that  they  were  men  whose 
families  were  in  affluence,  and  men  who 
lived  for  this  world  alone,  ver.  14. 

The  points  which  constitute  the  prayer 
hi  the  psalm  are  the  following: — 

1.  The  prayer  itself,  as  an  earnest 
appeal  or  supplication  to  God  to  do  what 
was  equal  and  right,  vers.  1,  2. 

2.  A  reference  of  the  author  of  the 
psalm  to  himself,  and  to  his  own  life  and 
character,  as  not  deserving  the  treatment 
which  he  was  receiving  from  others, 
vers.  3,  4. 

3.  An  earnest  petition  on  this  ground 
for  the  Divine  interposition,  vers.  5-9. 


unto  my  prayer,  that  goeth  2  not 
out  of  feigned  lips. 

1  justice. 

2  without  lips  of  deceit. 


4.  A  description  of  the  character  of  his 
enemies,  and  a  prayer  on  the  ground  of 
that  character,  that  God  Avould  interpose 
for  him,  vers.  10-14. 

5.  The  expression  of  a  confident  hope 
of  deliverance  from  all  enemies  ;  a  look- 
ing forward  to  a  world  where  he  would 
be  rescued  from  all  troubles,  and  where, 
in  the  presence  of  God,  and  entering 
on  a  new  life,  he  would  awake  in  the 
likeness  of  God  and  be  satisfied,  ver.  1-5. 
The  psalm  terminates,  as  the  anticipations 
of  all  good  men  do  amid  the  troubles  of 
this  life,  hi  the  hope  of  that  world  where 
there  Avill  be  no  trouble,  and  where  they 
will  be  permitted  to  dwell  for  ever  with 
God. 

1.  Sear  the  right.  Marg.,  as  in 
Hebrew,  justice.  The  prayer  is,  that 
Gcd  would  regard  that  which  was 
rigid  in  the  case,  or  that  he  would 
vindicate  the  psalmist  from  that  which 
was  wrong.  It  is  the  expression  of 
his  confident  assurance  even  in  the 
presence  of  God  that  his  cause  was 
right,  and  that  he  was  asking  only 
that  which  it  would  be  consistent  for 
a  just  God  to  do.  We  can  offer  an 
acceptable  prayer  only  when  we  are 
sure  that  it  would  be  right  for  God  to 
answer  it,  or  that  it  would  be  con- 
sistent with  perfect  and  eternal  jus- 
tice to  grant  our  requests.  It  is  to 
be  observed  here,  however,  that  the 
ground  of  the  petition  of  the  psalmist 
is  not  that  he  was  righteous,  that  is, 
he  did  not  base  his  petition  on  the 
ground  of  his  own  merits,  but  that 
his  cause  was  righteous  ;  that  he  was 
unjustly  oppressed  and  persecuted  by 
his  enemies.  We  cannot  ask  God  to 
interpose  in  our  behalf  because  we 
have  a  claim  to  his  favour  on  the 
ground  of  our  own  merit;  we  may 
ask  him  to  interpose  because  wrong  is 
done,  and  his  glory  will  be  promoted 
in  securing  that  which  is  just  and 
right.  %  Attend  unto  my  cry.  The 
word  here  used — 7T21,  rinnah — means 
either  a  shout  of  joy,  Ps.  xxx.  5 ; 
xlii.  4 ;  xlvii.  1 ;  or  a  mournful  cry, 


PSALM  XVII. 


135 


2  Let  my  sentence  come  forth 
from  thy  presence ;  let  thine  eyes 
behold  the  things  that  are  equal. 


outcry,  Availing,  Ps.  Ixi.  1 ;  et  scepe. 
It  is  expressive,  in  either  case,  of  deep 
feeling  which  vents  itself  in  an  audible 
manner.  Here  it  denotes  the  earnest 
utterance  of  prayer.  ^[  Give  ear  unto 
my  prayer.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  1. 
*[  That  goeth  not  out  of  feigned  lips. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  without  lips  of 
deceit.  That  is,  that  is  sincere,  or 
that  proceeds  from  the  heart.  The 
utterance  of  the  lips  does  not  mis- 
represent the  feelings  of  the  heart. 
True  prayer  is  that  in  which  the  lips 
do  represent  the  real  feelings  of  the 
soul.  In  hypocritical  prayer  the  one 
is  no  proper  representation  of  the 
other.  It  is  evident  that  the  prayer 
here  was  not  mere  mental  prayer,  or 
a  -mere  desire  of  the  heart.  It  was 
uttered  prayer,  or  oral  prayer;  and, 
though  private,  it  was  in  the  form  of 
uttered  words.  The  feeling  was  so 
great  that  it  was  expressed  in  an 
audible  cry  to  God.  Deep  emotion 
usually  finds  vent  in  such  audible  and 
fervent  expressions.  Compare  the 
Saviour's  earnest  prayer  in  the  garden 
of  Gethsemane,  Luke  xxii.  41,  seq. 

2.  Let  my  sentence.  Heb.,  my  judg- 
ment. The  allusion  is  to  a  judgment 
or  sentence  as  coming  from  God  in 
regard  to  the  matter  referred  to  in 
the  psalm,  to  wit,  the  injuries  which  he 
had  received  from  his  enemies.  He 
felt  that  they  had  done  him  injustice 
and  wrong;  he  felt  assured  that  a 
sentence  or  judgment  from  God  in 
the  case  would  be  in  his  favour.  So 
Job  often  felt  that  if  he  could  bring 
his  case  directlv  before  God,  God 
would  decide  in  his  favour.  Comp. 
Job  xxiii.  1 — 6.  *!\  Come  forth  from 
thy  presence.  From  before  thee. 
That  is,  he  asks  God  to  pronounce  a 
sentence  in  his  case.  \  Let  thine 
eyes  behold.  He  asked  God  to  ex- 
amine the  case  with  his  own  eyes,  or 
attentively  to  consider  it,  and  to  see 
where  justice  was.  ^f  The  things  that 
are  equal.     The  things  that  are  just 


3  Thou    hast   proved   v  mine 
heart ;  thou  hast  visited  me  in  the 

y  Fsa.  exxxix.  23. 


and  right.  He  felt  assured  that  his 
own  cause  was  right,  and  he  pravs 
here  that  justice  in  the  case  may  be 
done.  He  felt  that,  if  that  were 
done,  he  would  be  delivered  from  his 
enemies.  As  between  ourselves  and 
our  fellow-men,  it  is  right  to  pray  to 
God  that  he  would  see  that  exact 
justice  should  be  done,  for  we  may  be 
able  to  feel  certain  that  justice  is  on 
our  side,  and  that  we  are  injured  by 
them ;  but  as  between  ourselves  and 
God,  we  can  never  offer  that  prayer, 
for  if  justice  were  done  to  us  we  could 
not  but  be  condemned.  Before  him 
our  plea  must  be  for  mercy,  not  jus- 
tice. 

3.  Thou  hast  proved  mine  heart. 
In  this  verse  he  refers  to  his  own 
character  and  life  in  the  matter 
under  consideration,  or  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  innocence  in 
respect  to  his  fellow-men  who  are 
persecuting  and  opposing  him.  He 
appeals  to  the  Great  Searcher  of 
hearts  in  proof  that,  in  this  respect, 
he  was  innocent;  and  he  refers  to 
different  forms  of  trial  on  the  part  of 
God  to  show  that  after  the  most  tho- 
rough search  he  would  find,  and  did 
find,  that  in  these  respects  he  was  an 
innocent  man,  and  that  his  enemies 
had  no  occasion  to  treat  him  as  they 
had  done.  It  is  still  to  be  borne  in 
mind  here  that  the  trial  which  the 
psalmist  asks  at  the  hand  of  God  was 
not  to  prove  that  he  was  innocent  to- 
wards Him,  or  that  he  had  a  claim 
to  His  favour  on  account  of  his  own 
personal  holiness,  but  it  wTas  that  he 
was  innocent  of  any  wrong  towards 
those  who  were  persecuting  him,  or, 
in  other  words,  that  after  the  most 
searching  trial,  even  by  his  Maker,  it 
would  be  found  that  he  had  given 
them  no  cause  for  treating  him  thus. 
The  word  here  rendered  "  proved " 
means  to  try,  to  prove,  to  examine, — 
especially  metals,  to  test  their  genu- 
ineness.    See  Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  9,  10 ; 


136 


PSALM  XVII. 


night;  thou  hast  tried  me,  and 
shalt  find  nothing  :  I  am  pur- 
posed that  my  mouth  =  shall  not 

z  Psa.  xxxix.  1,  2 ;  Prov.  xiii.  3. 


Job  xii.  11.  The  psalmist  here  says 
that  God  had  tried  or  searched  his 
heart.  He  knew  all  his  motives.  He 
had  examined  all  his  desires  and  his 
thoughts.  The  psalmist  felt  assured 
that,  after  the  most  thorough  trial, 
even  God  would  not  find  anything  in 
his  heart  that  would  justify  the  con- 
duct of  his  enemies  towards  him. 
%  Thou  hast  visited  me.  That  is,  for 
the  purpose  of  inspecting  my  charac- 
ter, or  of  examining  me.  The  Eng- 
lish word  visit,  like  the  Hebrew,  is 
often  used  to  denote  a  visitation  for 
the  purpose  of  inspection  and  exami- 
nation. The  idea  is,  that  God  had 
come  to  him  for  the  very  purpose  of 
examining  his  character.  %  In  the 
night.  In  solitude.  In  darkness. 
When  I  was  alone.  In  the  time 
when  the  thoughts  are  less  under  re- 
straint than  they  are  when  surrounded 
by  others.  In  a  time  when  it  can  be 
seen  what  we  really  are  ;  when  we  do 
not  put  on  appearances  to  deceive 
others,  ^f  Thou  hast  tried  me.  The 
word  here  used — ?p!£,  tzaraph — 
means  properly  to  melt,  to  smelt,  sc, 
metals,  or  separating  the  pure  metal 
from  the  dross.  The  meaning  is,  that 
God,  in  examining  into  his  character, 
had  subjected  him  to  a  trial  as  search- 
ing as  that  employed  in  purifying 
metals  by  casting  them  into  the  fire. 
%  And  shalt  find  nothing.  Thou  wilt 
find  nothing  that  could  give  occa- 
sion for  the  conduct  of  my  enemies. 
The  future  tense  is  here  used  to  de- 
note that,  even  if  the  investigation 
were  continued,  God  would  find  no- 
thing in  his  heart  or  in  his  conduct 
that  would  warrant  their  treatment 
of  him.  He  had  the  most  full  and 
settled  determination  not  to  do  wrong 
to  them  in  any  respect  whatever. 
Nothing  had  been  found  in  him  that 
would  justify  their  treatment  of  him ; 
he  was  determined  so  to  live,  and  he 
felt  assured  that  he  would  so  live,  that 


transgress. 

4  Concerning    the    works    of 
men,  by  the  ■  word  of  thy  lips  I 

a  Prov.  ii.  10 — 15. 


nothing  of  the  kind  loould  be  found 
in  him  in  time  to  come.  *[  I  am 
purposed.  I  am  fully  resolved.  %  My 
mouth  shall  not  transgress.  Trans- 
gress the  law  of  God,  or  go  beyond 
what  is  right.  That  is,  I  will  utter 
nothing  which  is  wrong,  or  which  can 
give  occasion  for  their  harsh  and  un- 
kind treatment.  Much  as  he  had 
been  provoked  and  injured,  he  was 
determined  not  to  retaliate,  or  to  give 
occasion  for  their  treating  him  in  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  now  doing. 
Prof.  Alexander  renders  this  "  My 
mouth  shall  not  exceed  my  thought ;" 
but  the  common  version  gives  a  better 
idea,  and  is  sanctioned  by  the  He- 
brew.    Comp.  Geseuius,  Lex. 

4.  Concerning  the  works  of  men. 
In  respect  to  the  works  or  doings  of 
men.  The  reference  is  here  probably 
to  the  ordinary  or  common  doings  of 
mankind,  or  to  what  generally  cha- 
racterises the  conduct  of  men.  As 
their  conduct  is  so  commonly,  and  so 
characteristically  wicked,  wickedness 
may  be  spoken  of  as  their  "  work," 
and  it  is  to  this  doubtless  that  the 
psalmist  refers.  In  respect  to  the 
sinful  courses  or  "paths"  to  which 
men  are  so  prone,  he  says  that  he  had 
kept  himself  from  them.  This  is  in 
accordance  with  what  he  says  in  the 
previous  verse,  that  he  had  given  no 
occasion  by  his  conduct  for  the  treat- 
ment which  he  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  %  By  the  ivord 
of  thy  lips.  Not  by  his  own  strength  ; 
not  by  any  power  which  he  himself 
had,  but  by  the  commands  and  pro- 
mises of  God, —  by  what  had  pro- 
ceeded from  his  mouth.  The  reference 
is  doubtless  to  all  that  God  had  spo- 
ken : — to  the  law  which  prescribed 
his  duty,  and  to  the  promises  which 
God  had  given  to  enable  him  to  walk 
in  the  path  of  uprightness.  He  had 
relied  on  the  word  of  God'  as  incul- 
cating duty ;  he  had  submitted  to  it 


PSALM  XVII. 


137 


have  kept  me  from  the  paths  of 
the  destroyer. 

5  Hold  up  my  goings   in  thy 
paths,  that  my  footsteps  l  slip  not. 


1  be  not  moved. 


as  authority;  he  had  found  encourage- 
ment in  it  in  endeavouring  to  do  right. 
%  I  have  kept  me.  I  have  preserved 
myself.  I  have  so  guarded  my  con- 
duct that  I  have  not  fallen  into  the 
sins  which  are  so  common  among 
men.  f  The  paths  of  the  destroyer. 
The  paths  which  the  "  destroyer " 
treads;  the  course  of  life  which  such 
men  lead.  The  idea  is,  not  that  he 
had  heen  ahle  to  save  himself  from 
violence  at  their  hands,  hut  that  he 
had  heen  enabled  to  avoid  their  mode 
of  life.  The  word  rendered  destroyer 
)  is  from  a  verb  which  means  to  break, 
to  rend,  to  scatter,  and  would  properly 
refer  to  acts  of  violence  and  lawless- 
ness. He  had  kept  himself  from  the 
modes  of  life  of  the  violent  and  the 
lawless ;  that  is,  he  had  been  enabled 
to  lead  a  peaceful  and  quiet  life.  He 
had  given  no  occasion  to  his  enemies 
to  treat  him  as  a  violent,  a  lawless,  a 
wicked  man. 

5.  Hold  up  my  goings  in  thy  paths. 
He  had  been  enabled  before  this  to 
keep  himself  from  the  ways  of  the 
violent  by  the  word  of  God  (ver.  4) ; 
he  felt  his  dependence  on  God  still  to 
enable  him,  in  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  was  placed,  and  under  the 
provocations  to  which  he  was  exposed, 
to  live  a  life  of  peace,  and  to  keep 
himself  from  doing  wrong.  He, 
therefore,  calls  on  God,  and  asks  him 
to  sustain  him,  and  to  keep  him  still 
in  the  right  path.  The  verb  here 
used  is  in  the  infinitive  form,  but  used 
instead  of  the  imperative.  De  Wette. — 
Prof.  Alexander  renders  this  less  cor- 
rectly, "  ]\Iy  steps  have  laid  hold  of 
thy  paths;"  for  he  supposes  that  a 
prayer  here  "  would  be  out  of  place." 
But  prayer  can  never  be  more  appro- 
priate than  when  a  man  realises  that 
lie  owes  the  fact  of  his  having  been 
hitherto  enabled  to  lead  an  upright 
life  only  to  the  "  word  "  of  God,  and 


6  I  have  called  upon  thee,  for 
thou  wilt  hear  me,  O  God  :  in- 
cline thine  ear  unto  me,  and  hear 
my  speech. 


when  provoked  and  injured  by  others 
he  feels  that  he  might  be  in  danger  of 
doing  wrong.  In  such  circumstances 
nothing  can  be  more  proper  than  to 
call  upon  God  to  keep  us  from  sin. 
^[  That  my  footsteps  slip  not.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  be  not  moved.  The  idea 
is,  "that  I  may  be  firm  ;  that  I  may 
not  yield  to  passion ;  that,  provoked 
and  wronged  by  others,  I  may  not  be 
allowed  to  depart  from  the  course  of 
life  which  I  have  been  hitherto  en- 
abled to  pursue."  No  prayer  could 
be  more  appropriate.  When  we  feel 
and  know  that  we  have  been  wronged 
by  others ;  when  our  lives  have  given 
no  cause  for  such  treatment  as  we 
receive  at  their  hands;  when  they 
are  still  pursuing  us,  and  injuring  us 
in  our  reputation,  our  property,  or 
our  peace  ;  when  all  the  bad  passions 
of  our  nature  are  liable  to  be  aroused, 
prompting  us  to  seek  revenge,  and  to 
return  evil  for  evil,  then  nothing  can 
be  more  proper  than  for  us  to  lift  our 
hearts  to  God,  entreating  that  he  will 
keep  us,  and  save  us  from  falling  into 
sin ;  that  he  will  enable  us  to  restrain 
our  passions,  and  to  subdue  our  resent- 
ments. 

6.  I  have  called  upon  thee,  for  thou 
wilt  hear  me,  O  God.  The  meaning 
of  this  is,  "  I  have  called  on  thee 
heretofore,  and  will  do  it  still,  because 
I  am  certain  that  thou  wilt  hear  me." 
That  is,  he  was  encouraged  to  call 
upon  God  by  the  conviction  that  he 
would  hear  his  prayer,  and  would 
grant  his  request.  In  other  words, 
he  came  to  God  in  faith;  in  the  full 
belief  of  his  readiness  to  answer 
prayer,  and  to  bestow  needed  bless- 
ings. Comp.  John  xi.  42;  Heb.  xi.  6. 
If  Incline  thine  ear  unto  me.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  1.  ■[  My  speech.  My 
prayer.  The  reference  here,  as  in 
ver.  1,  is  to  prayer  uttered  before  God, 
and  not  mere  mental  prayer. 


138 


FSALM  XVII. 


7  Show  thy  marvellous  loving- 
kindness,  O  thou  that  savest  l  by 

1  Or,  them  which   trust  in  tlice  from  those 
that  rise  vp  against  thy  right  hand. 


7.  Show  thy  marvellous  loving-kind- 
ness. The  literal  translation  of  the 
original  here  would  be,  "  distinguish 
thy  favours."  The  Hebrew  word 
used  means  properly  to  separate  ;  to 
distinguish;  then,  to  make  distin- 
guished or  great.  The  prayer  is,  that 
God  would  separate  his  mercies  on 
this  occasion  from  his  ordinary  mer- 
cies by  the  manifestation  of  greater 
powers,  or  by  showing  him  special 
favour.  The  ordinary  or  common 
mercies  which  he  was  receiving  at  the 
hand  of  God  would  not  meet  the  pre- 
sent case.  His  dangers  were  much 
greater  than  ordinary,  his  wants  were 
more  pressing  than  usual;  and  he  asked 
for  an  interposition  of  mercy  corre- 
sponding with  his  circumstances  and 
condition.  Such  a  prayer  it  is  obviously 
proper  to  present  before  God ;  that  is, 
it  is  right  to  ask  him  to  suit  his  mercies 
to  our  peculiar  necessities ;  and  when 
special  dangers  surround  us,  when  we 
are  assailed  with  peculiarly  strong 
temptations,  when  we  have  unusually 
arduous  duties  to  perform,  when  we 
are  pressed  down  with  peculiarly  se- 
vere trials,  it  is  right  and  proper  to 
ask  God  to  bestow  favours  upon  us 
which  will  correspond  with  our  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  His  ability  and 
his  willingness  to  aid  us  are  not 
measured  by  our  ordinary  require- 
ments, but  are  equal  to  any  of  the 
necessities  which  can  ever  occur  in 
our  lives.  %  0  thou  that  savest  by 
thy  right  hand.  Marg.,  "  that  savest 
those  that  trust  in  thee  from  those 
that  rise  up  against  thy  right  hand." 
The  Hebrew  will  admit  of  either  con- 
struction, though  that  in  the  text  is 
the  more  correct.  It  is,  literally, 
"  Saving  those  trusting,  from  those 
that  rise  up,  with  thy  right  hand.  The 
idea  is,  that  it  was  a  characteristic  of 
God,  or  that  it  was  what  he  usually 
did,  to  save  by  his  own  power  those 
that  trusted  him  from  those  who  rose 


thy  right  hand  them  which  put 
their  trust  in  iliee  from  those  that 
rise  up  against  them. 

8  Keep  me  as  the  apple  of  tho 


up  against  them.  That  is,  God  might 
be  appealed  to  to  do  this  now,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  accustomed  to  do 
it ;  and  that,  so  to  speak,  he  would 
be  acting  "  in  character  "  in  doing  it. 
In  other  words,  we  may  ask  God  to  do 
what  he  is  accustomed  to  do ;  we  may 
go  to  him  in  reference  to  his  well- 
known  attributes  and  character,  and 
ask  him  to  act  in  a  manner  which  will 
be  but  the  regular  and  proper  mani- 
festation of  his  nature.  We  could  not 
ask  him  to  do  what  was  contrary  to 
his  nature ;  we  cannot  ask  him  to  act 
in  a  way  which  would  be  out  of  cha- 
racter. What  he  has  done  for  men 
always,  Ave  may  ask  him  to  do  for  us ; 
what  is  entirely  consistent  with  his 
perfections,  we  may  ask  him  to  do  in 
our  own  case.  %  By  thy  right  hand. 
By  thy  power.  The  right  hand  is 
that  by  which  we  execute  our  pur- 
poses, or  put  forth  our  power;  and  the 
psalmist  asks  God  to  put  forth  his 
power  in  defending  him.  See  Isa. 
xli.  10;  Job  xl.  14;  Ps.  lxxxix.  13. 
^f  From  those  that  rise  up  against 
them.     From  their  enemies. 

8.  Keep  me  as  the  apple  of  the  eye. 
Preserve  me ;  guard  me  ;  defend  me, 
as  one  defends  that  which  is  to  him 
most  precious  and  valuable.  In  the 
original  there  is  a  remarkable  strength 
of  expression,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
remarkable  confusion  of  gender  in 
the  language.  The  literal  translation 
would  be,  "  Keep  me  as  the  little 
man — the  daughter  of  the  eye."  The 
word  apple  applied  t©  the  eye  means 
the  pupil,  the  little  aperture  in  the 
middle  of  the  eye,  through  which  the 
rays  of  light  pass  to  form  an  image  on 
the  retina  {Johnson,  Webster) ;  though 
ivhy  it  is  called  the  apple  of  the  eye 
the  lexicographers  fail  to  tell  us.  The 
Hebrew  word — "jilli'N,  Ishon — means 
properly,  a  little  man,  and  is  given  to 
the  apple  or  pupil  of  the  eye,  "  in 
which,  as  in  a  mirror,  a  person  sees 


PSALM  XVII. 


139 


eye,  hide  me  under  the  shadow 
of  thy  wings, 

9  From,  the  wicked  that  *  op- 
press me,  from  my  2  deadly  ene- 
mies icho  compass  me  about. 

1  waste. 


his  own  image  reflected  in  miniature." 
This  comparison  is  found  in  several 
languages.  The  word  occurs  in  the 
Old  Testament  only  in  Deut.  xxxii. 
10;  Ps.  xvii.  8;  Prov.  vii.  2;  where 
it  is  rendered  apple ;  in  Prov.  vii.  9, 
where  it  is  rendered  black ;  and  in 
Prov.  xx.  20,  where  it  is  rendered 
obscure.  The  other  expression  in  the 
Hebrew — "the  daughter  of 'the  eye" — 
is  derived  from  a  usage  of  the  Hebrew 
word  daughter,  as  denoting  that  which 
is  dependent  on,  or  connected  with 
(Gesenius,  Lex.),  as  the  expression 
"  daughters  of  a  city "  denotes  the 
small  towns  or  villages  lying  around  a 
city,  and  dependent  on  its  jurisdiction, 
Num.  xxi.  25,  32  j  xxxii.  42 ;  Josh, 
xvii.  11.  So  the  expression  daughters 
of  song,  Eccl.  xii.  4.  The  idea  here  is, 
that  the  little  image  is  the  child  of  the 
eye ;  that  it  has  its  birth  or  origin 
there.  The  prayer  of  the  psalmist 
here  is,  that  God  would  guard  him,  as 
one  guards  his  sight — an  object  so 
dear  and  valuable  to  him.  %  Hide 
me  under  the  shadow  of  thy  ivings. 
Another  image  denoting  substantially 
the  same  thing.  This  is  taken  from 
the  care  evinced  by  fowls  in  protect- 
ing their  young,  by  gathering  them 
under  their  wings.  Comp.  Matt,  xxiii. 
37.  Both  of  the  comparisons  here 
used  are  found  in  Deut.  xxxii.  10 — 12; 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  psalmist 
had  that  passage  in  his  eye — "  He  in- 
structed him,  he  kept  him  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye ;  as  an  eagle  stirreth 
up  her  nest,  fluttereth  over  her  young, 
spreadeth  abroad  her  wings,  taketh 
them,  beareth  them  on  her  wings ;  so 
the  Lord  alone  did  lead  him."  Comp. 
also  Ps.  xxxvi.7;  lvii.  1;  lxi.  4;  lxiii. 
7  ;  xci.  1,  4. 

9.  From  the  tvie/ced  that  oppress  me. 
Marg.,  That  waste  me.  The  margin 
expresses  the  sense   of  the   Hebrew. 


10  They  are  inclosed  in  their 
own  fat :  with  their  mouth  they 
speak  proudly. 

11  They  have  now  compassed 
us  in  our  steps;  they  have   set 

2  enemies  against  the  soul. 


The  idea  is  that  of  being  wasted, 
desolated,  destroyed,  as  a  city  or 
country  is  by  the  ravages  of  war. 
The  psalmist  compares  himself  in  his 
troubles  with  such  a  city  or  country. 
The  effect  of  the  persecutions  which 
he  had  endured  had  been  like  cities 
and  lands  thus  laid  waste  by  fire  and 
sword.  %  From  my  deadly  enemies. 
Marg.,  My  enemies  against  the  soul. 
The  literal  idea  is,  "  enemies  against 
my  life."  The  common  translation 
expresses  the  idea  accurately.  The 
sense  is,  that  his  enemies  sought  his 
life.  %  Who  compass  me  about.  Who 
surround  me  on  every  side,  as  enemies 
do  who  besiege  a  city. 

10.  They  are  inclosed  in  their  ozon 
fat.     The  meaning  here  is,  that  they 

were  prosperous,  and  that  they  were 
consequently  self-confident  and  proud, 
and  were  regardless  of  others.  The 
phrase  occurs  several  times  as  descrip- 
tive of  the  wicked  in  a  state  of  pros- 
perity, and  as,  therefore,  insensible  to 
the  rights,  the  wants,  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  others.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii. 
15,  "  But  Jeshurun  waxed  fat  and 
kicked :  thou  art  waxed  fat,  thou  art 
grown  thick,  thou  art  covered  with 
fatness ;  then  he  forsook  God  which 
made  him/'  etc.  Job  xv.  27,  "  Be- 
cause he  covereth  his  face  with  his 
fatness,  and  maketh  collops  of  fat  on 
his  flanks."  Ps.  lxxiii.  7,  "Their 
eyes  stand  out  with  fatness."  Ps. 
cxix.  70,  "  Their  heart  is  as  fat  as 
grease."  %  With  their  mouth  they 
speak  proudly.  Haughtily;  in  an 
arrogant  tone ;  as  a  consequence  of 
their  prosperity. 

11.  They  have  now  compassed  us. 
Myself,  and  those  who  are  associated 
with  me.  It  would  seem  from  this 
that  the  psalmist  was  not  alone.  It 
is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  there 
is  a  difference  of  reading  in  the  Hebrew 


140 


PSALM    XVII. 


their  eyes  bowing  down  to  the 
earth ; 

12  1  Like  as  a  lion  that  is  greedy 
of  his   prey,    and   as  it    were  a 

1  The  likeness  of  him  (thai  is,  of  every  one  of 
them)  is  as  a  lion  that  desireth  to  ravin. 


text.  The  Masoretic  reading  is  us; 
the  Hebrew  text  is  me,  though  in  the 
other  expression  the  plural  is  used — ■ 
"  our  steps."  There  is  no  impropriety 
in  supposing  that  the  psalmist  refers 
to  his  followers,  associates,  or  friends, 
meaning  that  the  wrong  was  done  not 
to  him  alone,  but  to  others  connected 
with  him.  The  meaning  of  com- 
passed is,  that  they  surrounded  him 
on  every  side.  Wherever  he  went, 
they  were  there,  ^f  In  our  steps. 
Wherever  we  go.  ^[  They  have  set 
their  eyes.  As  those  do  who  are 
intent  on  any  thing ;  as  the  lion  does 
that  is  seeking  its  prey  (ver.  12). 
They  looked  keenly  and  directly  at 
the  object.  They  did  not  allow  their 
eyes  to  wander.  They  were  not  in- 
different to  the  object  of  their  pursuit. 
%  Bowing  down  to  the  earth.  That 
is,  as  the  translators  evidently  under- 
stood this,  having  their  eyes  bowed 
down  to  the  ground,  or  looking  stea- 
dily to  the  ground.  The  image,  ac- 
cording to  Bishop  Horsley,  is  borrowed 
from  a  hunter  taking  aim  at  an  animal 
upon  the  ground.  A  more  literal 
translation,  however,  would  be,  "They 
have  fixed  their  eyes  to  lay  me  pros- 
trate upon  the  ground."  The  Hebrew 
word — ni33j  natah — means  properly 
to  stretch  out,  to  extend  ;  then,  to  in- 
cline, to  bow,  to  depress  ;  and  hence 
the  idea  of  prostrating ;  thus,  to 
make  the  shoulder  bend  downwards, 
Gen.  xlix.  15 ;  to  bring  down  the 
mind  to  an  object,  Ps.  cxix.  112 ;  to 
bow  the  heavens,  Psa.  xviii.  9.  Hence 
the  idea  of  prostrating  an  enemy ;  and 
the  sense  here  clearly  is,  that  they 
had  fixed  their  eyes  intently  on  the 
psalmist,  with  a  purpose  to  prostrate 
him  to  the  ground,  or  completely  to 
overwhelm  him. 

12.  Like  as    a  lion.     Marg.,    The 
likeness  of  him  (that  is,  of  every  one 


lurking 


in  secret 


young  lion  2 
places. 

_  13  Arise,  O  Lord,  3  disappoint 
him,  cast  him  down :  deliver  my 


2  sitting. 


3  prevent  his  face. 


of  them)  is  as  a  lion  that  desireth  to 
ravin.  The  meaning  is  plain.  They 
were  like  a  lion  intent  on  securing 
his  prey.  They  watched  the  object 
narrowly  ;  they  were  ready  to  spring 
upon  it.  %  That  is  greedy  of  his  prey. 
"  He  is  craving  to  tear."  Professor 
Alexander. — The  Hebrew  word  ren- 
dered "  is  greedy,"  means  to  pine,  to 
long  after,  to  desire  greatly.  The 
Hebrew  word  rendered  "  of  his  prey," 
is  a  verb,  meaning  to  pluck,  to  tear, 
to  rend  in  pieces.  The  reference  is  to 
the  lion  that  desires  to  seize  his  victim, 
and  to  rend  it  in  pieces  to  devour  it. 
If  And,  as  it  were,  a  young  lion, 
Hebrew,  "  And  like  a  young  lion." 
^[  Lurking  in  secret  places.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  sitting.  The  allusior  is 
to  the  lion  crouching,  or  lying  in  wait 
for  a  favourable  opportunity  to  pounce 
upon  his  prey.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  x. 
8-10.  There  is  no  special  emphasis  to 
be  affixed  to  the  fact  that  the  "  lion  " 
is  alluded  to  in  one  member  of  this 
verse,  and  the  "young  lion"  in 
the  other.  It  is  in  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  parallelism  in  Hebrew 
poetry  where  the  same  idea,  with  some 
little  variation,  is  expressed  in  both 
members  of  the  sentence.  See  Intro- 
duction to  Job,  §  5. 

13.  Arise,  O  Lobd.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  iji.  7.  %  Disappoint  him.  Marg., 
prevent  his  face.  The  marginal  read- 
ing expresses  the  sense  of  the  Hebrew. 
The  word  used  in  the  original  means 
to  anticipate,  to  go  before,  to  prevent; 
and  the  prayer  here  is  that  God  would 
come  before  his  enemies ;  that  is,  that 
he  would  cast  himself  in  their  way 
before  they  should  reach  him.  The 
enemy  is  represented  as  marching 
upon  him  with  his  face  intently  fixed, 
seeking  his  destruction;  and  he  prays 
that  God  would  interpose,  or  that  He 
would  come  to  his   aid    before    his 


PSALM    XVII. 


Ill 


soul  from  the  wicked,  l  ivhich  is 
thy  c  sword : 

14  From  men  2  ivhich  are  thy 

1  Or,  l>y  tfoj.  c  Isa.  x.  5. 


hand,  O  Lord,  from  men  of  the 
world,  ivhich  have  their  portion  in 
this  d  life,  and   whose  belly  thou 

2  by  thine.  d  Luke  xvi.  25. 


enemy  should  come  up  to  him.  %  Cast 
Jiim  down.  That  is",  as  it  is  in  the 
Hebrew,  make  him  bend  or  bow,  as 
one  who  is  conquered  bows  before  a 
conqueror.  ^[  Deliver  my  soul  from 
the  wicked.  Save  my  life;  save  me 
from  the  designs  of  the  wicked. 
%  Which  is  thy  sword.  The  Chaldee 
Paraphrase  renders  this,  "  Deliver  my 
soul  from  the  wicked  man,  who  de- 
serves to  be  slain  with  thy  sword." 
The  Latin  Vulgate,  "  Deliver  my  soul 
from  the  wicked  man ;  thy  spear  from 
the  enemies  of  thy  hand."  So  the 
LXX.,  "  Deliver  my  soul  from  the 
wicked ;  thy  sword  from  the  enemies 
of  thy  hand."  The  Syriac,  "  Deliver 
my  soul  from  the  wicked,  and  from 
the  sword."  De  Wette  renders  it, 
"  Deliver  my  soul  from  the  wicked  by 
thy  sword/"  Prof.  Alexander,  "  Save 
my  soul  from  the  wicked  (with)  thy 
sword."  So  Luther,  "With  thy 
sword."  The  Hebrew  will  undoubt- 
edly admit  of  this  latter  construction, 
as  in  a  similar  passage  in  ver.  10  of 
this  psalm ;  and  this  construction  is 
found  in  the  margin :  "  By  thy 
sword."  The  sentiment  that  the 
wicked  are  the  "  sword"  of  God,  or  the 
instruments,  though  unconsciously  to 
themselves,  of  accomplishing  his  pur- 
poses, or  that  he  makes  them  the 
executioners  of  his  will,  is  undoubt- 
edly favoured  by  such  passages  as  Isa. 
x.  5 — 7  (see  Notes  on  those  verses), 
and  should  be  properly  recognised. 
But  such  a  construction  is  not  neces- 
sary in  the  place  before  us,  and  it  does 
not  well  agree  with  the  connexion,  for 
it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  the  psalmist 
should  make  the  fact  that  the  wicked 
were  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God 
in  accomplishing  his  purposes  treason 
why  He  should  interpose  and  deliver 
him  from  them.  It  seems  to  me, 
therefore,  that  the  construction  of  De 
Wette  and  others,  "  Save  me  from  the 
wicked  by  thy   sword,"  is   the   true 


one.  The  psalmist  asked  that  God 
would  interfere  by  his  own  hand,  and 
save  him  from  danger.  The  same  con- 
struction, if  it  be  the  correct  one,  is 
required  in  the  following  verse. 

14.  From  men  which  are  thy  hand. 
Marg.,  From  men  by  thy  hand.  Here 
the  rendering  in  the  common  ver- 
sion would  be  still  more  harsh  than 
in  the  previous  verse,  since  it  is  at  least 
unusual  to  call  men  "the  hand" 
of  God,  in  the  sense  that  they  are  his 
instruments  in  accomplishing  his  pur- 
poses. The  more  obvious  construc- 
tion is  to  regard  it  as  a  prayer  that 
God  would  deliver  him  by  his  own 
hand  from  men — from  men  that  rose 
up  against  him.  Comp.  2  Sam.  xxiv. 
14.  %  From  men  of  the  tvorld.  A 
better  construction  of  this  would  be 
"  from  men ;  from  the  world."  The 
psalmist  prays  first  that  he  may  be  de- 
livered from  men  by  the  hand  of  God. 
He  then  repeats  the  prayer,  "  from 
men,  I  say,"  and  then  adds,  "  from 
the  world."  He  desires  to  be  rescued 
entirely  from  such  worldly  plans,  de- 
vices, purposes; — from  men  among 
whom  nothing  but  worldly  principles 
prevail.  %  Which  have  their  portion 
in  this  life.  Their  portion — their  lot 
—  is  among  the  living ;  that  is,  they 
have  nothing  to  look  forward  to — to 
hope  for  in  the  world  to  come.  They 
are,  therefore,  governed  wholly  by 
worldly  principles.  They  have  no 
fear  of  God;  they  have  no  regard  to 
the  rights  of  others  further  than  will 
be  in  accordance  with  their  own 
worldly  interest.  Men  whose  por- 
tion is  wholly  in  this  life  will  make 
everything  subordinate  to  their 
worldly  interests,  ^f  And  whose  belly 
thou  fillest  with  thy  hid  treasure. 
The  meaning  of  this  portion  of  the 
verse  is  that,  in  respect  to  the  object 
for  which  they  lived,  they  were  suc- 
cessful. They  lived  only  for  the 
world,  and  they  obtained  what  the 


142 


PSALM    XVII. 


fill  est  with  thy  hid  treasure : 
1  they  are  full  of  children,  and 
leave  the  rest  of  their  substance 

1  Or, their  children  are  full. . 


■world  had  to  bestow.  They  had  pros- 
perity in  their  purposes  in  life.  The 
Avord  "  hid  "  here  —  hid  treasure 
— means  that  which  is  hoarded,  se- 
creted, carefully  guarded;  and  the 
word  commonly  refers  to  the  practice 
of  secreting  from  public  view  valuable 
treasures,  as  silver  and  gold.  It  is 
possible,  however, .  that  the  reference 
here  is  to  tbe  fact  that  God  has  hid- 
den  these  objects  in  the  depths  of  the 
earth,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  search 
for  them  carefully  if  men  would  ob- 
tain them.  Comp.  Job  xxviii.  1 — 11. 
The  phrase  "  whose  belly  tbou  hast 
filled"  means  that  their  appetite  or 
cravings  in  this  respect  were  satisfied. 
They  had  what  they  wanted.  ^  They 
are  full  of  children.  Marg.,  their 
children  are  full.  The  margin  pro- 
bably expresses  the  sense  of  the  He- 
brew better  than  the  text.  The  lite- 
ral rendering  would  be,  "  satisfied  are 
their  sons ;"  that  is,  they  have  enough 
to  satisfy  the  wants  of  their  children. 
The  expression  "they  are  full  of  chil- 
dren" is  harsh  and  unnatural,  and  is 
not  demanded  by  the  original,  or  by 
the  main  thought  in  the  passage. 
The  obvious  signification  is,  that  they 
have  enough  for  themselves  and  for 
their  children.  ^[  And  leave  the  rest 
of  their  substance  to  their  babes. 
That  is,  what  remains  after  their  own 
wants  are  supplied,  they  leave  to  their 
babes.  They  not  only  have  enough 
for  the  supply  of  their  own  wants  and 
the  wants  of  their  children  during 
their  own  lives,  but  they  also  leave 
an  inheritance  to  their  children  after 
they  are  dead.  The  word  rendered 
babes  properly  means  little  children, 
though  it  seems  here  to  be  used  as 
denoting  children  in  general.  The 
meaning  is,  that  they  are  able  to  pro- 
vide for  their  children  after  they 
themselves  are  dead.  Compare  the 
description  of  worldly  prosperity  in 
Job  xxi.  7 — 11. 

15.  As  for  me.     In  strong  contrast 


to  their  babes. 

15  As  for   me,    I   will  behold 
thy  e  face   in   righteousness :    I 

e  1  Jobn  lii.  2. 


with  the  aims,  the  desires,  and  the 
condition  of  worldly  men.  They  seek 
their  portion  in  -this  life,  and  are  sa- 
tisfied; I  cherish  no  such  desires,  and 
have  no  such  prosperity.  I  look  to 
another  world  as  my  home,  and  shall 
be  satisfied  only  in  the  everlasting 
favour  and  friendship  of  God.  %  x 
tifill  behold  thy  face.  I  shall  see  thee. 
Comp.  Matt.  v.  8;  1  Cor.  xiii.  12;  1 
John  iii.  2.  This  refers  naturally,  as 
the  closing  part  of  the  verse  more 
fully  shows,  to  the  future  world,  and 
is  such  language  as  would  be  employed 
by  those  who  believe  in  a  future  state, 
and  by  no  others.  This  is  the  highest 
object  before  the  mind  of  a  truly  re- 
ligious man.  The  bliss  of  heaven 
consists  mainly,  in  his  apprehension, 
in  the  privilege  of  seeing  God  his 
Saviour;  and  the  hope  of  being  per- 
mitted to  do  this  is  of  infinitely 
more  value  to  him  than  would 
be  all  the  wealth  of  this  world. 
^  In  righteousness.  Being  myself 
righteous;  being  delivered  from  the 
power,  the  pollution,  the  dominion 
of  sin.  It  is  this  which  makes  hea- 
ven so  desirable ;  without  this,  in  the 
apprehension  of  a  truly  good  man,  no 
place  would  be  heaven.  %  I  shall  be 
satisfied.  While  they  are  satisfied 
with  this  world,  I  shall  be  satisfied 
only  when  I  awake  in  the  likeness  of 
my  God.  Nothing  can  meet  the 
wants  of  my  nature ;  nothing  can  sa- 
tisfy the"  aspirings  of  my  soul,  until 
that  occurs.  %  When  I  awake.  This 
is  language  which  would  be  employed 
only  by  one  who  believed  in  the  re- 
surrection of  the  dead,  and  who  was 
accustomed  to  speak  of  death  as  a 
sleep — a  calm  repose  in  the  hope  of 
awaking  to  a  new  life.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Ps.  xvi.  9-11.  Some  have  under- 
stood this  as  meaning  "  when  I  awake 
to-morrow;"  and  they  thence  infer 
that  this  was  an  evening  song  (comp. 
Ps.  iv.  8) ;  others  have  supposed  that 
it  had  a  more  general  sense, — mean- 


PSALM    XVIII. 


143 


shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake, 

ing  "whenever  I  awake;"  that  is, 
while  men  of  the  world  rejoice  iu 
their  worldly  possessions,  and  while 
this  is  the  first  thought  which  they 
have  on  awaking  in  the  morning,  my 
joy  when  I  awake  is  in  God; — in  the 
evidence  of  his  favour  and  friendship; 
— in  the  consciousness  that  I  resemble 
him.  I  am  surprised  to  find  that 
Professor  Alexander  favours  this  view. 
Even  De  Wette  admits  that  it  refers 
to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
that  the  psalm  can  be  interpreted 
only  on  the  supposition  that  it  has 
this  reference,  and  hence  he  argues 
that  it  could  not  have  been  composed 
by  David,  but  that  it  must  have  been 
written  in  the  time  of  the  Exile,  when 
that  doctrine  had  obtained  currency 
among  the  Hebrews.  The  interpret- 
ation above  suggested  seems  to  me  to 
be  altogether  too  low  a  view  to  be 
taken  of  the  sense  of  the  passage.  It 
does  not  meet  the  state  of  mind  de- 
scribed in  the  psalm.  It  does  not 
correspond  with  the  deep  anxieties 
which  the  psalmist  expressed  as 
springing  from  the  troubles  which 
surrounded  him.  He  sought  repose 
from  those  troubles ;  he  looked  for 
consolation  when  surrounded  by  bitter 
and  unrelenting  enemies.  He  was 
oppressed  and  crushed  with  these 
many  sorrows.  Now  it  would  do 
little  to  meet  that  state  of  mind,  and 
to  impart  to  him  the  consolation 
which  he  needed,  to  reflect  that  he 
could  lie  down  in  the  night  and  awake 
in  the  morning  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of 
God,  for  he  had  that  already;  and 
besides  this,  so  far  as  this  source  of 
consolation  was  concerned,  he  would 
awake  to  a  renewal  of  the  same  trou- 
bles to-morrow  which  he  had  met  on 
the  previous  day.  He  needed  some 
higher,  some  more  enduring  and  ef- 
ficient consolation ;  something  which 
would  meet  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  case ;  some  source  of  peace,  com- 
posure, and  rest,  which  was  beyond 
all  this ;  something  which  would  have 
an  existence    where    there    was  jsc 


with  thy  likeness. 


trouble  or  anxiety; — and  this  could 
be  found  only  in  a  future  world.  The 
obvious  interpretation  of  the  passage, 
therefore,  so  far  as  its  sense  can  be 
determined  from  the  connexion,  is  to 
refer  it  to  the  awaking  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  resurrection ;  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  language  itself,  or  in 
the  known  sentiments  of  the  psalmist, 
to  forbid  this  interpretation.  The 
word  rendered  awake — V^p,  kootz — 
used  only  in  Hiphil,  means  to  aivaJce  ; 
— to  awake  from  sleep,  Ps.  iii.  5; 
exxxix.  18;  or  from  death,  2  Kings 
iv.  31 ;  Jer.  li.  39 ;  Isa.  xxvi.  19 ;  Job 
xiv.  12;  Dan.  xii.  2.  f  With  thy 
likeness.  Or,  in  thy  likeness ;  that 
is,  resembling  thee.  The  resemblance 
doubtless  is  in  the  moral  character, 
for  the  highest  hope  of  a  good  man  is 
that  he  may  be,  and  will  be,  like  God. 
Comp.  Notes  on  1  John  iii.  2.  I  re- 
gard this  passage,  therefore,  as  one 
of  the  incidental  proofs  scattered 
through  the  Old  Testament  which 
show  that  the  sacred  writers  under 
that  dispensation  believed  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ; 
that  their  language  was  often  based 
on  the  knowledge  and  the  belief  of 
that  doctrine,  even  when  they  did  not 
expressly  affirm  it ;  and  that  in  times 
of  trouble,  and  under  the  conscious- 
ness of  sin,  they  sought  their  highest 
consolation,  as  the  people  of  God  do 
now,  from  the  hope  and  the  expecta- 
tion that  the  righteous  dead  will  rise 
again,  and  that  in  a  world  free  from 
trouble,  from  sin,  and  from  death, 
they  would  live  for  ever  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God,  and  find  their  supreme 
happiness  in  being  made  wholly  like 
him. 

PSALM  XVHI. 

This  psalm  is  found,  with  some  unim- 
portant variations,  in  2  Samuel  xxii. 
In  that  history,  as  in  the  inscription  of 
the  psalm  here,  it  is  said  to  have  been 
composed  by  David  on.  the  occasion  when 
the  Lord  "•'delivered  him  from  the  hand 
of  all  his  enemies,  and  from  the  hand  of 
Sard."     There    can,  therefore,    be    no 


144 


PSALM  XVIII. 


doubt  that  David  was  the  author,  nor 
can  there  be  any  as  to  the  occasion  on 
which  it  was  composed.  It  is  a  song  of 
victory,  and  is  beyond  doubt  the  most 
sublime  ode  that  was  ever  composed  on 
such  an  occasion.  David,  long  pursued 
and  harassed  by  foes  who  sought  his  life, 
at  length  felt  that  a  complete  triumph 
was  obtained,  and  that  he  and  his  king- 
dom were  safe,  and  he  pours  forth  the 
utterances  of  a  grateful  heart  for  God's 
merciful  and  mighty  interposition,  in 
language  of  the  highest  sublimity,  and 
with  the  utmost  grandeur  of  poetic  ima- 
gery. Nowhere  else,  even  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  are  there  to  be  found  images 
more  beautiful,  or  expressions  more  sub- 
lime, than  those  which  occur  in  this 
psalm. 

From  the  place  which  this  psalm  occu- 
pies in  the  history  of  the  life  of  David 
(2  Sam.  xxii.),  it  is  probable  that  it  was 
composed  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life, 
though  it  occupies  this  early  place  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms.  AVe  have  no  reason  to 
believe  that  the  principle  adopted  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  Psalms  was  to  place 
them  hi  chronological  order ;  and  we 
cannot  determine  why  in  that  arrange- 
ment this  psalm  has  the  place  which  has 
been  assigned  to  it ;  but  we  cannot  well  be 
mistaken  in  supposing  that  it  was  com- 
posed at  a  somewhat  advanced  period  of 
the  life  of  David,  and  that  it  was  in  fact 
among  the  last  of  his  compositions.  Thus 
in  the  Book  of  Samuel,  it  is  placed  (cti. 
xxii.)  immediately  preceding  a  chapter 
(xxiii.)  which  professes  (ver.l)  to  record 
"  the  last  words  of  David."  And  thus  in 
the  title  it  is  said  to  have  been  composed 
Krhen  "the  Lord  had  delivered  him  out 
of  the  hand  of  all  his  enemies,"  an  event 
which  occurred  only  at  a  comparatively 
late  period  of  his  life.  The  circumstance 
which  is  mentioned  in  the  title — "and 
out  of  the  hand  of  Said" — does  not  ne- 
cessarily conflict  with  this  view,  or  make 
it  necessary  for  us  to  suppose  that  it  was 
composed  immediately  after  his  deliver- 
ance from  the  hand  of  Said.  To  David, 
recording  and  recounting  the  great  events 
of  his  life,  that  deliverance  would  occur 
as  one  of  the  most  momentous  and  worthy 
of  a  grateful  remembrance,  for  it  was  a 
deliverance  which  was  the  foundation  of 
all  his  subsequent  successes,  and  in 
which  the  Divine  interposition  had  been 
most  remarkable.  At  any  time  of  his 
life  it  would  be  proper  to  refer  to  this 
as  demanding  special  acknowledgment. 
Saul  had  been  among  the  most  for- 
midable of  all  his  enemies.    The  most 


distressing  and  harassing  events  of  his 
life  had  occurred  in  the  time  of  his  con- 
flicts with  him.  God's  interpositions  in 
his  behalf  had  occurred  in  the  most  re- 
markable manner,  in  delivering  him 
from  the  dangers  of  that  period  of  his 
history.  It  was  natural  and  proper, 
therefore,  in  a  general  song  of  praise, 
composed  in  view  of  all  God's  interposi- 
tions in  his  behalf,  that  he  should  refer 
particularly  to  those  dangers  and  deliver- 
ances. This  opinion,  that  the  psalm  was 
composed  when  David  was  aged,  which 
seems  so  obvious,  is  the  opinion  of  Jarchi 
and  Kimchi,  of  Eosenmiiller  and  De 
Wette.  The  strong  imagery,  therefore, 
in  the  psalm,  describing  mignty  convul- 
sions of  nature  (vers.  6-16),  is  to  be 
unders'tood,  not  as  a  literal  description, 
but  as* narrating  God's  gracious  inter- 
position in  the  time  of  danger,  as  if  the 
Lord  had  spoken  to  him  out  of  the 
temple ;  as  if  the  earth  had  trembled ; 
as  if  its  foundations  had  been  shaken  ; 
as  (fa  smoke  had  gone  out  of  his  nos- 
trils ;  as  if  he  had  bowed  the  heavens 
and  come  down;  as  (/"he  had  thundered 
in  the  heavens,  and  had  sent  out  hail- 
stones and  coals  of  fire,  etc. 

From  the  fact  that  there  are  variations, 
though  not  of  an  essential  character,  in 
the  two  copies  of  the  psalm,  it  would 
seem  not  improbable  that  it  had  been 
revised  by  David  himself,  or  by  some 
other  person,  after  it  was  first  composed, 
and  that  one  copy  was  used  by  the  author 
of  the  Book  of  Samuel,  and  the  other  by 
the  collector  and  arranger  of  the  Book  of 
Psalms.  These  variations  are  not  im- 
portant, and  by  no  means  change  the 
essential  character  of  the  psalm.  It  is 
not  very  easy  to  see  why  they  were 
made,  if  they  were  made  designedly,  or  to 
accountfor  them  if  they  were  not  so  made. 
They  are  such  as  the  following:  Tho 
introduction,  or  the  title  of  it,  is 
adapted,  in  the  psalm  before  us,  to  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  designed,  when 
it  was  admitted  into  the  collection.  "  To 
the  chief  Musician,  a  Psalm  of  David, 
the  servant  of  the  Lord,  who  spake  unto 
the  Lord  the  words,"  etc.  The  first 
verse  of  Ps.  xviii.,  "I  will  love  thee, 
O  Lord,  my  strength,"  is  not  found 
in  the  psalm  as  it  is  in  the  Book  of 
Samuel.  The  second  verse  of  the  psalm 
is,  "  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and  my  for- 
tress, and  my  deliverer ;  my  God,  my 
strength,  in  whom  I  will* trust;  my 
buckler,  and  the  hom  of  my  salvation, 
and  my  high  tower."  In  Samuel,  the 
corresponding  passage  is,  "The  Lord  is 


PSALM  XVIII. 


145 


my  rock,  and  my  fortress,  and  my  de- 
liverer ;  the  God  of  my  rock,  in  him  will 
I  trust ;  he  is  my  shield,  and  the  horn  of 
my  salvation,  my  high  tower,  and  my 
refuge,  my  saviour ;  thou  savest  me  from 
violence.''  In  ver.  4,  the  reading  is,  "  The 
sorrows  of  death  compassed  me"  etc. ;  in 
Samuel,  "  The  waves  of  death  compassed 
me."  Similar  variations,  atfecting  the 
words,  without  materially  affecting  the 
sense,  occur  in  vers.  2,  3,  4,  6,  7,  8,  11, 
12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  19,  20,  21,  23,  24,  25, 
26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37, 
38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  47,  48,  49, 
50,  and  51,  of  the  psalm.*  See  these 
passages  arranged  in  Rosenmiiller's 
Scholia,  vol.  i.,  pp.  451-458.  In  no 
instance  is  the  sense  very  materially 
affected,  though  the  variations  are  so 
numerous. 

It  is  impossible  now  to  account  for 
these  variations.  Hammond,  Kennicott, 
and  others,  suppose  that  they  occurred 
from  the  errors  of  transcribers.  But  to 
this  oninion  Schultens  opposes  unan- 
swerable objections.  He  refers  particu- 
la  ly  (a)  to  the  multitude  and  variety  of 
the  changes;  (b)  to  the  condition  or 
state  of  the  codices ;  (c)  to  the  nature  of 
the  variations,  or  to  the  fact  that  changes 
are  made  in  words,  and  not  merely  in 
letters  of  similar  forms  which  might  be 
mistaken  for  each  other.     See  his  argu- 

(ments  in  Rosenmiiller,  Schol.,  vol.  i.,  pp. 
441-443.  It  seems  most  probable,  there- 
fore, that  these  changes  were  made  by 
design,  and  that  it  was  done  either  by 
David,  who  l'evised  the  original  compo- 
sition, and  issued  two  forms  of  the  poem, 
one  of  which  was  inserted  in  the  history 
in  Samuel,  and  the  other  in  the  collection  • 
of  the  Psalms  ;  or  that  the  changes  were 
made  by  the  collector  of  the  Psalms, 
when  they  were  arranged  for  public 
worship.  The  former  supposition  is  a 
possible  one ;  though,  as  the  psalm  was 
composed  near  the  close  of  the  life  of 
David,  it  would  seem  not  to  be  very 
probable.  The  most  natural  supposition, 
therefore,  is,  that  the  changes  were  made 
by  the  collector  of  the  Psalms,  whoever 
he  might  be,  or  by  the  person  who 
presided  over  this  part  of  public  worship 
in  the  temple,  and  that  the  changes  were 
made  for  some  reason  which  we  cannot 
now  understand,  as  better  adapting  the 
psalm  to  musical  purposes.  Doederlein 
supposes  that  the  recension  was  made  by 

*  i.e.\  after  the  notation  in  the  Hebrew 
Psalter,  which  accords  with  the  numbering  of 
the  verses  in  Samuel. 

TOT..    J. 


some  later  poet,  for  the  purpose  of 
"polishing"  the  language  ;  of  giving  it 
a  more  finished  poetic  form ;  and  of 
adapting  it  better  to  public  use  ;  and  he 
regards  both  forms  as  "  genuine,  elegant, 
sublime ;  the  one  more  ancient,  the  other 
more  polished  and  refined."  It  seems 
most  probable  tbat  the  changes  were 
made  with  a  view  to  some  rhythmical  or 
musical  effect,  or  for  the  purpose  of 
adapting  the  psalm  to  the  music  of  the 
temple  service.  Such  changes  would 
depend  on  causes  which  could  be  now 
little  understood,  as  we  m-e  not  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  with  the  music  em- 
ployed in  public  worship  by  the  Hebrews, 
nor  are  we  now  competent  to  understand 
the  effect  which,  in  this  respect,  would 
be  produced  by  a  slight  change  of  phrase- 
ology. Variations  of  a  similar  nature 
now  exist  in  psalms  and  hymns  which 
could  not  be  well  explained  or  under- 
stood by  one  who  was  not  familiar  with 
our  language  and  with  our  music,  and 
which,  after  as  long  an  interval  as  that 
between  the  time  Avhen  the  Psalms  were 
arranged  for  musical  purposes  and  the 
present  time,  would  be  wholly  unintel- 
ligible. 

The  psalm  embraces  the  following 
subjects: — 

I.  A  general  acknowledgment  of  God, 
and  thanks  to  him,  as  the  Deliverer  in 
the  time  of  troubles,  and  as  worthy  to  be 
praised,  vers.  1-3. 

II.  A  brief  description  of  the  troubles 
and  dangers  from  which  the  psalmist 
had  been  rescued,  vers.  4,  5. 

III.  A  description,  conceived  in  the 
highest  forms  of  poetic  language,  of  the 
Divine  interposition  in  times  of  danger, 
vers.  6-19. 

IV.  A  statement  of  the  psalmist  that 
this  interposition  was  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  vindicate  his  own  character,  or  to  show 
that  his  cause  was  a  righteous  cause; 
that  he  was  right,  and  that  his  enemies 
had  been  in  the  wrong ;  that  God  ap- 
proved his  course,  and  disapproved  the 
course  of  his  enemies  :  or,  in  other  words, 
that  these  interpositions  were  such  as  to 
prove  that  God  Avas  just,  and  would  deal 
with  men  according  to  then-  character, 
vers.  20-30. 

V.  A  recapitulation  of  what  God  had 
done  for  him,  in  enabling  him  to  subdue 
his  enemies,  and  a  statement  of  the  effect 
which  he  supposed  would  be  produced  on 
others  by  the  repoft  of  what  God  had 
done  in  his  behalf,  vers.  31-45. 

VI.  A  general  expression  of  thanks- 
giving to  God  as  the  author  of  all  these 

H 


146 


PSALM    XVIII. 


PSALM  XVIII. 

To  the  chief  Musician.  A  Psalm  of  David, 
the  servant/ of  the  Lord,  who  spake  unto  the 
Lord  the  words  g  of  this  song  in  the  day  thai 
the  Lord  delivered  him  from  the  hand  of  all 


his  enemies,  and  from  the  hand  of  Saul:  And 
he  said, 

WILL  love h  thee,  O  Lord,  my 
-*-  strength. 

f  Psa.  xxxvi.,  title.         q  2  Sam.  xxii. 
h  1  John  iv.  19. 


blessings,  and  as  worthy  of  universal 
confidence  and  praise,  vers.  46-50. 

The  title.    IT  To  the  chief  Musician. 
See  Notes  to  the  title  of  Psalm  iv.     H  A 
Psalm  of  David.     The  words  "  A  Psalm' ' 
are  not  here  in  the  original,  and  may 
convey  a  slightly  erroneous  impression, 
as  if  the  psalm  had  been  composed  for 
the  express  purpose  of  being  used  pub- 
licly in  the  worship   of  God.     In  the 
corresponding  place  in  2  Sam.  xxii.,  it  is 
described  as  a  "  Song"  of  David  : — "  And 
David  spake  unto  the  Lord  the  words  of 
this  song."    It  •  <vas  originally  an  expres- 
sion of  his  private  gratitude  for  God's 
distinguishing  mercies,   and  was  after- 
wards, as  we  have  seen,  probably  adapted 
to  purposes  of  public  worship  by  some 
one  of  a  later  age.    IT  The  servant  of  the 
Loud.     This  expression  also  is  wanting 
in  2  Sam.  xxii.     It  is  undoubtedly  an 
addition  by  a  later  hand,  as  indicating 
the  general  character  which  David  had 
acquired,   or  as  denoting  the  national 
estimate  in  regard  to  his  character.    The 
same  expression  occurs  in  the   title  to 
Ps.    xxxvi.      The   Chaldee   Paraphrase 
translates  this  title :  "  To  be  sung  over 
the  wonderful  things  which  abundantly 
happened  to  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  to 
David,  who  sang,"  etc.     The  use  of  the 
phrase  here—"  the  servant  of  the  Lord" 
— by  him  who  made  the  collection  of  the 
Psalms,  would  seem  to  imply  that  he 
regarded  the  psalm  as  having  a  suffici- 
ently public  character  to  make  it  proper 
to  introduce  it  into  a  collection  designed 
for  general  worship.     In  other  words, 
David  was  not,  in  the  view  of  the  author 
of  the  collection,  a  private  man,  but  was 
eminently  a  public  servant  of  Jehovah; 
and  a  song  of  grateful  remembrance  of 
God's  mercies  to  him  was  entitled  to  be 
n  gar  led  as  expressing  the  appropriate 
feelings  of  God's  people  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances in  all  times.     IT  Who  spake 
unto  the  Lord.     Composed  it  as  giving 
utterance   to   his  feelings   towards  the 
Lord.     IT  The  words  of  this  song  in  the 
day  that  the  Lord  delivered  him.    When 
the  Lord  had  delivered  him;  when  lie 
felt  that  he  was  completely  rescued  from 
all  his  foes.     This  docs  not   mean  that 
the  psalm  was  composed  on  a  particular 


day  when  God  had  by  some  one  signal 
act  rescued  him  from  impending  danger, 
but  it  refers  to  a  calm  period  of  his  life, 
when  he  could  review  the  past,  and  see 
that  God  had  rescued  him  from  all  the 
enemies  that  had  ever  threatened  his 
peace.      This   would  probably,   as  has 
been  suggested  above,   occur  near  the 
close  of  his  life.    IT  From  the  hand  of  all 
his  enemies.     Out  of  the  hand,  or  the 
power.     There  is  here  a  general  view  of 
the  mercy  of  God  in  rescuing  him  from 
all  his  foes.     IT  And  from  the  hand  of 
Saul.     Saul  had  been  one  of  his  most 
formidable  enemies,  and  the  wars  with 
him  had  been  among  the  most  eventful 
periods  of  the  life  of  David.     In  a  gene- 
ral review  of  his  life,  near  its  close,  he 
would  natural!}'  recur  to  the  dangers  of 
that  period,  and  to  God's  gracious  inter- 
positions in   his   behalf,    and  it   would 
seem  to  him  that  what  God  had  done  for 
him  in  those  times  deserved  a  special 
record.     The   original  word  here — 5]3, 
kaph — is  not  the  same  as  in  the  corre- 
sponding place  in  2  Sam.  xxii. — *"P,  gad 
—though  the  idea  is  substantially  the 
same.       The    word    here    used    means 
properly  the   palm    or    hollow  of    the 
hand  ;  the  word  used  in  Samuel  means 
the  hand  itself.     Why  the  change  was 
made  we  have  not  the  means  of  ascer- 
taining.    IT  And  he  said.     So  2  Sam. 
xxii.  2.     What  follows  is  what  he  said. 

1.  I  will  love  thee,  0  Loed.  This 
verse  is  not  found  in  the  song  in 
2  Sam.  xxii.  It  appears  to  have  been 
added  after  the  first  composition  of 
the  psalm,  either  by  David  as  expres- 
sive of  his  ardent  love  for  the  Lord  in 
view  of  his  merciful  interpositions  in 
his  behalf,  and  on  the  most  careful 
and  most  mature  review  of  those  mer- 
cies, or  by  the  collector  of  the  Psalms 
when  they  were  adapted  to  purposes 
of  public  worship,  as  a  proper  com- 
mencement of  the  psalm — expressive 
of  the  feeling  which  the  general  tenor 
of  the  psalm  was  fitted  to  inspire.  It 
is   impossible   now  to  determine  by 


PSALM    XVIII. 


2  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and 
my  fortress,  and  my  deliverer; 
my  God,  my  1  strength,  in  whom 

1  rock. 


147 


whom  it  was  added;  hut  no  one  can 
doubt  that  it  is  a  proper  commence- 
ment of  a  psalm  that  is  designed 
to  recount  so  many  mercies.  It  is 
the  feeling  which  all  should  have 
when  they  recall  the  goodness  of  God 
to  them  in  their  past  lives.  ^[  My 
strength.  The  source  of  my  strength, 
i  or  from  whom  all  my  strength  is  de- 
rived. So  Ps.  xxvii.  1,  "  The  Lord 
is  the  strength  of  my  life."  Ps. 
xxviii.  8,  "He  is  the  saving  strength 
of  his  anointed."  Comp.  Ps.  xxix.  11; 
xlvi.  1  ;  lxxiii.  26 ;  lxxxi.  1 ;  cxl.  7. 

2.  The  Lord  is  my  rock.  The  idea 
in  this  expression,  and  in  the  subse- 
quent parts  of  the  description,  is  that 
he  owed  his  safety  entirely  to  God. 
He  had  been  unto  him  as  a  rock,  a 
tower,  a  buckler,  etc. — that  is,  he  had 
derived  from  God  the  protection  which 
a  rock,  a  tower,  a  citadel,  a  buckler 
furnished  to  those  who  depended  on 
them,  or  which  they  were  designed  to 
secure.  The  word  "  rock  "  here  has 
reference  to  the  fact  that  in  times  of 
danger  a  lofty  rock  would  be  sought 
as  a  place  of  safety,  or  that  men 
would  fly  to  it  to  escape  from  their 
enemies.  Such  rocks  abound  in  Pa- 
lestine ;  and  by  the  fact  that  they  are 
elevated  and  difficult  of  access,  or  by 
the  fact  that  those  who  fled  to  them 
could  find  shelter  behind  their  pro- 
jecting crags,  or  by  the  fact  that  they 
could  find  security  in  their  deep  and 
dark  caverns,  they  became  places  of 
refuge  in  times  of  danger ;  and  pro- 
tection was  often  found  there  when 
it  could  not  be  found  in  the  plains 
below.  Comp.  Judges  vi.  2 ;  Ps.  xxvii. 
5 ;  lxi.  2.  Also,  Jos.  Ant.,  b.  xiv., 
ch.  xv.  ^[  And  my  fortress.  He  has 
been  to  me  as  a  fortress.  The  word 
fortress  means  a  place  of  defence,  a 
place  so  strengthened  that  an  enemy 
could  not  approach  it,  or  where  one 
would  be  safe.  Such  fortresses  were 
often  constructed  on  the  rocks  or  on 
hills,  where  those  who   fled   thither 


I  will  trust ;  my  buckler,  and  the 
horn  of  my  salvation,  and    my 


high  tower. 


would  be  doubly  safe.  Comp.  Job 
xxxix.  28.  See  also  Notes  on  Isa. 
xxxiii.  16.  ^[  And  my  deliverer.  De- 
livering or  rescuing  me  from  my  ene- 
mies. %  My  God.  Who  hast  been  to 
me  a  God ;  that  is,  in  whom  I  have 
found  all  that  is  implied  in  the  idea  of 
God — a  Protector,  Helper,  Friend, 
Father,  Saviour.  The  notion  or  idea 
of  a  God  is  different  from  all  other 
ideas,  and  David  had  found,  as  the 
Christian  now  does,  all  that  is  implied 
in  that  idea,  in  Jehovah,  the  living 
God.  ^  My  strenb  'h.  Marg.,  My 
rock.  So  the  Hebrew,  although  the 
Hebrew  word  is  different  from  that 
which  is  used  in  the  former  part  of 
the  verse.  Both  words  denote  that 
God  was  a  refuge  or  protection,  as  a 
rock  or  crag  is  to  one  in  danger 
(comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  37),  though  the 
exact  difference  between  the  words 
may  not  be  obvious.  ^[  In  ivhom  I 
will  trust.  That  is,  I  have  found  him 
to  be  such  a  refuge  that  I  could  trust 
in  him,  and  in  view  of  the  past  I  will 
confide  in  him  always.  \  My  buckler. 
The  word  here  used  is  the  same  which 
occurs  in  Ps.  iii.  3,  where  it  is  trans- 
lated shield.  See  Notes  on  that  verse. 
%  And  the  horn  of  my  salvation.  The 
horn  is  to  animals  the  means  of  their 
defence.  Their  strength  lies  in  the 
horn.  Hence  the  word  is  used  here, 
as  elsewhere,  to  represent  that  to 
which  we  owe  our  protection  and 
defence  in  danger ;  and  the  idea  here 
is,  that  God  was  to  the  psalmist  what 
the  horn  is  to  animals,  the  means  ot 
his  defence.  Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  21 ; 
lxxv.  4,  5,  10;  xcii.  10;  cxxxii.  17; 
cxlviii.  14.  ^[  And  my  high  tower. 
He  is  to  me  what  a  high  tower  is  to 
one  who  is  in  danger.  Comp.  Prov. 
xviii.  10,  "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a 
strong  tower  :  the  righteous  runneth 
into  it,  and  is  safe."  The  word  here 
used  occurs  in  Ps.  ix.  9,  where  it  is 
rendered  "  refuge."  (Marg.,  A  high 
place.)      See  Notes    on   that   verse. 


148 


PSALM  XVIII. 


3  I  will  call  upon  the  Lord 
ivho  is  worthy  *  to  be  praised :  so 
1  shall  I  be  saved  from  mine  ene- 
mies. 


Such  towers  were  erected  on  moun- 
tains, on  rocks,  or  on  the  walls  of  a 
city,  and  were  regarded  as  safe  places 
mainly  because  they  were  inaccessible. 
So  the  old  castles  in  Europe, — as  that 
at  Heidelberg,  and  generally  those 
along  the  Rhine, — were  built  on  lofty 
places,  and  in  such  positions  as  not  to 
be  easily  accessible. 

3.  I  will  call  upon  the  Loed.  The 
idea  here  is,  that  he  would  constantly 
call  upon  the  Lord.  In  all  times  of 
trouble  and  danger  he  would  goto  him, 
and  invoke  his  aid.  The  experience  of 
the  past  had  been  such  as  to  lead  him 
to  put  confidence  in  him  in  all  time 
to  come.  He  had  learned  to  flee  to 
him  in  danger,  and  he  had  never  put 
his  trust  in  him  in  vain.  The  idea  is, 
that  a  proper  view  of  God's  dealings 
with  us  in. the  past  should  lead  us  to 
feel  that  we  may  put  confidence  in 
him  in  the  future.  %  Who  is  worthy 
to  be  praised.  More  literally,  "  Him 
who  is  to  be  praised  I  will  call  upon, 
Jehovah."  The  prominent — the  lead- 
ing thought  is,  that  God  is  a  being 
every  way  worthy  of  praise.  ^[  So 
shall  I  be  saved  from  my  enemies. 
Ever  onward,  and  at  all  times.  He 
had  had  such  ample  experience  of  his 
protection  that  he  could  confide  in 
him  as  one  who  would  deliver  him 
from  all  his  foes. 

4.  The  sorrows  of  death  compassed 
vie.  Surrounded  me.  That  is,  he 
was  in  imminent  danger  of  death,  or 
in  the  midst  of  such  pangs  and  sorrows 
as  are  supposed  commonly  to  attend 
on  death.  He  refers  probably  to  some 
period  in  his  past  life — perhaps  in  the 
persecutions  of  Saul — when  he  was 
so  beset  with  troubles  and  difficulties 
that  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  must  die. 
The  word  rendered  sorroics — b'ZTl, 
hhebel — means,  according  to  Gesenius, 
a  cord,  a  rope,  and  hence  a  snare, 
gin,  noose ;  and  the  idea  here  is,  ac- 
cording to  Gesenius,  that  he  was  taken 


4  The  sorrows  of  death  com- 
passed me,  and  the  floods  of  1  un- 
godly men  made  me  afraid. 

i  Rev.  v.  11—13.     k  Psa.  1.  15.     i  Belial. 


as  it  were  in  the  snares  of  death,  or 
in  the  bands  of  death.  So  Pg.  cxvi.  3. 
Our  translators,  however,  and  it  seems 
to  me  more  correctly,  regarded  the 
word  as  derived  from  the  same  noun 
differently  pointed — ^2n,  hhaibel — 
meaning  ivrithings,  pangs,  pains,  as  in 
Isa.  lxvi.  7;  Jer.  xiii.  21;  xxii.  23; 
Hos.  xiii.  13;  Job  -xxxix.  3.  So  the 
Chaldee  Paraphrase,  "  Pangs  as  of  a 
woman  in  childbirth  came  around  me." 
So  the  Vulgate,  dolores.  So  the  LXX., 
utSiveg.  The  corresponding  place  in 
2  Sam.  xxii.  is,  "  The  leaves  of  death." 
The  word  which  is  used  there — "12U27D 
mishbar  —  means  properly  waves 
which  break  upon  the  shore — break- 
ers. See  Ps.  xiii.  7  ;  lxxxviii.  7  ;  Jonah 
ii.  3.  Why  the  change  was  made  iu 
the  psalm  it  is  not  possible  to  deter- 
mine. Either  word  denotes  a  condi- 
tion of  great  danger  an'd  alarm,  as  ir 
death  was  inevitable.  ^~  And  the 
floods  of  ungodly  men.  Marg.,  as  in 
Heb.,  Belial.  The  word  Belial  means 
properly  v:ithout  use  or  profit ;  and 
then  worthless,  abandoned,  wicked. 
It  is  applied  to  wicked  men  as  being 
worthless  to  society,  and  to  all  the 
proper  ends  of  life.  Though  the  term 
here  undoubtedly  refers  to  ivicJced 
men,  yet  it  refers  to  them  as  being 
worthless  or  abandoned — low,  vulgar, 
useless  to  mankind.  The  word  ren- 
dered floods — ^nr,  nahhal — means  in 
the  singular,  properly,  a  stream, brook, 
rivulet;  and  then,  a  torrent,  as  formed 
by  rain  and  snow-water  in  the  moun- 
tains, Job  vi.  15.  The  word  here 
used  refers  to  such  men  as  if  they 
were  poured  forth  in  streams  and 
torrents — in  such  multitudes  that  the 
psalmist  was  likely  to  be  overwhelmed 
by  them,  as  one  would  be  by  floods  of 
water.  %  Made  me  afraid.  Made 
me  apprehensive  of  losing  my  life. 
To  what  particular  period  of  his  life 
he  here  refers  it  is  impossible  now  to 
determine. 


PSALM  XVIII. 


119 


5  The  l  sorrows  of  liell  com- 
passed me  about :  the  snares  of 
death  prevented  me. 

6  .In  my  distress  I  called  upon 
the  Loe,d,    and   cried  unto   my 

1  Or,  cords. 


5.  The  sorrows  of  hell.  Marg., 
cords.  The  word  here  used  is  the 
same  which  occurs  in  the  previous 
verse,  and  which  is  there  rendered 
sorrows.  It  is  correctly  translated 
here,  as  in  that  verse,  sorrows,  though 
the  parallelism  would  seem  to  favour 
the  interpretation  in  the  margin, — 
cords.  If  it  means  sorrows,  the  idea 
is,  that  such  suiferings  encompassed 
him,  or  seized  upon  him,  as  we  asso- 
ciate in  idea  with  the  descent  to  the 
under-world,  or  the  going  down  to 
the  dead.  If  it  means  cords,  or  bands, 
then  the  idea  is,  that  he  was  seized 
with  pain  as  if  with  cords  thrown 
around  him,  and  that  were  dragging 
him  down  to  the  abodes  of  the  dead. 
Luther,  De  Wette,  Prof.  Alexander, 
Hengstenberg,  and  others  render  the 
word,  in  each  of  these  places,  bands. 
On  the  word  here  rendered  hell, 
5iNti}\  Sheol,  see  Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  9. 
It  means  here  the  under-ivorld,  the 
regions  of  the  dead.  It  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  one  who  was  overcome  with 
the  dread  of  death.  \  The  snares  of 
death.  The  word  snares  refers  to  the 
gins,  toils,  nets,  which  are  used  in 
taking  wild  beasts,  by  suddenly  throw- 
ing cords  around  them,  and  binding 
them  fast.  The  idea  here  is,  that 
Death  had  thus  thrown  around  him 
its  toils  or  snares,  and  had  bound  him 
fast.  %  Prevented  me.  The  word 
here  used  in  Hebrew,  as  our  word 
prevent  did  originally,  means  to  anti- 
cipate, to  go  before.  The  idea  here 
is  that  those  snares  had,  as  it  were, 
suddenly  rushed  upon  him,  or  seized 
him.  They  came  before  him  in  his 
goings,  and  bound  him  fast. 

6.  In  my  distress.  This  refers, 
most  probably,  not  to  any  particular 
case,  but  rather  indicates  his  general 
habit  of  mind,  that  when  he  was  in 
deep  distress  and  danger  he  had  uni- 


God:  he  heard  my  voice  out  of 
his  temple,  and  my  cry  came 
before  l  him,  even  into  his  ears. 

7  Then  the  earth  shook  and 
trembled;    the  foundations  also 

l  2  Chron.  xxx.  27. 


formly  called  upon  the  Lord,  and  had 
found  him  ready  to  help.  %  I  called 
upon  the  Lokd.  I  prayed.  That  is, 
he  invoked  God  to  help  him  in  his 
trouble.  He  relied  not  on  his  own 
strength ;  he  looked  not  for  human 
aid ;  he  looked  to  God  alone.  *[[  And 
cried  unto  my  God.  The  word  used 
here  denotes  an  earnest  cry  for  help. 
Comp.  Job  xxxv.  9  ;  xxxvi.  13.  %  lie 
heard  my  voice  out  of  his  temple. 
That  is,  he,  being  in  his  temple,  heard 
my  voice.  The  word  rendered  temple 
(comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  7)  cannot 
refer  here  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
for  that  was  built  after  the  death  of 
David,  but  it  refers  either  to  heaven, 
considered  as  the  temple,  or  dwelling- 
place  of  God,  or  to  the  tabernacle, 
considered  as  his  abode  on  earth. 
The  sense  is  not  materially  varied, 
whichever  interpretation  is  adopted. 
Comp.  Ps.  xi.  4.  %  And  my  cry  came 
before  him.  He  heard  my  cry.  It 
was  not  intercepted  on  the  way,  but 
came  up  to  him.  ^[  Even  into  his 
ears.  Indicating  that  he  certainly 
heard  it.  Comp.  Gen.  xxiii.  10;  xliv. 
18;  1.  4;  Ex.  x.  2  :  Ps.  xxxiv.  15. 

7.  Then  the  earth  shook  and 
trembled.  The  description  which  fol- 
lows here  is  one  of  the  most  sublime 
that  is  to  be  found  in  any  language. 
It  is  taken  from  the  fury  of  the 
storm  and  tempest,  when  all  the  ele- 
ments are  in  commotion ;  when.  God 
seems  to  go  forth  in  the  greatness  of 
his  majesty  and  the  terror  of  his 
power,  to  prostrate  everything  before 
him.  We  are  not  to  regard  this  as 
descriptive  of  anything  which  literally 
occurred,  but  rather  as  expressive  of 
the  fact  of  the  Divine  interposition, 
as  if  he  thus  came  forth  in  the  great- 
ness of  his  power.  There  is  no  im- 
probability indeed  in  supposing  that 
in  some  of  the  dangerous  periods  of 


150 


PSALM  XVIII. 


of    the   hills    moved    and  were 
shaken,  because  he  was  wroth. 

8  There  went  up  a  smoke  l  out 
of  his  nostrils,  and  fire  out  of  his 
mouth     devoured :     coals    were 


kindled  by  it. 

9  He  bowed  m  the  heavens  also, 
and  came  down :  and  darkness 
was  under  his  feet. 

1  by.  m  Psa.  cxliv.  5,  etc. 


David's  life,  when  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies, or  even  when  in  the  midst  of  a 
battle,  a  furious  tempest  may  have 
occurred  that  seemed  to  be  a  special 
Divine  interposition  in  his  behalf,  but 
we  have  no  distinct  record  of  such  an 
event,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
pose that  such  an  event  occurred  in 
order  to  a  correct  understanding  of 
the  passage.  All  that  is  needful  is 
to  regard  this  as  a  representation  of 
the  mighty  interposition  of  God ;  to 
suppose  that  his  intervention  was  as 
direct,  as  manifest,  and  as  sublime, 
as  if  he  had  thus  interposed.  There 
are  frequent  references  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  such  storms  and  tempests  as 
illustrative  of  the  majesty,  the  power, 
and  the  glory  of  God,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  interposes  on 
behalf  of  his  people.  See  Ps.  cxliv. 
5-7  ;  xlvi.  6-8 ;  xxix. ;  Job  xxxvii. 
21-24 ;  xxxviii.  1 ;  Nahum  i.  3  ;  and 
particularly  Habakkuk  iii.  3-16.  The 
description  in  Habakkuk  strongly 
resembles  the  passage  before  us,  and 
both  were  drawn  doubtless  from  an 
actual  observation  of  the  fury  of  a 
tempest.  ■[  The  foundations  also 
of  the  hills  moved.  The  mountains 
seemed  to  rock  on  their  foundations. 
Iu  the  corresponding  place  in  2  Sam. 
xxii.  8  the  expression  is,  "  The  foun- 
dations of  heaven  moved  and  shook  ;" 
that  is,  that  on  which  the  heavens 
seem  to  rest  was  agitated.  Many 
suppose  that  the  expression  refers  to 
the  mountains  as  if  they  bore  up 
the  heavens ;  but  De  AVette  more 
properly  supposes  that  the  reference 
is  to  the  heavens  as  a  building  or 
an  edifice  resting  on  foundations. 
Why  the  change  was  made  in  revising 
the  psalm  from  the  "  foundations  of 
the  heavens"  to  the  "foundations  of 
the  hills,'"  it  is  impossible  now  to 
determine.  %  Because  he  was  ivroth. 
Literally,  "  Because  it  was  inflamed 


(or  enkindled)  tc  him ;"  that  is,  be- 
cause he  was  angry.  Anger  is  often 
compared  to  a  raging  flame,  because 
it  seems  to  consume  everything  before 
it.  Hence  we  speak  of  it  as  heated, 
as  burning.  So  we  say  of  one  that  he 
is  inflamed  by  passion.  The  expres- 
sion here  is  sublime  in  the  highest 
degree.  God  seemed  to  be  angry,  and 
hence  he  came  forth  in  this  awful 
manner,  and  the  very  earth  trembled 
before  him. 

8.  There  went  up  a  smoke  out  of 
his  nostrils.  Marg.,  by  his ;  that  is, 
as  it  is  understood  in  the  margin,  the 
smoke  seemed  to  be  produced  by  his 
nostrils,  or  to  be  caused  by  his 
breathing.  The  comparison,  accord- 
ing to  Eosenmuller  and  De  YYette,  is 
derived  from  wild  beasts  when  excited 
with  anger,  and  when  their  rage  is 
indicated  by  their  violent  breathing. 
Comp.  Ps.  lxxiv.  1 ;  Deut.  xxix.  20 ; 
Isa.  lxv.  5.  \\  And  fire  out  of  his 
mouth  devoured.  That  is,  the  clouds 
seemed  to  be  poured  forth  from  his 
nostrils,  and  the  lightning  from  his 
mouth.  So  in  Habakkuk  iii.  5  •' 
"  Before  him  went  the  pestilence,  and 
burning  coals  went  forth  at  his  feet." 
^[  Coals  icere  kindled  by  it.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  glow  and  burn.  The 
lightning,  that  appeared  to  flash  from 
his  mouth,  set  everything  on  fire. 
The  heavens  and  the  earth  were  in  a 
blaze. 

9.  He  boived  the  heavens  also.  He 
seemed  to  bend  down  the  heavens, — 
to  bring  them  nearer  to  the  earth. 
"  He  inclines  the  canopy  of  the 
heavens,  as  it  were,  towards  the  earth; 
wraps  himself  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
and  shoots  forth  his  arrows ;  hurls 
abroad  his  lightnings,  and  wings  them 
with  speed. "  Herder,  Spirit  of  He- 
brew Poetry  (Marsh),  ii.  157.  The 
allusion  is  still  to  the  tempest,  when 
the    clouds    run    low;    when    they 


PSALM  XVIII. 


151 


10  And  lie  rode  upon  a  cherub, 
and  did  fly ;  yea,  he  did  fly  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind. 


seem  to  sweep  along  the  ground; 
when  it  appears  as  if  the  heavens 
were  brought  nearer  to  the  earth — as 
if,  to  use  a  common  expression,  "  the 
heavens  and  earth  were  coming  toge- 
ther." %  And  came  down.  God  him- 
self seemed  to  descend  in  the  fury  of 
the  storm.  %  And  darkness  was 
under  7iis  feet.  A  dark  cloud;  or, 
the  darkness  caused  by  thick  clouds. 
Comp.  Nahum  i.  3,  "  The  Lord  hath 
his  way  in  the  whirlwind  and  iu  the 
storm,  and  the  clouds  are  the  dust  of 
his  feet."  Deut.  iv.  11,  "  the  moun- 
tain burned  .  .  .  with  thick  dark- 
ness." v.  22,  "  These  words  the  Lord 
spake  out  of  the  thick  darkness." 
Ps.  xcvii.  2,  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  him."  The  idea  here  is 
that  of  awful  majesty  and  power,  as 
we  are  nowhere  more  forcibly  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  of  majesty  and 
power  than  in  the  fury  of  a  storm. 

10.  And  lie  rode  upon  a  cherub. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  13 ;  xxxvii. 
16.  The  cherub  in  the  theology  of 
the  Hebrews  was  a  figurative  repre- 
sentation of  power  and  majesty,  under 
the  image  of  a  being  of  a  high  and 
celestial  nature,  "  whose  form  is  repre- 
sented as  composed  from  the  figures 
of  a  man,  ox,  lion,  and  eagle,"  Ezek. 
i.,  x.  Cherubs  are  first  mentioned  as 
guarding  the  gates  of  Paradise,  Gen. 
iii.  24 ;  then  as  bearing  the  throne  of 
God  upon  their  wings  through  the 
clouds,  Ezek.  i.,  x.  ;  and  also  as 
statues  or  images  made  of  wood  and 
overlaid  with  gold,  over  the  cover  of 
the  ark,  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  of  the  temple,  Ex. 
xxv.  18,  seq.;  1  Kings  vi.  23-28. 
Between  the  two  cherubim  in  the 
temple,  the  Shechinah,  or  visible  sym- 
bol of  the  presence  of  God,  rested ; 
and  hence  God  is  represented  as 
"dwelling  between  the  cherubim," 
Ex.  xxv.  22  ;  Num.  vii.  89  ;  Ps.  lxxx. 
1 ;  xcix.  1.  The  cherubim  are  not  to 
be  regarded  as  real  existences,  or  as 


11  He  made  darkness  his  secret 
place  :  his  pavilion  "  round  about 

n  Psa.  xxvii.  5. 

an  order  of  angels  like  the  seraphim 
(Isa.  vi.  2,  3),  but  as  an  imaginary 
representation  of  majesty,  as  emblem- 
atic of  the  power  and  glory  of  God. 
Here  God  is  represented  as  "  riding 
on  a  cherub ;"  that  is,  as  coming 
forth  on  the  clouds  regarded  as  a 
cherub  (comp.  Ezek.  i.),  as  if,  seated  on 
his  throne,  he  was  borne  along  in  ma- 
jesty and  power  amidst  the  storm  and 
tempest.  %  And  did  fly.  He  seemed 
to  move  rapidly  on  the  flying  clouds. 
^[  Yea,  he  did  fly  upon  the  wings 
of  the  wind.  Rapidly  as  the  clouds 
driven  along  by  the  wind.  The 
"wings  of  the  wTind "  are  designed  to 
represent  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
wind  sweeps  along.  Rapid  motion  is  re- 
pi'esented  by  the  flight  of  birds  ;  hence 
the  term  wings  il  applied  to  winds  to 
denote  the  rapidity  of  their  move- 
ment. The  whole  figure  here  is  de- 
signed to  represent  the  majesty  with 
which  God  seemed  to  be  borne  along 
on  the  tempest.  Herder  renders  it, 
"  He  flew  on  the  wings  of  the  storm." 
11.  He  made  darkness  his  secret 
place.  Herder  has  beautifully  ren- 
dered this  verse, 

"  Now  he  wrapped  himself  in  darkness ; 
Clouds  on  clouds  enclosed  him  round." 

The  word  rendered  secret  place — irip 

saither — means   properly    a   hiding ; 

then  something  hidden,  private,  secret. 

Hence  it  means  a  covering,   a  veil. 

Comp.  Job  xxii.  14;    xxiv.   15.     In 

Ps.  lxxxi.  7  it  is  applied  to  thunder : 

"  I  answered  thee  in  the  secret  place 

of  thunder;"    that  is,  in  the  secret 

place    or    retreat, — the    deep,    dark 

cloud,  whence  the  thunder  seems  to 

come.      Here  the  meaning  seems  to 

be,  that  God  was  encompassed  with 

darkness.  He  had,  as  it  were,  wrapped 

himself  in  night,  and  made  his  abode 

in  the  gloom  of  the  storm.     °[[  Sis 

pavilion.     His  tent,  for  so  the  word 

means.     Comp.   Ps.   xxvii.   5 ;    xxxi. 

20.     His  abode  was  in  the  midst  of 

clouds  and  waters,  or  watery  clouds. 


152 


PSALM  XVIII. 


him  were  dark  waters  and  thick 
clouds  o  of  the  skies. 

12  At  the  brightness  that  icas 
before  him  his  thick  clouds 
passed,  h-ail-stones  and  coals  of 
tire. 

o  Fsa.  xcvii.  2. 


%  Round  about  him.  Perhaps  a  more 
literal  translation  would  be,  "  the 
things  round  about  him — his  tent 
(shelter,  or  cover) — were  the  darkness 
of  waters,  the  clouds  of  the  skies." 
The  idea  is,  that  he  seemed  to  be 
encompassed  with  watery  clouds.  % 
Dark  waters.  Heb.,  darkness  of 
waters.  The  allusion  is  to  clouds 
rilled  with  water;  charged  with  rain. 
%  Thick  clouds  of  the  skies.  The  word 
rendered  skies  in  this  place — QsprttD, 
shehhdkim — means,  in  the  singular, 
dust,  as  being  fine ;  then  a  cloud,  as  a 
cloud  of  dust ;  then,  in  the  plural,  it 
is  used  to  denote  clouds,  Job  xxxviii. 
37;  and  hence  it  is  used  to  denote 
the  region  of  the  clouds;  the  firma- 
ment ;  the  sky ;  Job  xxxvii.  18.  Per- 
haps a  not  inaccurate  rendering  here 
would  be,  "  clouds  of  clouds ;"  that 
is,  clouds  rolled  in  with  clouds; 
clouds  of  one  kind  rapidly  succeeding 
those  of  another  kind — inrolling  and 
piled  on  each  other.  There  are  four 
different  kinds  of  clouds ;  and  though 
we  cannot  suppose  that  the  distinc- 
tion was  accurately  marked  in  the 
time  of  the  psalmist,  yet  to  the 
slightest  observation  there  is  a  distinc- 
tion in  the  clouds,  and  it  is  possible 
that  by  the  use  of  two  terms  here,  both 
denoting  clouds — one  thick  and  dense, 
and  the  other  clouds  as  resembling 
dust — the  psalmist  meant  to  intimate 
that  clouds  of  all  kinds  rolled  over 
the  firmament,  and  that  these  consti- 
tuted the  "  pavilion  "  of  God. 

12.  At  the  brightness  that  was  be- 
fore him.  From  the  flash — the  play 
of  the  lightnings  that  seemed  to  go 
before  him.  ^[  His  thick  clouds 
passed.  Or,  vanished.  They  seemed 
to  pass  away.  The  light,  the  flash, 
the  blaze,  penetrated  those  clouds, 
and  seemed  to  dispel,  or  to  scatter 


13  The  Lord  also  thundered 
^in  the  heavens,  and  the  Highest 
gave  his  voice ;  hail-stones  and 
coals  of  fire. 

14  Yea,  he  sent  out  his  arrows, 
and  scattered  them  ;  and  he  shot 

p  1  Sam.  vii.  10. 


them.  The  whole  heavens  were  in  a 
blaze,  as  if  there  were  no  clouds,  or  as 
if  the  clouds  were  all  driven  away. 
The  reference  here  is  to  the  appear- 
ance when  the  vivid  flashes  of  light- 
ning seem  to  penetrate  and  dispel  the 
clouds,  and  the  heavens  seem  to  be 
lighted  up  with  a  universal  flame. 
%  Sail-stones.  That  is,  hail-stones 
followed,  or  fell.  ^  And  coals  of  fire. 
There  seemed  to  be  coals  of  fire  rolling 
along  the  ground,  or  falling  from  the 
sky.  In  the  corresponding  place  in 
2  Sam.  xxii.  13  the  expression  is, 
"  Through  the  brightness  before  him 
were  coals  of  fire  kindled."  That  is, 
fires  were  kindled  by  the  iightning. 
The  expression  in  the  psalm  is  more 
terse  and  compact,  but  the  reason  of 
the  change  cannot  be  assigned. 

13.  The  Lord  also  thundered  in 
the  heavens.  Thunder  is  often  in  the 
Scriptures  described  as  the  voice  of 
God.  See  the  magnificent  description 
in  Ps.  xxix. ;  comp.  Job  xl.  9,  "  Canst 
thou  thunder  with  a  voice  like  him  ?" 
So  1  Sam.  vii.  10 ;  xii.  18  ;  Ps.  lxxvii. 
18 ;  Job  xxxvii.  4.  ^  And  th e  Highest 
gave  his  voice.  God,  the  most  ex- 
alted Being  in  the  universe,  uttered 
his  voice  in  the  thunder ;  or,  the 
thunder  was  his  voice.  ^  Sail-stones, 
and  coals  of  fire.  Accompanying  the 
thunder.  The  rejtelition  seems  to  be 
because  these  were  such  striking  and 
constant  accompaniments  of  the  storm. 

14.  Yea,  he  sent  out  his  anous. 
The  word  arrows  here  probably  refers 
to  the  lightnings  mentioned  in  the 
other  clause  of  the  verse.  Those 
lightnings  scattered  around,  and  ac- 
complishing such  destruction,  seemed 
to  be  arrows  sent  forth  from  the  hand 
of  God.  *§  And  scattered  litem. 
Herder  refers  this  to  the  lightnings ; 
De  Wette,  to   the    enemies    of    the 


PSALM  XVIII. 


153 


out  lightnings,  and  discomfited 
them. 

15  Then  «  the  channels  of 
waters  were  seen,  and  the  founda- 
tions of  the  world  were  discovered 
at  thy  rebuke,  O  Lord,  at  the 
blast  of  the  breath  of  thy  nostrils. 
q  Psa.  cvi.  9. 


psalmist.  The  latter  seems  to  be  tlie 
more  correct  interpretation,  though 
the  enemies  of  the  psalmist  are 
not  here  particularly  specified.  They 
seem,  however,  to  have  been  in 
his  eye  throughout  the  psalm,  for 
it  was  the  victory  achieved  over 
them  by  the  Divine  interposition 
that  he  was  celebrating  throughout 
the  poem.  ^[  And  he  shot  out  light- 
nings. As  arrows;  or,  as  from  a 
bow.  %  And  discomfited  them.  Lite- 
rally to  impel,  to  drive  ;  then,  to  put 
in  commotion  or  consternation.  The 
allusion  is  to  an  army  whose  order  is 
disturbed,  or  which  is  thrown  into 
confusion,  and  which  is,  therefore, 
easily  conquered.  The  idea  is  that 
David  achieved  a  victory  over  all  his 
enemies,  as  if  God  had  scattered  them 
by  a  storm  and  tempest. 

15.  Then  the  channels  oftvaters  were 
seen.  In  2  Sam.  xxii.  16  this  is,  "And 
the  channels  of  the  sea  appeared." 
The  idea  is  that,  by  the  driving  of 
the  storm  and  tempest,  the  waters 
were  driven  on  heaps,  leaving  the 
bottom  bare.  In  the  place  before 
us  the  word  used,  "  waters  " —  E")7D, 
mayim — would  denote  waters  of  any 
kind — seas,  lakes,  rivers ;  in  the  cor- 
responding place  in  2  Samuel,  the 
word  used — D\  Yam — denotes,  pro- 
perly, the  sea  or  the  ocean.  The  word 
rendered  channels  means  a  pipe  or 
tube ;  then  a  channel,  or  bed  of  a 
brook  or  stream,  Isa.  viii.  7 ;  Ezek. 
xxxii.  6 ;  and  then  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  or  of  a  river.  The  allusion  is  to 
the  effect  of  a  violent  wind,  driving 
the  waters  on  heaps,  and  seeming  to 
leave  the  bed  or  channel  bare.  %  The 
foundations  of  the  tvorld  tvere  dis~ 
covered.  Were  laid  open ;  were  mani- 
fested or  revealed.    Men  seemed  to 


16  He  sent  from  above,  he 
took  me,  he  drew  me  out  of 
1  many  waters. 

17  He  delivered  me  from  my 
strong  enemy,  and  from  them 
which  hated  me:  for  they  were 
too  strong  for  me. 

1  Or,  great. 


be  able  to  look  down  into  the  depths, 
and  to  see  the  very  foundations  on 
which  the  earth  rests.  The  world  is 
often  represented  as  resting  on  a  foun- 
dation, Ps.  cii.  25 ;  Isa.  xlviii.  13 ; 
Zech.  xii.  1 ;  Prov.  viii.  29 ;  see  Notes 
on  Job  xxxviii.  4.  ^  At  thy  rebuke. 
At  the  expression  of  his  anger  or  dis- 
pleasure ;  as  if  God,  in  the  fury  of  the 
tempest,  was  expressing  his  indigna- 
tion and  wrath.  ^[  At  the  blast  of  the 
breath  of  thy  nostrils.  At  the  breath- 
ing forth  of  anger,  as  it  were,  from  his 
nostrils.     See  Notes  on  ver.  8. 

16.  He  sent  from  above.  He  inter- 
posed to  save  me.  All  these  manifes- 
tations of  the  Divine  interposition 
were  from  above,  or  from  heaven ;  all 
came  from  God.  %  He  took  me. 
He  took  hold  on  me  ;  he  rescued  me. 
%  He  drew  me  out  of  many  waters. 
Marg.,  great  waters.  Waters  are 
often  expressive  of  calamity  and  trou- 
ble, Ps.  xlvi.  3;  lxix.  lj  lxxiii.  10; 
cxxiv.  4,  5.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  God  had  rescued  him  out  of  the 
many  troubles  and  dangers  that  en- 
compassed him,  as  if  he  had  fallen 
into  the  sea  and  was  in  danger  of 
perishing. 

17.  He  delivered  me  from  my  strong 
enemy.  The  enemy  that  had  more 
power  than  I  had,  and  that  was  likely 
to  overcome  me.  It  is  probable  that 
the  allusion  here  in  the  mind  of  the 
psalmist  would  be  particularly  to 
Saul.  Tf  And  from  them  which  hated 
me.  From  all  who  hated  and  perse- 
cuted me,  in  the  time  of  Saul,  and 
ever  onward  during  my  life*  ^[  For 
they  tvere  too  strong  for  one.  I  had 
no  power  to  resist  them,  and  when  I 
was  about  to  sink  under  their  oppo- 
sition and  malice,  God  interposed  and 
rescued  me.     David,  valiant  and  bold 

H  2 


154 


PSALM    XVIII. 


18  They  prevented  nie  in  the 
day  of  my  calamity  :  but  r  the 
Lord  was  my  stay. 

19  He  brought  me  forth  also 
into  a  large  place  :  he  delivered 
me,  because  he  delighted  in  me. 

20  The  Lord  rewarded  s  me 
according  to  my  righteousness; 

r  1  Sam.  xxx.  6;  Psa.  iii.  1 — 5. 


as  he  was  as  a  warrior,  was  not 
ashamed,  in  the  review  of  his  life,  to 
admit  that  be  owed  his  preserva- 
tion not  to  his  own  courage  and  skill 
in  war,  but  to  God ;  that  his  enemies 
were  superior  to  himself  in  power; 
and  that  if  God  had  not  interposed 
he  would  have  been  crushed  and  de- 
stroyed. Xo  man  dishonours  himself 
by  acknowledging  that  he  owes  his 
success  in  the  world  to  the  Divine 
interposition. 

18.  They  prevented  me.  They  an- 
ticipated me,  or  went  before  me.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  5.  The  idea  here  is 
that  his  enemies  came  before  him,  or 
intercepted  his  way.  They  were  in  his 
path,  ready  to  destroy  him.  %  In 
the  day  of  my  calamity.  In  the  day 
to  which  I  now  look  back  as  the  time 
of  my  peculiar  trial.  %  But  the 
Lord  teas  my  stay.  My  support,  or 
prop.  That  is,  the  Lord  upheld  me, 
and  kept  me  from  falling. 

19.  He  brought  me  forth  also  into 
a  large  place.  Instead  of  being 
hemmed  in  by  enemies,  and  straitened 
in  my  troubles,  so  that  I  seemed  to 
have  no  room  to  move,  he  brought 
me  into  a  place  where  I  had  ample 
room,  and  where  I  could  act  freely. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  iv.  1.  %  He  de- 
livered me.  He  rescued  me  from  my 
enemies  and  my  troubles,  %  Because 
he  delighted  in  me.  He  saw  that  my 
cause  was  just,  and  he  had  favour  to- 
wards me. 

20.  The  Loed  rewarded  me  accord- 
ing to  my  righteousness.  That  is,  he 
saw  that  I  did  not  deserve  the  treat- 
ment which  I  received  from  my  ene- 
mies, and  therefore  he  interposed  to 
save  me.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xvii.  3. 
%  According  to  the  cleanness  of  my 


according  to  the  cleanness  of  my 
hands  hath  he  recompensed  me. 

21  For  I  have  kept  the  ways 
of  the  Lord,  and  have  not  wick- 
edly departed  from  my  God. 

22  For  all  his  judgments 
were  before  me,  and  I  did  not 
put  away  his  statutes  from  me. 

s  1  Sam.  xxiv.  17,  20. 


hands.  So  far  as  my  fellow-men  are 
concerned.  I  have  done  them  no 
wrong.  %  Hath  he  recompensed  me. 
By  rescuing  me  from  the  power  of 
my  enemies.  It  is  not  inconsistent 
with  proper  views  of  piety — with 
true  humility  before  God — to  feel 
and  to  say,  that  so  far  as  our  fellow- 
men  are  concerned,  we  have  not  de- 
served ill-treatment  at  their  hands; 
and,  when  we  are  delivered  from  their 
power,  it  is  not  improper  to  say  and 
to  feel  that  the  interposition  in  tl>e 
case  has  been  according  to  justice  and 
to  truth. 

21.  For  I  have  kept  the  ways  of  the 
Lord.  I  have  obeyed  his  laws.  I 
have  not  so  violated  the  laws  which 
God  has  given  to  regulate  my  con- 
duct with  my  fellow-men  as  to  de- 
serve to  be  treated  by  them  as  a 
guilty  man.  %  And  have  not  wickedly 
departed  from  my  God.  "  I  have  not 
been  a  sinner  from  my  God;" — an 
apostate ;  an  open  violator  of  his  law. 
The  treatment  which  I  have  received, 
though  it  would  be  justly  rendered 
to  an  open  violator  of  law,  is  not  that 
which  I  have  merited  from  the  hand 
of  man. 

22.  For  all  his  judgments.  All  his 
statutes,  ordinances,  laws.  The  word 
judgment  is  commonly  used  in  this 
sense  in  the  Scriptures,  as  referring  to 
that  which  God  has  judged  or  deter- 
mined to  be  right.  %  Were  before  me. 
That  is,  I  acted  in  view  of  them,  or 
as  having  them  to  guide  me.  They 
were  constantly  before  my  eyes,  and  I 
regulated  my  conduct  in  accordance 
with  their  requirements.  ^f  And  I 
did  not  put  away  his  statutes  from  me. 
I  did  not  reject  them  as  the  guide  of 
my  conduct. 


PSALM  XVIII. 


15; 


23  I  was  also  upright l  before 
him,  and  I  kept  myself  from  mine 
'  iniquity. 

24  Therefore  hath  the  Lord 
recompensed    me    according    to 


i  with. 


t  Psa.  xxxvii.  27. 


23.  I  tvas  also  upright  before  him. 
Marg.,  with.-  The  meaning  is  that  he 
was  upright  in  his  sight.  The  word 
rendered  upright  is  the  same  which 
in  Job  i.  1  is  rendered  perfect.  See 
Notes  on  that  passage.  %  And  I  kept 
myself  from  mine  iniquity.  From  the 
iniquity  to  which  I  was  prone  or  in- 
clined. This  is  an  acknowledgment 
that  lie  ivas  prone  to  sin,  or  that  if  he 
had  acted  out  his  natural  character  he 
would  have  indulged  in  sin — perhaps 
such  sins  as  had  been  charged  upon 
him.  But  he  here  says  that,  with  this 
natural  proneness  to  sin,  he  had  re- 
strained himself,  and  had  not  been 
deserving  of  the  treatment  which  he 
had  received.  This  is  one  of  those 
incidental  remarks  which  often  occur 
in  the  Scriptures  which  recognise  the 
doctrine  of  depravity,  or  the  fact  that 
the  heart,  even  when  most  restrained, 
is  by  nature  inclined  to  sin.  If  this 
psalm  was  composed  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  life  of  David  (see  the  introd.), 
then  this  must  mean  either  (a)  that 
in  the  review  of  his  life  he  felt  it  had 
been  his  general  and  habitual  aim  to 
check  his  natural  inclination  to  sin; 
or  (b)  that  at  the  particular  periods 
referred  to  in  the  psalm,  when  God 
had  so  wonderfully  interposed  in  his 
behalf,  he  felt  that  this  had  been  his 
aim,  and  that  he  might  now  regard 
that"  as  a  reason  why  God  had  inter- 
posed in  his  behalf.  It  is,  however, 
painfully  certain  that  at  some  periods 
of  his  life — as  in  the  matter  of  Uriah 
— he  did  give  indulgence  to  some  of 
the  most  corrupt  inclinations  of  the 
human  heart,  and  that,  in  acting  out 
these  corrupt  propensities,  he  was 
guilty  of  crimes  which  have  for 'ever 
dimmed  the  lustre  of  his  name  and 
stained  his  memory.  These  painful 
facts,  however,  are  not  inconsistent 
with  the  statement  that  in  his  general 


my  righteousness,  according  to 
the  cleanness  of  my  hands  2  in 
his  eyesight. 

25  With  the  merciful  thou  wTilt 
show  thyself  merciful ;  with  an 

2  before  Ms  eyes. 


character  he  did  restrain  these  corrupt 
propensities,  and  did  "  keep  himself 
from  his  iniquity."  So,  in  the  review 
of  our  own  lives,  if  we  are  truly  the 
friends  of  God,  while  we  may  be  pain- 
fully conscious  that  we  have  often 
given  indulgence  to  the  corrupt  pro- 
pensities of  our  natures, — over  which, 
if  we  are  truly  the  children  of  God, 
we  shall  have  repented, — we  may  still 
find  evidence  that,  as  the  great  and 
habitual  rule  of  life,  we  have  restrained 
those  passions,  and  have  "  kept  our- 
selves" from  the  particular  forms  of 
sin  to  which  our  hearts  were  prone. 

22.  Therefore  hath  the  Lord  recom- 
pensed me.  By  delivering  me  from  my 
enemies.  The  Divine  interpositions 
in  his  behalf  had  been  of  the  nature 
of  ^reward  or  recompense.  1i  Accord- 
ing to  my  righteousness.  As  if  I  were 
righteous ;  or,  his  acts  of  intervention 
have  been  such  as  are  appropriate  to 
a  righteous  life.  The  psalmist  does 
not  say  that  it  was  on  account  of  his 
righteousness  as  if  he  had  merited  the 
favour  of  God,  but  that  the  interposi- 
tions in  his  behalf  had  been  such  as  to 
show  that  God  regarded  him  as  right- 
eous. %  According  to  the  cleanness 
of  my  hands.  See  Notes  on  ver.  20. 
^[  In  his  eyesight.  Marg., 'as  in  Heb., 
before  his  eyes.  The  idea  is  that  God 
saw  that  he  was  upright. 

25.  With  the  merciful.  From  the 
particular  statement  respecting  the 
Divine  dealings  with  himself  the 
psalmist  now  passes  to  a  general  state- 
ment (suggested  by  wdiat  God  had 
done  for  him)  in  regard  to  the  general 
principles  of  the  Divine  administra- 
tion. That  general  statement  is,  that 
God  deals  loith  men  according  to  their 
character ;  or,  that  he  will  adapt  his 
providential  dealings  to  the  conduct 
of  men.  They  will  rind  him  to  be 
such    towards    them    as    they  have 


156 


PSALM  XVIII. 


upright  man  thou  wilt  show  thy- 
self upright ; 

26  With   the  pare   thou   wilt 
show  thyself  pure ;  and  with  the 


froward  •  thou  wilt *  show  thyself 
froward. 

27  For    thou    wilt     save    the 

w  Prov.  iii.  34.  x  Or,  wrestle. 


shown  themselves  to  be  towards  him. 
The  word  merciful  refers  to  one  who 
is  disposed  to  show  kindness  or  coin- 
passion  to  those  who  are  guilty,  or  to 
those  who  injure  or  wrong  us.  %"  Thou 
wilt  show  thyself  merciful.    Thou  wilt 
evince  towards  him  the  same  charac- 
ter which  he    shows  to   others.      It 
is  in  accordance  with  this  that  the 
Saviour    teaches   us   to   pray,    "And 
forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors,"  Matt.  vi.  12.     And  in  ac- 
cordance also  with  this  he  said,  "  For 
if  ye   forgive   men  their   trespasses, 
your  heavenly  Father  will  also  forgive 
you  :  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their 
trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
forgive  your  trespasses,"  Matt.  vi.  14, 
15.  *"  With  an  upright  man.  Literally, 
a  perfect  man.     See  Job  i.  1,  where 
the  same  word  is  used  in  the  original, 
and  rendered  perfect.      The  idea  is 
that  of  a  man  who  is  consistent,  or 
whose  character  is  complete  in  all  its 
parts.    See  Xotes  on  Job  i.  1.    %  Thou 
wilt  show  thyself  upright.     Thou  wilt 
deal  with  him  according  to  his  cha- 
racter.    As  he  is  faithful  and  just,  so 
will  he  find  that  he  has  to  do  with  a 
God  who  is  faithful  and  just. 

26.  With  the  pure.  Those  who  are 
pure  in  their  thoughts,  their  motives, 
their  conduct.  ^  Thou  wilt  show 
thyself  pure.  They  will  find  that  they 
have  to  deal  with  a  God  who  is  him- 
self pure;  who  loves  purity,  and  who 
will  accompany  it  with  appropriate 
rewards  wherever  it  is  found.  *ff  And 
with  the  froward.  The  word  here 
used — tffey,  ik/caish — means  properly 
perverse;  a  man  of  a  perverse  and 
wicked  mind.  It  is  derived  from  a 
verb — IT'py,  abash — which  means,  to 
turn  the  wrong  way,  to  wrest,  to  per- 
vert. It  would  be  applicable  to  a 
man  who  perverts  or  wrests  the  words 
of  others  from  their  true  meaning ; 
who  prevaricates  or  is  deceitful  in  his 
own  conduct;   who  is  not  straight- 


forward in  las  dealings ;  who  take3 
advantage  of  circumstances  to  impose 
on  others,  and  to  promote  his   own 
ends;    who  is   sour,  harsh,   crabbed, 
unaccommodating,    unyielding,     uu- 
kind.      It   is   rendered    perverse    in 
Deut.  xxxii.  5;  Prov.  viii.  8;   xix.  1  ; 
xxviii.  6;  froward  here,  and  in  2  Sam. 
xxU.  27  ;  Ps.  ci.4;  Prov.  xi.20  ;  xvii. 
20;  xxii.5;  and  crooked  in  Prov.  ii.  15. 
The  word  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in 
the 'Old  Testament,      f    Thou  will 
show  thyself  froward.    Marg.,  wrestle. 
In  the  corresponding  place  in  2  Sam. 
xxii.  27  it  is  rendered,  "  Thou  wilt 
show  thyself  unsavory;"  though  the 
same  word  is  used   in  the   original. 
In  the  margin  in  that  place,  as  here, 
the   word   is   wrestle.      The   original 
word  in  each  place — 5HQ,  pathal — 
means  to  twist,  to  twine,  to  spin ;  and 
then,  to  be  twisted ;  to  be  crooked, 
crafty,  deceitful.     In  the  form  of  the 
word  which  occurs  here  (Hithpa),  it 
means,  to  shozv  oneself  crooked,  crafty, 
perverse.  (Gesenius,  Lex)     It  cannot 
mean  here  that  God  would   assume 
such   a  character,  or  that  he  would 
be   crooked,  crafty,   perverse   in    his 
dealings  with  men ;    for  no  one  can 
suppose  that  the  psalmist  meant  to 
ascribe    such    a    character   to    God: 
but  the  meaning  plainly  is,  that  God 
would  deal  with  the  man  referred  to 
according  to  his  real  character  :  in- 
stead of  finding  that  God  would  deal 
with  them  as  if  they  were  pure,  and 
righteous,    and    merciful,    such   men 
would  find  that  he  deals  with  them 
as  they   are, — as    perverse,    crooked, 
wicked. 

27-  For  thou  wilt  save  the  afflicted 
people.  From  the  particular  tokens 
of  Divine  favour  towards  himself  in 
affliction  and  trouble,  the  psalmist 
now  draws  the  general  inference  that 
this  was  the  character  of  God,  and 
that  others  in  affliction  might  hope 
for  his  interposition  as  he  had  done. 


PSALM  XVIII. 


157 


afflicted  people;    but  wilt  bring 
down  high  °  looks. 

28  For  thou  wilt  light  my 
1  candle ;  "  the  Lord  my  God 
will  enlighten  niy  darkness. 

v  Frov.  vi.  16,  17.    l  Or,  lamp,  Job  xxix.  3. 


Tf  But  wilt  bring  down  high  looks. 
Another  general  inference  probably 
derived  from  the  dealings  of  God 
with  the  proud  and  haughty  foes  of 
the  psalmist.  As  God  had  humbled 
them,  so  he  infers  that  he  would  deal 
with  others  in  the  same  way.  "  High 
looks"  are  indicative  of  pride  and 
haughtiness.  Comp.  Ps.  ci.  5 ;  Prov. 
vi.  17 ;  xxi.  4 ;  Isa.  ii.  11  (Notes) ; 
x.  12  ;  Dan.  vii.  20. 

28.  For  thou  tvilt  light  my  candle. 
Marg.,  lamp.  The  word  lamp  best 
expresses  the  idea.  In  the  Scriptures 
light  is  an  image  of  prosperity,  success, 
happiness,  holiness,  as  darkness  is  the 
image  of  the  opposite.  See  Notes  on 
Job  xxix.  2,  3  ;  comp.  also  Job  xviii. 
6;  xxi.  17;  Prov.  xx.  27;  xxiv.  20; 
Ps.  cxix.  105 ;  cxxxii.  17  ;  Isa.  lxii.  1. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  the  psalmist 
felt  assured  that  God  would  give  him 
prosperity,  as  if  his  lamp  were  kept 
constantly  burning  in  his  dwelling. 
%  The  Lord  my  God  ivill  enlighten 
my  darkness.  Will  shed  light  on 
my  path,  which  would  otherwise  be 
dark  : — will  impart  light  to  my  un- 
derstanding; will  put  peace  and  joy 
in  my  heart ;  will  crown  me  with  his 
favour.     Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  iv.  6. 

29.  For  by  thee  I  have  run  through 
a  troop.  Marg.,  broken.  The  word 
troop  here  refers  to  bands  of  soldiers, 
or  hosts  of  enemies.  The  word  ren- 
dered run  through  means  properly  to 
run;  and  then,  as  here,  to  run  or 
rush  upon  in  a  hostile  sense  ;  to  rush 
with  violence  upon  one.  The  idea 
here  is  that  he  had  been  enabled  to 
rush  with  violence  upon  his  armed 
opposers ;  that  is,  to  overcome  them, 
and  to  secure  a  victory.  The  allusion 
is  to  the  wars  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged.  Comp.  cxv.  1.  %  And  by 
my  God.  By  the  help  derived  from 
God.     %  Have  I  leaped  over  a  wall. 


29  For  by  thee  I  have  2  rim 
through  a  troop ;  and  by  my  God 
have  I  leaped  over  a  wall. 

30  As  for  God,  his  way  is  per- 
fect :    the  word  of  the  Lord   is 


w  Prov.  xx.  27. 


2  broken. 


Have  I  been  delivered,  as  if  I  had 
leaped  over  a  wall  when  I  was  be- 
sieged ;  or,  I  have  been  able  to  scale 
the  walls  of  an  enemy,  and  to  secure 
a  victory.  The  probability  is  that  the 
latter  is  the  true  idea,  and  that  he 
refers  to  his  successful  attacks  on  the 
fortified  towns  of  his  enemies.  The 
general  idea  is,  that  all  his  victories 
were  to  be  traced  to  God. 

30.  As  for  God.  The  declaration 
in  this  verse  is  suggested  by  the  facts 
narrated  in  the  previous  verses.  The 
contemplation  of  those  facts  leads  the 
thoughts  of  the  author  of  the  psalm 
up  to  the  Great  Source  of  all  these 
blessings,  and  to  these  general  reflec- 
tions on  his  character.  "As  for  God," 
that  is,  in  respect  to  that  Great  Being, 
who  has  delivered  me,  his  ways  are  all 
perfect ;  his  word  is  tried ;  he  is  a 
shield  to  all  those  who  trust  in  him. 
^[  His  ivay  is  perfect.  That  is,  his 
doings  are  perfect;  his  methods  of 
administration  are  perfect;  hisgovern- 
ment  is  perfect.  There  is  nothing 
wanting,  nothing  defective,  nothing 
redundant,  in  what  he  does.  On  the 
word  perfect,  see  Notes  on  Job  i.  1. 
%  The  xvord  of  the  Lord  is  tried. 
Marg.,  refined.  The  idea  is,  that  his 
word  had  been  tested  as  silver  or  any 
other  metal  is  in  the  fire.  The 
psalmist  had  confided  in  him,  and  had 
found  him  faithful  to  all  his  promises. 
Compare  Notes  on  Ps.  xii.  6.  In  a 
larger  sense,  using  the  phrase  the 
"  word  of  the  Lord  "  as  denoting  the 
revelation  which  God  has  made  to 
mankind  in  the  volume  of  revealed 
truth,  it  has  been  abundantly  tested 
or  tried,  and  it  still  stands.  It  has 
been  tested  by  the  friends  of  God,  and 
has  been  found  to  be  all  that  it  pro- 
mised to  be  for  support  and  consola- 
tion in  trial;  it  has  been  tested  by 
the  changes  which  have  occurred  in 


158 


PSALM  XVIII. 


1  tried  ;  *  lie  is  a  buckler  v  to  all 
those  that  trust  in  him. 

31  For  who  is  God  save  the 
Lord  ?  or  who  is  a  rock  save  our 
God. 

32  It  is  God  :  that  girdeth  me 

1  refined.  x  Psa.  xii.  6. 


the  progress  of  human  affairs,  and  has 
been  found  fitted  to  meet  all  those 
changes ;  it  has  been  tested  by  the 
advances  which  have  been  made  in 
science,  in  literature,  in  civilization, 
and  in  the  arts,  and  it  has  shown 
itself  to  be  fitted  to  every  stage  of 
advance  in  society;  it  has  been  tested 
by  the  efforts  which  men  have  made 
to  destroy  it,  and  has  survived  all 
those  efforts.  It  is  settled  that  it  will 
survive  all  the  revolutions  of  king- 
doms and  all  the  changes  of  dynasties ; 
that  it  will  be  able  to  meet  all  the 
attacks  which  shall  be  made  upon  it 
by  its  enemies;  and  that  it  will  bean 
unfailing  source  of  light  and  comfort 
to  all  future  ages.  If  persecution 
could  crush  it,  it  would  have  been 
crushed  loug  ago;  if  ridicule  could 
drive  it  from  the  world,  it  would  have 
been  driven  away  long  ago ;  if  argu- 
ment, as  urged  by  powerful  intellect, 
and  by  learning,  combined  with  in- 
tense hatred,  could  destroy  it,  it  would 
have  been  destroyed  long  ago ;  and  if 
it  is  not  fitted  to  impart  consolation 
to  the  afflicted,  to  wipe  away  the 
tears  of  mourners,  and  to  uphold  the 
soul  in  death,  that  would  have  been 
demonstrated  long  ago.  In  all  these 
methods  it  has  been  "  tried,"  and  as 
the  result  of  all,  it  has  been  proved  as 
the  only  certain  fact,  in  regard  to  a 
book  as  connected  with  the  future — 
that  the  Bible  will  go  down  accre- 
dited as  a  revelation  from  God  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  %  He  is  a  buckler. 
Or,  a  shield,  for  so  the  original  word 
means.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  3. 

31.  For  who  is  God  save  the  Lord  ? 
"Who  is  God  except  Jehovah  ?  The 
idea  is,  that  no  other  being  has 
evinced  the  power,  the  wisdom,  and 
the  goodness  which  properly  belong 
to  the  true  God ;  or,  that  the  things 


with  strength,  and  maketh  my 
way  perfect. 

33  He  maketh  my  feet  like 
hinds'  feet,  and  setteth  me  upon 
my  high  places. 


ij  Prov.  xxx.  5. 


z  2  Cor.  iii.  5. 


which  are  implied  in  the  true  nature 
of  Ged  are  found  in  no  other  being. 
%  Or  who  is  a  rock  save  our  God  ? 
See  ver.  2.  There  is  no  one  who  can 
furnish  such  safety  or  defence  ;  no  one 
under  whose  protection  we  can  be 
secure  in  danger.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii. 
31. 

32.  It  is  God  that  girdeth  me  with 
strength.  Who  gives  me  strength. 
The  word  girdeth  contains  an  allusion 
to  the  mode  of  dress  among  the 
orientals,  the  long  flowing  robe,  which 
was  girded  up  when  they  ran  or 
laboured,  that  it  might  not  impede 
them ;  and,  probably,  with  the  addi- 
tional idea  that  girding  the  loins  con- 
tributed to  strength.  It  is  a  common 
custom  now  for  men  who  run  a  race, 
or  leap,  or  engage  in  a  strife  of  pugi- 
lism, to  gird  or  bind  up  their  loins. 
See  Notes  on  Job  xl.  7  ;  and  on  Matt, 
v.  38 — 41.  %  And  maketh  my  icay 
perfect.  Gives  me  complete  success 
in  my  undertakings;  or,  enables  me 
so  to  carry  them  out  that  none  of 
them  fail. 

33.  He  maketh  my  feet  like  hinds* 
feet.  So  Habakkuk  iii.  19,  "  He  will 
make  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet,  and  he 
will  make  me  to  walk  upon  mine 
high  places."  The  hind  is  the  female 
deer,  remarkable  for  fleetness  or  swift- 
ness. The  meaning  here  is,  that  God 
had  made  him  alert  or  active,  enabling 
him  to  pursue  a  flying  enemy,  or  to 
escape  from  a  swift-running  foe. 
^[  And  setteth  me  upon  my  high  places. 
Places  of  safety  or  refuge.  The  idea 
is,  that  God  had  given  him  security, 
or  had  rendered  him  safe  from  danger. 
Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  13.  Swiftness  of 
foot,  or  ability  to  escape  from,  or  to 
pursue  an  enemy,  was  regarded  as  of 
great  value  in  ancient  warfare.  Achil- 
les, according  to  the  descriptions  of 


PSALM  XVIII. 


159 


34  He  teacheth  my  hands  to 
war,  so  that  a  bow  of  steel  is 
broken  by  mine  arms. 

35  Thou  hast  also  given  me  the 
shield  of  thy  salvation  :  and  thy 
right  hand  hath  holden  me  up, 
and  thy  l  gentleness  hath  made 
me  great. 


Homer,  was  remarkable  for  it.   Comp. 
2  Sara.  ii.  18  ;  1  Chron.  xii.  8. 

34.  He  teacheth  my  hands  to  tear. 
Comp.  Ps.  cxliv.  1.  The  skill  which 
David  had  in  the  use  of  the  bow,  the 
sword,  or  the  spear, — all  of  which 
depends  on  the  hands, — he  ascribes 
entirely  to  God.  ^  So  that  a  boiv  of 
steel  is  broken  by  mine  amis.  This 
is  mentioned  as  an  instance  of  extra- 
ordinary strength,  as  if  he  were  able 
to  break  a  bow  made  of  metal.  The 
original  word  rendered  steel  means 
properly  brass.  Wood  was  doubtless 
first  used  in  constructing  the  bow,  but 
metals  came  afterwards  to  be  em- 
ployed, and  brass  would  naturally  be 
used  before  the  manufacture  of  steel 
was  discovered.     Rosenmiiller  in  loc. 

35.  Thou  hast  also  given  me  the 
shield  of  thy  salvation.  Thou  hast 
saved  me  as  with  a  shield ;  thou  hast 
thrown  thy  shield  before  me  in  times 
of  danger.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  12. 
%  And  thy  right  hand  hath  holden  me 
up.  Thou  hast  sustained  me  when  in 
danger  of  falling,  as  if  thou  hadst 
upheld  me  with  thine  own  hand. 
%  And  thy'  gentleness  hath  made  me 
great.  Marg.,  "or,  with  thy  meekness 
thou  hast  multiplied  me."  The  word 
here  rendered  gentleness,  evidently 
means  hevefavour,  goodness,  kindness. 
It  commonly  means  humility,  modesty, 
as  applied  to  men  ;  as  applied  to  God, 
it  means  mildness,  clemency,  favour. 
The  idea  is,  that  God  had  dealt  with 
him  in  gentleness,  kindness,  clemency, 
and  that  to  this  fact  alone  he  owed  all 
his  prosperity  and  success  in  life.  It 
was  not  by  any  claim  which  he  had 
on  God;  it  was  by  no  worth  of  his 
own  ;  it  was  by  no  native  strength  or 
valour  that  he  had  been  thus  ex- 
alted, but  it  was  wholly  because  God 


36  Thou  hast  enlarged  my 
steps  under  me,  that  my  2  feet 
did  not  «  slip. 

37  I  have  pursued  mine  ene- 
mies, and  overtaken  them :  nei- 
ther did  I  turn  again  till  they 
were  consumed. 

1  Or,  with  thy  meekness  thou  hast  multiplied 
me.  2  ancles.  a  Prov.  iv.  12. 


had  dealt  kindly  with  him,  or  had 
showed  himfavour.  So  all  our  success 
in  life  is  to  be  traced  to  the  favour — 
the  kindness — of  God. 

36.  Thou  hast  enlarged  my  steps 
under  me.  The  idea  here  is,  "  Thou 
hast  made  room  for  my  feet,  so  that  I 
have  been  enabled  to  walk  without 
hindrance  or  obstruction.  So  in 
Psalm  xxxi.  8,  "  Thou  hast  set  my 
feet  in  a  large  room."  The  idea  is, 
that  he  was  before  straitened,  com- 
pressed, hindered  in  his  goings,  but 
that  now  all  obstacles  had  been  taken 
out  of  the  way,  and  he  could  walk 
freely.  ^[  That  my  feet  did  not  slip. 
Marg.,  mine  ancles.  The  Hebrew 
word  here  rendered  in  the  text  feet, 
and  in  the  margin  ancles,  means  pro- 
perly a  joint ;  small  joint ;  especially 
the  ancle.  The  reference  here  is  to 
the  ancle,  the  joint  that  is  so  useful 
in  walking,  and  that  is  so  liable  to  be 
sprained  or  dislocated.  The  meaning 
is  that  he  had  been  enabled  to  walk 
firmly ;  tl  at  he  did  not  limp.  Before, 
he  had  been  like  one  whose  ancles  are 
weak  or  sprained ;  now  he  was  able 
to  tread  firmly.  The  Divine  favour 
given  to  him  was  as  if  God  had  given 
strength  to  a  lame  man  to  walk 
firmly. 

37.  /  have  pursued  mine  enemies, 
and  overtaken  them.  He  had  not  only 
routed  them,  but  had  had  strength 
to  pursue  them ;  he  had  not  only  pur- 
sued them,  but  he  had  been  enabled  to 
come  up  to  them.  The  idea  is  that 
of  complete  success  and  absolute  tri- 
umph. Tf  Neither  did  I  turn  again. 
I  was  not  driven  back,  nor  was  I 
weary  and  exhausted,  and  compelled 
to  give  over  the  pursuit,  ^J  Till  they 
were  consumed.  Till  they  were  all 
either  slain  or  made  captive,  so  that 


100 


PSALM  XVIII. 


38  I  have  wounded  them,  that 
they  were  not  able  to  rise :  b  they 
are  fallen  under  my  feet. 

39  For  thou  hast  girded  me 
with  strength  unto  the  battle: 
thou   hast  '  subdued  under  me 

b  2  Sam.  v.  20.  *  caused  to  bow. 


the  hostile  forces  vanished.     None  of 
my  enemies  were  left. 

38.  I  have  wounded  them,  etc.  I 
have  so  weakened  them — so  entirely 
prostrated  them — that  they  were  not 
able  to  rally  again.  This  does  not 
refer  so  much  to  wounds  inflicted  on 
individuals  in  the  hostile  ranks  as  to 
the  entire  host  or  army.  It  was  so 
weakened  that  it  could  not  again  he 
put  in  battle  array.  The  idea  is  that 
of  successful  pursuit  and  conquest. 
^  They  are  fallen  under  my  feet.  I 
have  completely  trodden  them  down 
—a  common  mode  of  denoting  entire 
victon-,  Ps.  cxix.  118;  Isa.  xxv.  10; 
Lam.  i.  15 ;  Dan.  viii.  13 ;  Luke  xxi. 
24 

39.  For  thou  hast  girded  me  with 
strength  unto  the  battle.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  32.  Comp.  Job  xii.  18;  Prov. 
xxxi.  17.  ^[  Thou  hast  subdued  tinder 
one.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  caused  to 
bow.  That  is,  God  had  caused  them 
to  submit  to  him ;  he  had  enabled 
him  to  overcome  them; — still  acknow- 
ledging that  all  this  was  from  God, 
and  that  the  praise  was  due  to  Him, 
and  not  to  the  power  of  his  own 
arm. 

40.  Thou  hast 'also given  me  theneeks 
of  mine  enemies.  Their  necks  to  tread 
upon,  as  the  result  of  victory ;  or  their 
necks  to  be  subject  to  me,  as  the  neck 
of  the  ox  is  to  his  owner.  The  phrase  is 
sometimes  used  in  this  latter  sense  to 
denote  subjection  (comp.  Jev.  xxvii. 
12) ;  but  it  is  more  commonly,  when 
applied  to  war,  used  in  the  former 
sense,  as  denoting  complete  triumph 
or  conquest.  It  was  not  uncommon 
to  trample  on  the  necks  of  those  who 
were  overcome  in  battle.  See  Josh. 
x.  21;  Ezek.  xxi.  2;  Gen.  xlix.  8. 
The  word  used  here — ?Hi?,  oreph — 
means  properly  neck,  nape,  the  back 


those  that  rose  up  against  me. 

40  Thou  hast  also  given  me 
the  necks  of  mine  enemies,  that 
I  might  destroy  them  that  hate 
me. 

41  They  cried,  but  there  icas 
none  to  save  them  :  even  unto  the 


of  the  neck ;  and  hence,  to  give  the 
neck  means  sometimes  to  turn  the 
back,  as  in  flight;  and  the  phrase 
would  admit  of  that  meaning  here. 
So  Gesenius  (Lex.)  understands  it. 
So  also  De  Wette :  "  Thou  turnest 
my  enemies  to  flight."  It  seems  to 
me,  however,  that  the  more  probable 
interpretation  is  that  of  complete  sub- 
jection,— as  when  the  conqueror  places 
his  foot  on  the  necks  of  his  foes. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  next  mem- 
ber of  the  sentence,  where  the  psalm- 
ist speaks  of  the  complete  destruction 
of  those  who  hated  him.  %  That  I 
might  destroy  them  that  hate  me. 
That  have  pursued  and  persecuted 
me  in  this  manner.  The  idea  is  that 
of  utterly  overcoming  them ;  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  their  power,  and  to 
their  ability  to  injure  him. 

41.  They  cried.  They  cried  out 
for  help,  for  mercy,  for  life.  In  mo- 
dern language,  "  they  begged  for 
quarter."  They  acknowledged  that 
they  were  vanquished,  and  entreated 
that  their  lives  might  be  spared. 
^[  But  there  was  none  to  save  them. 
To  preserve  their  lives.  No  help  ap- 
peared from  their  own  countrymen; 
they  found  no  mercy  in  me  or  my 
followers;  and  God  did  not  interpose 
to  deliver  them.  %  Even  unto  the 
Loed.  As  a  last  resort.  Men  ap- 
peal to  everything  else  for  help  before 
they  will  appeal  to  God;  often  when 
they  come  to  him  it  is  by  constraint, 
and  not  willingly;  if  the  danger 
should  leave  them,  they  would  cease 
to  call  upon  him.  Hence,  as  there  is 
no  real  sincerity  in  their  calling  upou 
God — no  real  regard  for  his  honour 
or  his  commands — their  cries  are  not 
heard,  and  they  perish.  The  course 
of  things  with  a  sinner,  however,  is 
often  such  that,  despairing  of  salva- 


PSALM  XVIII. 


161 


Lord,  but  e  he  answered  them 
not. 

42  Then  did  I  beat  them  small 
as  the  dust  before  the  wind ;  I 

c  Jer.  xi.  11. 


tion  in  any  other  way,  and  seeing 
that  this  is  the  only  true  way,  he 
conies  with  a  heart  broken,  contrite, 
penitent,  and  then  God  never  turns 
away  from  the  cry.  No  sinner, 
though  as  a  last  resort,  who  comes 
to  God  in  real  sincerity,  will  ever  be 
rejected.  %  But  he  ansicered  them 
not.  He  did  not  put  forth  his  power 
to  save  them  from  my  sword ;  to 
keep  them  alive  when  they  were  thus 
vanquished.  Had  they  cried  unto 
him  to  sace  their  souls,  he  would  un- 
doubtedly have  done  it ;  but  their  cry 
was  for  life — for  the  Divine  help  to 
save  them  from  the  sword  of  the  con- 
queror. There  might  have  been  many 
reasons  why  God  should  not  interpose 
to  save  them  from  the  regular  conse- 
quences of  valour  when  they  had  been 
in  the  wrong  and  had  begun  the  war ; 
but  there  would  have  been  no  reason 
why  he  should  not  interpose  if  they 
had  called  upon  him  to  save  them 
from  their  sins.  There  may  be  many 
reasons  why  God  should  not  save 
sinners  from  the  temporal  judgments 
due  to  their  sins — the  intemperate 
from  the  diseases,  the  poverty,  and 
the  wretchedness  consequent  on  that 
vice, — or  the  licentious  from  the  woes 
and  sorrows  caused  by  such  a  course 
of  life  ;  but  there  is  no  reason,  in  any 
case,  why  God  should  not  save  from 
the  eternal  consequences  of  sin,  if  the 
sinner  cries  sincerely  and  earnestly 
for  mercy. 

42.  Then  did  I  heat  them  small  as 
the  dtist  before  the  wind.  As  the  fine 
dust  is  driven  by  the  wind,  so  they 
fled  before  me.  There  could  be  no 
more  striking  illustration  of  a  dis- 
comfited army  flying  before  a  con- 
queror. De  Wette  says  correctly  that 
the  idea  is,  "  I  beat  them  small,  and 
scattered  them  as  dust  before  the 
wind."  %  I  did  cast  them  out  as  the 
dirt  in  the  streets.     In  the  corre- 


did  cast  them  out  as  the  dirt  in 
the  streets. 

43  Thou  hafet  delivered  me 
from  the  strivings  of  the  people; 
and  thou  hast  made  me  the  head 


sponding  place  in  2  Sam.  xxii.  43, 
this  is,  "  I  did  stamp  them  as  the  mire 
of  the  street,  and  did  spread  them 
abroad."  The  idea  in  the  place  be- 
fore us  is,  that  he  poured  them  out, 
for  so  the  Hebrew  word  means,  as  the 
dirt  or  mire  in  the  streets.  As  that 
is  trodden  on,  or  trampled  down,  so 
they,  instead  of  being  marshalled  for 
battle,  were  wholly  disorganized,  scat- 
tered, and  left  to  be  trodden  down, 
as  the  most}  worthless  object  is.  A 
similar  image  occurs  in  Isa.  x.  6,  where 
God  is  speaking  of  Sennacherib  :  "  I 
will  send  him  against  an  hypocritical 

nation to  tread  them  down  like 

the  mire  of  the  streets." 

43.  Thou  hast  delivered  me  from 
the  strivings  of  the  people.  From  the 
contentions  of  the  people;  or,  from 
the  efforts  which  they  have  made  to 
overcome  and  subdue  me.  The  allu- 
sion is  to  the  efforts  made  by  the  peo- 
ple, under  the  guidance  of  their  lead- 
ers. It  is  not  "  strivings"  among  his 
own  followers,  but  the  efforts,  the 
strivings,  the  contentions  of  his  ene- 
mies, who  endeavoured  to  obtain  the 
mastery  over  him,  and  to  subdue  him. 
%  Thou  hast  made  me  the  head  of  the 
heathen.  The  head  of  the  nations ; 
that  is,  the  nations  round  about.  In 
other  words,  he  had,  by  the  Divine 
aid,  brought  them  into  subjection  to 
him,  or  so  subdued  them  that  they 
became  tributary  to  him.  The  word 
"  heathen^  with  us  expresses  an  idea 
which  is  not  necessarily  connected 
with  the  original  word.  That  word 
is  simply  nations — Dyi2,  goim.  It  is 
true  that  those  nations  were  heathens 
in  the  present  sense  of  the  term,  but 
that  idea  is  not  necessarily  connected 
with  the  word.  The  meaning  is,  that 
surrounding  nations  had  been  made 
subject  to  him  ;  or  that  he  had  been 
made  to  rule  over  them.  David,  in 
fact,  thus  brought   the  surrounding 


162 


PSALM  XVI II. 


of  the  heathen :  a  a  people  whom 

I  have  not  known  shall  serve  me. 

44  l  As  soon  a*s  they  hear  of 

d  Isa.  It.  5. 

1  At  the  hearing  of  the  ear. 


people  under  subjection  to  him,  and 
made  them  tributary.  In  2  Sam.  viii. 
he  is  said  to  have  subdued  Philistia, 
and  Moab,  and  Syria,  and  Edom,  in 
all  of  which  countries  he  put  "  garri- 
sons/' and  all  of  which  he  made 
tributary  to  himself.  *H  A  people 
whom  /  have  not  known  shall  serve 
one.  People  that  I  had  not  before 
heard  of.  This  is  the  language  of 
confident  faith  that  his  kingdom 
would  be  still  further  extended,  so  as 
to  embrace  nations  before  unknown  to 
him.  His  past  victories,  and  the  fact 
that  his  kingdom  had  been  so  esta- 
blished and  was  already  so  extended, 
justified  the  expectation  that  it  would 
be  still  further  enlarged;  that  the 
fame  of  his  conquests  would  reach 
other  nations,  and  that  they  would 
willingly  yield  themselves  to  him. 
After  the  victories  which  he  had 
achieved,  as  celebrated  in  this  psalm, 
that  might  be  expected  to  follow  as  a 
matter  of  course.  It  is  the  triumph- 
ant exultation  of  a  conqueror,  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  his  expectation, 
not  that  his  successors  would  extend 
the  empire,  but  that  other  nations 
would  become  voluntarily  subject  to 
him. 

44.  As  soon  as  they  hear  of  me, 
they  shall  ohey  me.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
At  the  hearing  of  the  ear.  That  is, 
their  submission  will  be  prompt  and 
immediate.  The  fame  of  my  victories 
will  be  such  as  to  render  resistance 
hopeless ;  my  fame,  as  at  the  head  of 
a  mighty  empire,  will  be  such  as  to 
lead  them  to  desire  my  friendship 
and  protection.  %  The  strangers. 
Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  The  sons  of  the 
stranger.  The  word  refers  to  fo- 
reigners^ to  those  of  other  nations. 
His  name  and  deeds  would  inspire 
such  respect,  or  create  such  a  dread 
of  his  power,  that  they  would  be  glad 
to    seek    his   friendship,   and   would 


me,  they  shall  obey  me :  the 
2  strangers  shall  3  submit  them- 
selves unto  me. 

2  sons  of  the  stranger. 

3  lie,  or,  yield  feigned  obedience. 


readily  submit  to  his  dominion.  -[T 
Shall  submit  themselves  unto  me. 
Marg.,  yield  feigned  obedience.  The 
Hebrew  word  here  used — ^)n3,  chah- 

—      T 

hash — means  properly  to  lie,  to  speak 
lies i  then,  to  deceive,  or  disappoint; 
then,  to  feign,  to  flatter,  to  play  the 
hypocrite.  It  is  manifestly  used  in 
this  sense  here,  as  referring  to  those 
who,  awed  by  the  terror  of  his  name 
and  power,  would  come  and  profess 
subjection  to  him  as  a  conqueror. 
Yet  the  use  of  the  word  here  implies 
that  he  was  aware  that,  in  many 
cases,  this  would  be  only  a  feigned 
submission,  or  that  the  homage  would 
be  hypocritical;  homage  inspired  by 
terror,  not  by  love.  Undoubtedly 
much  of  the  professed  subjection  of 
conquered  nations  is  of  this  kind,  and 
it  would  be  well  if  all  conquerors 
understood  this  as  David  did.  He 
accepted,  indeed,  the  acquiescence 
and  the  submission,  but  he  under- 
stood the  cause  ;  and  this  knowledge 
would  only  tend  to  make  his  throne 
more  secure,  as  it  would  save  him 
from  putting  confidence  or  trust 
where  there  was  no  certainty  that  it 
would  be  well  placed.  Towards  David 
as  a  sovereign  there  was  much  real 
loyalty,  but  there  was  also  much 
professed  allegiance  that  was  false 
and  hollow ;  allegiance  which  would 
endure  only  while  his  power  lasted, 
and  which  would  only  wait  for  an 
opportunity  to  throw  off  the  yoke. 
In  respect  to  God,  also,  there  are  not 
a  few  who  "feignedly  submit"  to 
him,  or  who  yield  feigned  obedience. 
They,  too,  are  awed  by  his  power. 
They  know  that  he  is  able  to  destroy. 
They  see  the  tokens  of  his  greatness 
and  majesty,  and  they  come  and  pro- 
fess submission  to  him — a  submission 
founded  on  terror,  not  on  love;  a 
submission  which  would  ceas3  at  once 
could  they  be   assured   of  safety  if 


PSALM  XVIII. 


103 


45  The  strangers  shall  fade 
away,  and  be  afraid  out  of  their 
close  places. 

46  The     Lord     liveth :     and 


they  should  renounce  their  allegiance 
to  him.  And  as  David  was  not  ig- 
norant of  the  fact  that  not  a  little  of 
the  professed  submission  to  him  was 
false  and  feigued, — so,  in  a  much 
higher  sense — in  a  much  more  accu- 
rate manner — God  is  aware  of  the 
fact  that  many  who  profess  to  be 
subject  to  him  are  subject  in  pro- 
fession only  ;  that  if  they  could  do  it 
with  safety,  they  would  throw  off  the 
very  appearance  of  loyalty,  and  carry 
out  in  reality  what  exists  in  their 
hearts.  It  must  have  been  sad  for 
David  to  reflect  how  greatly  the 
number  of  his  professed  subjects 
might  have  been  diminished,  if  none 
had  been  retained  but  those  who 
truly  loved  his  reign,  and  respected 
him  as  a  sovereign;  it  is  sad  to 
reflect  how  greatly  the  number  of 
the  professed  friends  of  God  would  be 
diminished,  if  all  those  should  with- 
draw who  have  yielded  only  feigned 
obedience  to  him  !  Yet  the  Church 
would  be  the  better  and  the  stronger 
for  it. 

45.  The  strangers  shall  fade  aicay. 
Heb.,  "  The  sons  of  the  stranger." 
That  is,  foreigners.  The  word  ren- 
deved  fade  away — b^l,  nabal — means 
properly  to  wilt,  wither,  fall  away,  as 
applicable  to  flowers,  leaves,  or  plants, 
Ps.  i.  3;  xxxvii.  2;  Isa.  i.  30;  xxviii. 
1.  Here  it  means  that  those  foreign 
nations  would  diminish  in  numbers 
and  in  power,  until  they  should  wholly 
disappear.  The  idea  is,  that  all  his 
foes  would  vanish,  and  that  he  and 
his  kingdom  would  be  left  in  peace. 
%  And  be  afraid  out  of  their  close 
places.  The  word  rendered  be  afraid 
means  to  tremble — as  those  do  who 
are  in  fear.  The  word  rendered  close 
places  means  places  that  are  shut  up 
or  enclosed,  as  fortified  cities  or  for- 
tresses. The  reference  is  to  their  places 
of  retreat,  towns,  castles,  fortresses. 
The  meaning  is,  that  they  would  find 


blessed  he  my  rock  ;  and  let  the 
God  of  my  salvation  be  exalted. 
47  It  is  God  that  l  avengeth 

1  gireth  arengernentsfor  me. 


such  places  to  be  no  security,  and 
would  tremble  out  of  them ;  that  is, 
they  would  flee  out  of  them  in  con- 
sternation and  alarm.  The  general 
thought  is  that  of  ultimate  complete 
security  for  himself  and  his  kingdom,or 
entire  deliverance  from  all  his  enemies. 

46.  The  Lord  liveth.  Jehovah — 
the  name  here  used — is  often  described 
as  the  living  God  in  contradistinction 
to  idols,  who  are  represented  as  with- 
out life,  Deut.  v.  26 ;  Josh  iii.  10 ; 
2  Kings  xix.  4 ;  Ps.  xlii.  2 ;  Matt, 
xvi.  16;  1  Thess.  i.  9.  Comp.  Ps. 
cxv.  5 ;  cxxxv.  16.  It  is  probably  in 
allusion  to  this  idea  that  the  phrase 
"  The  Lord  liveth  "  is  used  here.  It 
is  a  joyful  exclamation  in  view  of  all 
that  God  had  done ;  of  all  the  deliver- 

J  ances  which  he  had  wrought  for  the 

I  author  of  the  psalm.     In  the  remem- 

|  brance  of  all  this  the  psalmist  says 

I  that  God  had  shown  himself  to  be  the 

living,  that  is,  the  true  God.     These 

j  interpositions  furnished  abundant  de- 

'  monstration  that  Jehovah  existed,  and 

|  that  he  was  worthy  of  adoration  and 

!  praise  as  the  true  God.     So,  in  view 

of  mercy  and  salvation,  the  heart  of 

the    redeemed    exultingly    exclaims, 

"  The  Lord  lives, — there  is  a  living 

God."     If  And  blessed  be  my  Hock. 

God,  who  has  shown  himself  to  be  a 

refuge  and  a  protector.      See  Notes 

on  ver.  2.     %  And  let  the  God  of  nig 

salvation  be  exalted.  The  God  who  has 

saved  me  from  my  enemies.     Let  him 

be  exalted,  be  praised,  be  honoured, 

be  adored.     Let  his  name  be  exalted 

above   all   idol  gods ;    above  all   the 

creatures   that    he   has   made.      The 

wish    is,    that    His   name   might    be 

made  prominent ;    that  all  creatures 

might  praise  and  honour  Him. 

47.  It  is  God  that  avengeth  me. 
Marg.,  giveth  avengements  for  me. 
The  marginal  reading  is  a  literal 
translation  of  the  Hebrew.  The 
meaning  is,  that  God  had  punished 


164 


PSALM  XVIII. 


me,  and  l  subduetli  tlie  people 
under  me. 

4S  He  delivereth  me  from  mine 
enemies  ;  yea,  thou  liftest  me  up 
above  those  that  rise  up  against 
me  :  thou  hast  delivered  me  from 

1  ileslroyeth. 

the  enemies  of  the  author  of  the 
psalm  for  all  the  wrongs  which  they 
had  done  to  him.  Comp.  Rom.  xii. 
19.  *"  And  subduetli  the  people  tin- 
der me.  Marg.,  destroy eth.  The  idea 
is  that  he  had  subdued  the  nations  so 
that  they  became  obedient  to  him. 
The  primary  notion  of  the  word  used 
here — from  "Ql,  dabar — is  to  set  in 

~      T 

a  row  ;  to  range  in  order ;  to  connect ; 
to  lead;  to  guide; — then,  to  reduce 
to  order ;  to  subdue.  This  God  had 
done  in  respect  to  the  nations.  In- 
stead of  being  rebellious  and  tumul- 
tuous, God  had  reduced  them  to  obe- 
dience, and  had  thus  set  him  over  a 
kingdom  where  all  were  subject  to 
order  and  to  law. 

48.  He  delivereth  me  from  mine 
enemies.  From  all  my  foes.  ^[  Tea, 
thou  liftest  me  up  above  those  that  rise 
up  against  me.  So  that  I  triumph 
over  them.  Instead  of  being  subdued 
by  them,  and  trampled  under  their 
feet,  I  am  exalted,  and  they  are  hum- 
bled. \  Thou  hast  delivered  me  from 
the  violent  man.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
man  of  violence;  the  man  charac- 
terised by  injustice  and  wrong;  the 
man  who  endeavoured  to  overcome 
and  subdue  me  by  force  and  arms. 
There  is  probably  a  special  allusion 
here  by  tire  psalmist  to  Saul  as  his 
great  enemy,  but  perhaps  he  had  also 
in  his  eye  others  of  the  same  kind, 
and  the  meaning  may  be  that  he  had 
been  delivered  from  all  of  that  class 
of  men. 

49.  Therefore  icill  I  give  thanks 
unto  thee.  Marg.,  confess.  The  He- 
brew word — HT,  i/adah — in  the  form 

T  T       *" 

used  here,  means  properly  to  profess, 
to  confess,  to  acknowledge ;  then  es- 
pecially to  acknowledge  or  recognise 
blessings  and  favours ;  in  other  words, 
to  give  thanks,  to  praise.     The  idea 


the  2  violent  man. 

49  Therefore  will  I  3  give 
thanks  unto  thee,  O  Lord, 
among  the  heathen,  and  sing 
praises  unto  thy  name. 

2  uum  of  violence.  3  Or,  confess. 


here  is  that  he  would  make  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  those  blessings 
which  he  had  received ;  or  that  he 
would  cause  the  remembrance  of  them 
to  be  celebrated  among  the  nations. 
*~  Among  the  heathen.  Among  the 
nations.  Sea  Xotes  on  ver.  43.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  he  would  cause 
these  blessings  to  be  remembered  by 
making  a  record  of  them  in  this  song 
of  praise ;  a  song  that  would  be  used 
not  only  in  his  own  age  and  in  his 
own  country,  but  also  among  other 
nations,  and  in  other  times.  He 
would  do  all  in  his  power  to  make 
the  knowledge  of  these  favours,  and 
these  proofs  of  the  existence  of  the 
true  God,  known  abroad  and  trans- 
mitted to  other  times.  The  apostle 
Paul  uses  this  language  (Rom.  xv.  9) 
as  expressing  properly  the  fact  that 
the  knowledge  of  God  was  to  be  com- 
municated to  the  "  Gentiles  :"  "  As 
it  is  written,  For  this  cause  will  1 
confess  to  thee  among  the  Gentiles.'" 
The  word  "heathen"  or  nations,  in 
the  passage  before  us,  corresponds 
precisely  with  the  meaning  of  the 
word  Gentiles;  and  Paul  has  used 
the  language  of  the  psalm  legiti- 
mately and  properly  as  showing  that 
it  was  a  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment that  the  truths  of  religion  were 
not  to  be  confined  to  the  Jews,  but 
were  to  be  made  known  to  other  na- 
tions. T  And  sing  praises  unto  thy 
name.  Unto  thee  ; — the  name  often 
being  used  to  denote  the  person.  The 
meaning  is,  that  he  would  cause  the 
praises  of  God  to  be  celebrated  among 
foreign  or  heathen  nations,  as  the  re- 
sult of  what  God  had  done  for  him. 
Far,  probably,  very  far  beyond  what 
David  anticipated  when  he  penned 
this  psalm,  this  has  been  done.  The 
psalm  itself  has  been  chanted  by  mil- 


PSALM   XVIII. 


165 


50  Great  deliverance  givetli  lie 
to  his  king  ;  and  showeth  mercy 


lions  who  were  not  in  existence,  and 
in  lands  of  which  the  psalmist  had  no 
knowledge;  and,  connected  as  it  has 
been  witb  the  other  psalms  in  Chris- 
tian worship,  it  has  contributed  in  an 
eminent  degree  to  extend  the  praises 
of  God  far  in  the  eartb,  and  to  trans- 
mit the  knowledge  of  him  to  genera- 
tions as  they  succeeded  one  another. 
What  David  anticipated  is,  moreover, 
as  yet  only  in  the  progress  of  fulfil- 
ment. Millions  not  yet  born  will 
make  use  of  the  psalm,  as  millions 
have  done  before,  as  the  medium  of 
praise  to  God ;  and  down  to  the  most 
distant  times  this  sacred  song,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  others  in  the  Book 
of  Psalms,  will  contribute  to  make 
God  known  in  the  earth,  and  to  secure 
for  him  the  praises  of  mankind. 

50.  Great  deliverance  giveth  he  to 
his  king.  To  David,  as  king.  The 
word  in  the  original,  which  is  ren- 
dered "deliverauce,"  means  properly 
salvation,  and  is  here  in  the  plural 
number.  It  refers  not  to  one  act  of 
Divine  interposition,  but  to  the  many 
acts  (referred  to  in  the  psalm)  in 
which  God  had  interposed  to  save  him 
from  danger  and  from  death.  The 
phrase  "to  his  king"  refers  to  the 
fact  that  God  had  appointed  him  to 
reign,  and  to  administer  the  govern- 
ment for  him.  He  did  not  reign  on 
his  own  account,  but  he  reigned  for 
God,  and  with  a  view  to  do  his  will. 
ST  And  shoiveth  mercy  to  his  anointed. 
To  him  who  had  been  set  apart  to 
the  kingly  office  by  a  solemn  act  of 
anointing.  Comp.  1  Sam.  xvi.  13; 
2  Sam.  ii.  4-7 ;  v.  3, 17 ;  xii.  7  ;  comp. 
2  Kings  ix.  3,  6,  12.  It  is  in  allu- 
sion to  this  custom  that  the  Messiah 
is  called  the  Anointed,  or  the  Christ. 
See  Xotes  on  Matt.  i.  1.  %  To  David, 
end  to  his  seed.  To  his  descendants, 
or  posterity.  There  is  an  undoubted 
reference  here  to  the  promises  made 
on  David  in  regard  to  his  successors 
to  the  throne.     See  2  Sam.  vii.  12- 


to  his  anointed,  to  David,  and  to 
his  seed  for  /  evermore. 

/  Rom.  xi.  29. 


16,  25,  26,  and  Ps.  lxxxix.  19-37. 
%  For  evermore.  This  expresses  the 
confident  expectation  of  David  that 
the  government  would  remain  in  his 
family  to  the  latest  times.  This  ex- 
pectation was  founded  on  such  pro- 
mises as  that  in  2  Sam.  vii.  12,  13 : 
"  I  will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee, 
which  shall  proceed  out  of  thy  bowels, 
and  I  will  establish  his  kingdom ;  he 
shall  build  an  house  for'my  name,  and 
I  will  establish  the  throne  of  his  king- 
dom for  ever."  Also  2  Sam.  vii.  16  : 
"  And  thine  bouse  and  thy  kingdom 
shall  be  established  for  ever  before 
thee;  thy  throne  shall  be  established 
for  ever."  See  also  Ps.  lxxxix.  36 : 
"  His  seed  shall  endure  for  ever,  and 
his  throne  as  the  sun  before  me." 
The  perpetuity  of  this  kingdom  is 
found,  in  fact,  in  the  reign  of  the 
Messiah,  a  descendant  of  David,  in 
whose  eternal  reign  these  promises 
will  receive  an  ample  fulfilment.  See 
Isa.  ix.  7.  Comp.  Luke  i.  32,  33. 
The  temporal  reign  passed  wholly 
away  in  the  process  of  time  from  the 
descendants  of  David;  the  spiritual 
reign  is  perpetual  in  the  Messiah. 
How  .far  David  understood  this  it  is 
not  important  to  inquire,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  to  determine.  It  is 
sufficient  for  the  proper  understand- 
ing of  the  place  to  remember  (a)  that 
there  will  have  been  a  strict  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise,  according  to  the 
full  import  of  the  language,  in  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  David;  and  (b) 
that,  however  this  may  have  been  un- 
derstood by  David  wrho  recorded  the 
promise,  the  real  author  of  the  pro- 
mise was  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that 
the  real  meaning  of  the  promise,  as 
thus  recorded,  was  thafr  it  should  be 
fulfilled  as  it  has  been.  In  this,  as  in 
all  other  cases,  the  inquiry  to  be  made 
in  interpreting  the  language  is  not 
how  the  sacred  penman  understood 
it,  but  what  was  meant  by  the  real 
author,  the  Spirit  of  God, — and  whe- 


166 


PSALM   XIX. 


ther  the  prediction,  according  to  that 
meaning,  has  been  fulfilled.  When  a 
man  employs  an  amanuensis,  the  in- 
quiry in  regard  to  what  is  written 
is  not  how  the  amanuensis  understood 
it,  hut  how  he  who  dictated  what  was 
written  intended  it  should  he  under- 
stood. Applying  this  principle,  the 
prediction  here  and  elsewhere,  in  re- 
gard to  the  perpetuity  of  the  reign 
of  David  and  his  posterity,  has  been, 
and  is,  fulfilled  in  the  most  ample 
manner.       "  Great     David's    greater 

Son  "  S1IALL  REIGX  FOR  EYEE  AND 
EVER. 


PSALM  XIX. 

This  very  beautiful  psalm  is  designed 
to  illustrate  the  superiority  of  revealed 
truth  above  the  light  of  nature  in  showing 
the  character  and  perfections  of  God.  In 
doing  this,  there  is  no  attempt  in  the  psalm, 
as  there  should  be  none  on  our  part  in 
explaining  it,  to  undervalue  or  disparage 
the  truths  about  God  revealed  by  nature. 
All  that  could  now  be  said  in  regard  to  the 
works  of  creation,  as  illustrating  the 
Divine  perfections,  is  really  admitted  by 
the  psalmist  (vers.  1-6)  ;  and  yet  this 
is  placed  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
revelations  disclosed  in  the  "  law  of  the 
Lord,"  that  is,  in  his  revealed  word 
(vers.  7-11).  The  revelations  of  nature, 
and  the  higher  revelation  by  inspiration, 
belong  to  the  same  system  of  religion, 
and  are  alike  designed  to  illustrate  the 
being,  the  perfections,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  The  friend  of  religion 
should  claim  the  one  as  well  as  the 
other ;  the  defence  of  the  Bible  as  a 
revelation  from  God  should  not  lead 
us  to  disparage  or  undervalue  the  dis- 
closures respecting  God  as  made  by 
nature.  He  who  asserts  that  a  revela- 
tion is  necessary  to  mankind,  and  who 
maintains  that  the  light  of  nature  is  not 
sufficient  for  the  wants  of  man,  should 
nevertheless  concede  all  that  can  be 
known  from  the  works  of  God  about  the 
Creator ;  should  rejoice  in  all  that 
truth  ;  and  should  be  willing  that  all 
should  be  learned  that  can  be  learned 
about  God  from  his  works.  When  all 
this  is  admitted,  and  all  this  learned, 
there  will  be  still  an  ample  field  for 
the  higher  disclosures  which  revelation 
claims  to  make. 
.    Nor  did  the  psalmist  apprehend  that 


the  revelations  about  God  which  are 
made  in  his  works  would  be  in  conflict 
with  those  which  are  made  in  his 
word.  He  evidently  felt,  in  looking  at 
these  works  of  creation,  that  he  was 
learning  truths  which  would  in  no  man- 
ner contradict  the  higher  truths  com- 
municated by  revelation  ;  that  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  one  might  be  pursued 
to  any  extent  without  showing  that  the 
other  was  needless,  or  bringing  the  truth 
of  the  other  into  peril. 

This  psalm  consists  properly  of  three 
parts  :  I.  The  revelation  of  God  in  his 
works,  vers.  1 — 6.  II.  The  higher  and 
more  glorious  revelation  of  himself  in  his 
law,  vers.  7—10.  III.  The  bearing  of 
these  truths  on  the  present  character  and 
conduct  of  the  author,  and  consequently 
their  adaptedness  to  produce  the  same 
effect  on  others,,  vers.  11—14; — («)  in 
learning  men  of  the  nature  of  sin,  and 
thus  keeping  them  from  transgression, 
ver.  11  ;  (o)  in  making  them  aware  of 
the  extent  and  depth  of  sin,  and  especially 
of  secret  faults,  ver.  12  ;  (c)  in  leading 
them  to  pray  earncstl)'  that  they  may  be 
cleansed  from  secret  faults,  and  be  kept 
back  or  restrained  from  presumptuous 
sins,  vers.  12,  13  ;  (d)  in  leading  them 
to  pray  earnestly  that  their  words  and 
thoughts  may  be  made  acceptable  to  God, 
ver.  14/ 

The  psalm  is  said  in  the  title  to  be 
"A  Psalm  of  David;"  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  psalm  itself  to  create  a 
doubt  in  regard  to  the  correctness  of  this 
statement.  It  is  impossible,  however, 
to  determine  when,  or  in  what  circum- 
stances, it  was  composed  ;  for  there  are 
no  internal  marks  which  will  fix  it  at 
any  particular  period  of  the  life  of  the 
author.  There  is  no  allusion  either  to 
persecution  or  to  triumph; — to  private, 
domestic,  or  public  life, — or  to  any  of 
the  known  circumstances  of  the  history 
of  David.  If  a  conjecture  may  be  allowed, 
it  would  seem  not  improbable  that  it  was 
composed  in  those  calm  periods  of  his 
history  when  he  led  a  shepherd-life  ; 
when  he  had  abundant  time  to  contem- 
plate the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  by  day  and  by  night,  and  to 
meditate  on  them  in  contrast  with  the 
higher  truths  which  God  had  made 
known  in  his  law. 

Rosenmuller  conjectured  at  one  time 
that  the  psalm  was  originally  two,  and 
that  the  two  were  afterwards  united  into 
one.  De  Wette  also  looked  favourably 
on  this  supposition.  Rosenmuller,  how- 
ever, subsequently  saw  occasion  to  retract 


PSALM  XIX. 


167 


PSALM  XIX. 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

rpHE  Leavens  g  declare  the  glory 

J-  g  Rom.  i.  19,  20. 


of    God :     and     the    firmament 
showeth  his  handywork. 

2  Day     unto       day     uttereth 


this,  and  to  adopt  the  opinion  that  it  was 
originally  one  composition.  This  is  un- 
doubtedly the  correct  idea,  as  appears  not  | 
only  from  the  fact  that  there  is  no  evidence 
that  these  were  two  psalms,  and  from 
the  general  character  and  construction 
of  the  psalm,  but  from  the  fact  that  the 
conclusion  (vers.  12 — 14)  seems  to  be 
based  on  the  contemplation  of  all  the 
truth  which  God  in  any  way  makes 
known  to  the  soul.  On  the  supposition 
that  the  psalm  is  one,  this  is  a  proper. 
termination  of  the  whole  composition. 
On  the  other  supposition,  no  small  part 
of  the  beauty  of  the  psalm  would  be 
lost. 

In  respect  to  the  meaning  of  the  title, 
"To  the  chief  Musician,"  see  the  in- 
troduction to  Ps.  iv. 

1.  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of 
God.  They  announce,  proclaim,  make 
known  his  glory.  The  word  heavens 
here  refers  to  the  material  heavens  as 
they  appear  to  the  eye — the  region  of 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  The  He- 
brew word  is  used  in  the  Scriptures 
uniformly  in  the  plural  number, 
though  in  our  common  translation  the 
singular  number  is  often  used.  Gen.  i. 
1,  8,  9,  14,  17,  20 ;  vi.  17  ;  vii.  11, 19, 
23  ;  et  scepe.  The  plural,  however,  is 
often  retained,  hut  without  any  special 
reason  why  it  should  be  retained  in 
one  place  rather  than  in  another. 
Gen.  ii.  1,  4 ;  Deut.  x.  14 ;  Ezra  ix. 
6  j  Ps.  ii.  4 ;  viii.  1,  3 ;  xviii.  13.  The 
original  idea  may  have  been  that  there 
was  one  heaven  above  another — one 
in  which  the  sun  was  placed,  another 
in  which  the  moon  was  placed,  then 
the  planets,  the  fixed  stars,  etc. 
Above  all  was  supposed  to  be  the 
place  where  God  dwells.  The  word 
glory  here  means  that  which  consti- 
tutes the  glory  or  honour  of  God — his 
wisdom,  power,  skill,  faithfulness, 
benevolence,  as  seen  in  the  starry 
worlds  above  us,  the  silent,  but  solemn 
movements  by  day  and  by  night.  The 
idea  is,  that  these  convey  to  the  mind 
a  true  impression  of  the  greatness  and 


majesty  of  God.  The  reference  here 
is  to  these  heavens  as  they  appear  to 
the  naked  eye,  and.  as  they  are  ob- 
served by  all  men.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  impression  is  far  more  solemn 
and  grand  when  we  take  into  the 
estimate  the  disclosures  of  the  modern 
astronomy,  and  when  we  look  at  the 
heavens,  not  merely  by  the  naked 
eye,  but  through  the  revelations  of 
the  telescope.  \  And  the  firmament. 
See  Notes  on  Daniel  xii.  3.  The  word 
rendered  firmament  —  J?"1^"^  rdkia, 
means  properly  an  expanse, — that 
which  is  spread  out — and  is  applied 
to  the  heavens  as  they  appear  to  be 
spread  out  or  expanded  above  us. 
The  word  occurs  elsewhere  in  the 
following  places,  and  is  always  ren- 
dered firmament  in  our  common  ver- 
sion, Gen.  i.  6,  7  (twice),  8,  14, 15, 17, 
20;  Ps.  cl.  1 ;  Ezek.  i.  22,  23,  25,  26; 
x.  1 ;  Dan.  xii.  3.  The  word  firma- 
ment— that  which  is  firm  or  fixed — is 
taken  from  the  word  used  by  the  trans- 
lators of  the  Septuagint,  (j-epku>ijct, 
from  the  idea  that  the  heavens  above 
us  are  a  solid  concave.  In  the  Scrip- 
tures the  stars  are  represented  as 
placed  in  that  expanse,  so  that  if  it 
should  be  rolled  together  as  a  tent  is 
rolled  up,  they  would  fall  down  to  the 
earth.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxiv.  4. 
The  reference  in  the  passage  before  us 
is  to  the  heavens  as  they  appear  to  be 
spread  out  over  our  head?,  and  in 
which  the  stars  are  fixed.  *~  Shoiceth 
his  handywork.  The  heavens  make 
known  the  work  of  his  hands.  The 
idea  is  that  God  had  made  those 
heavens  by  his  own  hands,  and  that 
the  firmament,  thus  adorned  with  sun, 
and  moon,  and  stars,  showed  the  wis- 
dom and  skill  with  which  it  was 
done.     Comp.  Ps.  viii.  3. 

2.  Day  unto  day.  One  day  to 
another ;  or,  each  successive  day. 
The  day  that  is  passing  away  pro- 
claims  the   lesson  which  it  had    to 


168 


PSALM  XIX. 


speech,   and    night  unto    night 
s ho weth  knowledge. 

3  There  is  no  speech  nor  lan- 


guage, i  where  their  voice  is  not 
heard. 

1  without  their  voice  heard,  or,  without  these 
their  voice  is  heard. 


convey  from  the  movements  of  the 
heavens,  about  God ;  and  thus  the 
knowledge  of  God  is  accumulating  as 
the  time  moves  on.  Each  day  has  its 
own  lesson  in  regard  to  the  wisdom, 
the  power,  and  the  goodness  of  God, 
and  that  lesson  is  conveyed  from  one 
day  to  another.  There  is  a  perpetual 
testimony  thus  given  to  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  the  Great  Creator. 
T[  Uttereth  speech.  The  word  here 
rendered  uttereth  means  properly  to 
pour  forth;  to  pour  forth  copiously 
as  a  fountain.  Comp.  Prov.  xviii.  4; 
i.  23;  xv.  2,  28.  Hence  the  word 
means  to  utter ;  to  declare.  The 
word  speech  means  properly  a  word; 
and  then,  a  lesson ;  or  that  which 
speech  conveys.  The  idea  is,  that  the 
successive  days  thus  impart  instruc- 
tion, or  convey  lessons  about  God. 
The  day  does,  this  by  the  returning 
light,  and  by  the  steady  and  sublime 
movement  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens, 
and  by  all  the  disclosures  which  are 
made  by  the  light  of  the  sun  in  his 
journeyings.  %  And  night  unto  night 
showeth  knowledge.  Knowledge  re- 
specting God.  Each  successive  night 
does  this.  It  is  done  by  the  stars  in 
their  courses ;  in  their  order ;  their 
numbers  ;  their  ranks  ;  their  changes 
of  position ;  their  rising  and  their 
setting.  There  are  as  many  lessons 
conveyed  to  man  about  the  greatness 
and  majesty  of  God  by  the  silent 
movements  of  each  nigh-t  as  there  are 
by  the  light  of  the  successive  days — 
just  as  there  may  be  as  many  lessons 
conveyed  to  the  soul  about  God  in  the 
dark  night  of  affliction  and  adversity, 
as,  there  are  when  the  sun  of  pros- 
perity shines  upon  us. 

3.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language 
where  their  voice  is  not  heard.  Marg., 
Without  these  their  voice  is  heard. 
Heb.,  Without  their  voice  heard. 
The  idea  in  the  margin,  which  is 
adopted  by  Professor  Alexander,  is, 
that  when  the  heavens  give  expres- 


sion to  the  majesty  and  glory  of  God, 
it  is  not  by  words, — by  the  use  of  lan- 
guage such  as  is  employed  among 
men.  That  is,  there  is  a  silent  but 
real  testimony  to  the  power  and  glory 
of  their  great  Author.  The  same  idea 
is  adopted  substantially  by  De  Wette. 
So  Rosenrnuller  renders  it,  "  There  is 
no  speech  to  them,  and  no  words, 
neither  is  their  voice  heard."  High 
as  these  authorities  are,  yet  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  idea  conveyed  by  our 
common  version  is  probably  the  cor- 
rect one.  This  is  the  idea  in  the 
Septuagint  and  Latin  Vulgate.  Ac- 
cording to  this  interpretation  the 
meaning  is,  "  There  is  no  nation,  there 
are  no  men,  whatever  may  be  their 
language,  to  whom  the  heavens  do 
not  speak,  declaring  the  greatness  and 
glory  of  God.  The  language  which 
they  speak  is  universal ;  and  however 
various  the  languages  spoken  by  men, 
however  impossible  it  may  be  for 
them  to  understand  each  other,  yet 
all  can  understand  the  language  of 
the  heavens,  proclaiming  the  perfec- 
tions of  the  Great  Creator.  That  is  a 
universal  language  which  does  not 
need  to  be  expressed  in  the  forms  of 
human  speech,  but  which  conveys 
great  truths  alike  to  all  mankind/' 
That  the  passage  cannot  mean  that 
there  is  no  speech,  that  there  are  no 
words,  or  that  there  is  no  language  in 
the  lessons  conveyed  by  the  heavens, 
seems  to  me  to  be  clear  from  the  fact 
that  alike  in  the  previous  verse  (ver.  2), 
and  in  the  following  verse  (ver.  4), 
the  psalmist  says  that  they  do  use 
speech  or  language,  "  Day  unto  day 
uttereth  speech  ;"  "  their  words  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  The  phrase 
"  their  voice  "  refers  to  the  heavens 
(ver.  1).  Thev  utter  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct voice  to  mankind;  that  is,  they 
convey  to  men  true  and  just  notions  of 
the  greatness  of  the  Creator.  The 
meaning,  then,  it  seems  to  me,  is  that 
the  same  great  lessons  about  God  are 


PSALM  XIX. 


109 


4  Their  *  line  is  gone  out 
through  all  the  earth,  and  their 
words  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

1  Or,  ride,  or,  direction. 


conveyed  by  the  heavens,  in  their 
glory  and  their  revolutions,  to  all 
nations;  that  these  lessons  are  con- 
veyed to  them  day  by  day,  and  night 
by  night ;  that  however  great  may  be 
the  diversities  of  speech  among  men, 
these  convey  lessons  in  a  universal 
language  understood  by  all  mankind  ; 
and  that  thus  God  is  making  himself 
constantly  known  to  all  the  dwellers 
on  the  earth.  All  men  can  under- 
stand the  language  of  the  heavens, 
though  they  may  not  be  able  to 
understand  the  language  of  each 
other.  Of  the  truth  of  this  no  one 
can  doubt;  and  its  beauty  is  equal 
to  its  truth. 

4.  Their  line.  That  is,  of  the  hea- 
vens. The  word  here  used — ip,  Jcav 
— means  properly  a  cord,  or  line ;  (a), 
a  measuring  line,  Ezek.  xlvii.  3;  Job 
xxxviii.  5 ;  Isa.  xliv.  13 ;  and  then 
(b)  a  cord  or  string  as  of  a  lyre  or 
other  instrument  of  music ;  and  hence 
a  sound.  So  it  is  rendered  here  by 
the  LXX.,  <p06yyog.  By  Symmachus, 
j)x°C«  By  the  Vulgate,  sonus.  De 
Wette  renders  it  Klang,  sound.  Prof. 
Alexander  dogmatically  says  that  this 
is  "  entirely  at  variance  with  the 
Hebrew  usage."  That  this  sense, 
however,  is  demanded  in  the  passage 
seems  to  be  plain,  not  only  from  the 
sense  given  to  it  by  the  ancient  ver- 
sions, but  by  the  parallelism,  where 
the  term  "  ivords  "  corresponds  to  it : — 

"Their  line  is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth; 
Their  words  to  the  eud  of  the  world." 

Besides,  what  could  be  the  sense  of 
saying  that  their  line,  in  the  sense  of 
a  measuring  line,  or  cord,  had  gone 
through  all  the  earth  ?  The  plain 
meaning  is,  that  sounds  conveying 
instruction,  arid  here  connected  with 
the  idea  of  sweet  or  musical  sounds, 
had  gone  out  from  the  heavens  to  all 
parts  of  the  world,  conveying  the 
knowledge  of  God.  There  is  no  al- 
lusion to  the  notion  of  the  "  music  of 
vol.  I. 


In  them  hath  he  set  a  tabernacle 
for  the  sun, 

5  Which  is  as   a  bridegroom 
coming  out  of  his  chamber,  and 


the  spheres,"  for  this  conception  was 
not  known  to  the  Hebrews ;  but  the 
idea  is  that  of  sweet  or  musical  sounds, 
not  harsh  or  grating,  as  proceeding 
from  the  movements  of  the  heavens, 
and  conveying  these  lessons  to  man. 
%  And  their  tvords.  The  lessons  or 
truths  which  they  convey.  If  To  the 
end  of  the  world.  To  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  The  language 
here  is  derived  from  the  idea  that 
the  earth  was  a  plane,  and  had  limits. 
But  even  with  our  correct  knowledge 
of  the  figure  of  the  earth,  we  use 
similar  language  when  we  speak  of 
the  "  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth." 
%  In  them.  That  is,  in  the  heavens, 
ver.  1.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  sun 
has  his  abode  or  dwelling-place,  as  it 
were,  in  the  heavens.  The  sun  is 
particularly  mentioned,  doubtless,  as 
being  the  most  prominent  object 
among  the  heavenly  bodies,  as  illus- 
trating in  an  eminent  manner  the 
glory  of  God.  The  sense  of  the  whole 
passage  is,  that  the  heavens  in  general 
proclaim  the  glory  of  God,  and  that 
this  is  shown  in  a  particular  and 
special  manner  by  the  light,  the  splen- 
dour, and  the  journeyings  of  the  sun. 
%  Math  he  set  a  tabernacle  for  the 
sun.  A  tent ;  that  is,  a  dwelling- 
place.  He  has  made  a  dwelling-place 
there  for  the  sun.  Comp.  Habak.  iii. 
11,  "  The  sun  and  moon  stood  still  in 
their  habitation/' 

5.  Which  is  as  a  bridegroom  coming 
out  of  his  chamber.  That  is,  when  he 
rises  in  the  morning.  He  rises  from 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  comes 
forth  as  the  bridegroom  comes  out  of 
the  chamber  where  he  has  slept.  The 
allusion  is  to  the  bright,  and  joyful, 
and  cheerful  aspect  of  the  rising  sun. 
The  image  of  the  bridegroom  is  em- 
ployed because  we  associate  with  a 
bridegroom  the  idea  of  hilarity,  cheer- 
fulness, joy.  The  essential  image  is 
that  the  sun  seems  to  rise  from  a 


170 


PSALM  XIX. 


rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man  to  run 
a  race. 

6  His  going  forth  is  from  the 
end  of  the  heaven,  and  his  circuit 


night  of  repose,  as  man  does  in  tho 
morning,  and  that  after  such  a  night 
of  repose  he  goes  forth  with  cheer- 
fulness and  alacrity  to  the  employ- 
ments of  the  day.  The  figure  is  an 
ohvious  hut  a  very  beautiful  one, 
though  there  is  a  transition  from  the 
image  employed  in  the  previous  verse, 
where  the  sun  is  represented  as  dwell- 
ing in  a  tent  or  tabernacle  fitted  up 
for  it  in  the  heavens.  In  the  next 
member  of  the  sentence  the  figure  is 
again  changed,  by  his  being  repre- 
sented as  a  man  prepared  to  run  a 
race.  ^[  And  rejoiceth  as  a  strong 
man  to  run  a  race.  As  a  man  who  is 
vigorous  and  powerful,  when  he  enters 
on  a  race.  He  is  girded  for  it ;  he 
summons  all  his  strength;  he  seems 
to  exult  in  the  idea  of  putting  his 
strength  to  the  test,  and  starting 
off  on  his  career.  Conrp.  Notes  on 
1  Cor.  ix.  24-27.  The  same  com- 
parison which  is  employed  here  occurs 
in  the  Zendavesta,  ii.  106.  De  Wette. 
— The  idea  is  that  the  sun  seems  to 
have  a  long  journey  before  him,  and 
puts  forth  all  his  vigour,  exulting  in 
the  opportunity  of  manifesting  that 
vigour,  and  confident  of  triumphing 
in  the  race. 

6.  His  going  forth.  The  psalmist 
now  describes  that  race  which  he  has 
to  run,  as  borne  over  the  entire  circuit 
of  the  heavens,  from  one  end  of  it  to 
another, — sweeping  the  whole  space 
across  the  firmament.  %  Is  from  the 
end  of  the  heaven.  From  one  end  of 
the  heaven;  that  is,  from  the  East, 
where  he  starts.  %  And  his  circuit. 
The  word  here  used — TTp^pn,  tekoo- 
phah — means  properly  a  coming  about, 
or  a  return,  as  of  the  seasons,  or  of 
the  year.  It  is  fouud  only  in  Ex. 
xxxiv.  22,  "At  the  year's  end;" 
1  Sam.  i.  20,  **  When  the  time  was 
come  about''  (Marg.,  in  revolution  of 
days)  ;  2  Chron.  xxiv.  23,  "At  the  end 
cf  the  year  "  (Marg.,  in  the  revolution 


unto  the  ends  of  it :  and  there  is 

nothing  hid  from  the  heat  thereof. 

7  The  l  law  of  the   Lord  is 

1  doctrine. 


of  the  year).  The  word  here  docs 
not  refer  to  the  fact  that  the  sun 
comes  round  to  the  starting-point  on 
the  following  day,  but  to  the  sweep 
or  circuit  which  he  makes  in  the 
heavens  from  one  end  of  it  to  the 
other, — travelling  over  the  entire 
heavens.  ^[  Unto  the  ends  of  it.  That 
is,  to  the  other  side  of  the  heavens. 
The  plural  term  is  here  used  perhaps 
from  the  idea  of  completeness,  or  to 
denote  that  there  was  nothing  beyond. 
The  complete  journey  was  made.  % 
And  there  is  nothing  hid  from  the 
heat  thereof.  The  rays  of  the  sun 
penetrate  everywhere.  Nothing  es- 
capes it.  It  is  not  a  mere  march  for 
show  and  splendour ;  it  is  not  an  idle 
and  useless  journey  in  the  heavens;  but 
all  things, — vegetables,  birds,  beasts, 
men, — all  that  live*, — feel  the  effect  of 
his  vital  warmth,  and  are  animated  by 
his  quickening  influence.  Thus  the 
sun  in  his  goings  illustrates  the  glory 
of  God.  The  psalmist  was  fully  alive 
to  the  splendour,  the  glory,  and  the 
value  of  this  daily  march  over  the  hea- 
vens, and  shows  that  while,  as  in  the 
remainder  of  the  psalm,  he  dwells  on 
the  law  of  the  Lord  as  having  another 
sphere,  and  in  its  place  more  fully 
illustrating  the  Divine  glory,  he  is 
not  by  any  means  insensible  to  the 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  wo)'7cs 
of  God  as  showing  forth  the  Divine 
perfections. 

7.  The  laio  of  the  Loed.  Marg., 
doctrine.  The  word  here  used — 
7Trin»  torah — is  that  which  is  com- 

T 

monly  employed  in  the  Old  Testament 
with  reference  to  the  law  of  God,  and 
is  usually  rendered  law.  The  word 
properly  means  instruction,  precept, 
from  a  verb  signifying  to  teach.  It 
is  then  used  with  reference  to  in- 
struction or  teaching:  in  regard  to 
conduct,  and  is  thus  applied  to  all 
that  God  has  communicated  to  guide 
mankind.     It  does  not  here,  nor  doss 


PSALM  XIX. 


171 


it  commonly,  refer  exclusively  to  the 
commands  of  God,,  but  it  includes  all 
that  God  has  revealed  to  teach  and 
guide  us.  It  refers  here  to  revealed 
truth  as  contradistinguished  from  the 
truth  made  known  by  the  works  of  cre- 
ation. Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  2.  There 
are  six  epithets  used  in  these  verses 
(7-9)  to  describe  the  revealed  truth  of 
God,  all  referring  to  the  *arae  truths, 
but  with  reference  to  some  distinct 
view  of  the  truths  themselves,  or  of 
their  effect  on  the  soul :  to  wit,  law,  tes- 
timony, statutes,  commandment,  fear, 
and  judgments.  Of  the  revealed  truth 
of  God,  thus  characterized  by  distinct 
epithets,  a  particular  statement  is 
first  made  in  each  case  in  regard  to 
the  truth  itself  as  viewed  in  that 
special  aspect,  and  then  the  effects  of 
that  revealed  truth  on  the  soul  are 
described  corresponding  with  that 
truth  as  so  viewed.  Thus,  of  the 
"  law  of  the  Lord  "  it  is  said  (a)  that 
it  is  perfect,  (b)  that  it  converts  the 
soul ; — of  the  "testimony  of  the  Lord," 
(a)  that  it  is  sure,  (b)  that  it  makes 
the  simple  wise ; — of  the  "statutes  of 
the  Lord,"  (a)  that  they  are  right,  (b) 
that  they  rejoice  the  heart ; — of  the 
"  commandment  of  the  Lord,"  («)  that 
it  is  pure,  (b)  that  it  enlightens  the 
eyes; — of  the  "fear  of  the  Lord,"  (a) 
that  it  is  clean,  (b)  that  it  endures 
for  ever ; — of  the  "judgments  of  the 
Lord,"  (a)  that  they  are  true  and 
righteous,  (b)  that  they  are  more  to 
be  desired  than  gold,  and  that  they 
are  sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honey- 
comb ;  that  men  are  warned  by  them, 
and  that  in  keeping  them  there  is 
great  reward.  ^[  Is  perfect.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used,  see 
Notes  on  Job  i.  1.  The  meaning  is 
that  it  lacks  nothing  in  order  to  its 
completeness;  nothing  in  order  that 
it  might  be  what  it  should  be.  It  is 
complete  as  a  revelation  of  Divine 
truth ;  it  is  complete  as  a  rule  of 
conduct.  As  explained  above,  this 
refers  not  only  to  the  laiv  of  God  as 
the  word  is  commonly  employed  now, 
but  to  the  whole  of  Divine  truth  as 
revealed.  It  is  absolutely  true  ;  it  is 
adapted  with  consummate  wisdom  to 


the  wants  of  man;  it  is  an  unerring 
guide  of  conduct.  There  is  nothing 
there  which  would  lead  men  into 
error  or  sin ;  there  is  nothing  essen- 
tial for  man  to  know  which  may  not 
be  found  there.  %  Converting  the 
soul.  The  particular  illustration  of 
the  perfection  of  the  law  is  seen  in 
the  fact  that  it  "converts  the  soul;" 
that  is,  that  it  turns  it  from  the  ways 
of  sin  to  holiness.  The  glory  of  the 
works  of  God — the  heavens,  the  fir- 
mament, the  sun,  as  described  in  the 
previous  verses — is,  that  they  convey 
the  knowledge  of  God  around  the 
world,  and  that  the  world  is  filled 
with  light  and  life  under  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  sun ;  the  glory  of  the 
law,  or  the  revealed  truth  of  God,  is, 
that  it  bears  directly  on  the  soul  of 
man,  turning  him  from  the  error  of 
his  ways,  and  leading  him  to  pursue 
a  life  of  holiness.  It  is  not  said  of 
the  "law"  of  God  that  it  does  this 
by  its  own  power,  nor  can  there  be 
any  design  here  to  exclude  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Divine  agency  on  the 
soul ;  but  the  statement  is,  that  when 
the  "  law  "  of  God  is  applied  to  the 
heart,  or  when  the  truth  of  God  is 
made  to  bear  on  that  heart,  the 
legitimate  effect  is  seen  in  turning 
the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways. 
This  effect  of  truth  is  seen  every- 
where, where  it  is  brought  into  con- 
tact with  the  heart  of  man.  By 
placing  this  frst,  also,  the  psalmist 
may  perhaps  have  intended  to  inti- 
mate that  this  is  the  primary  design 
of  the  revelation  which  God  has  given 
to  mankind ;  that  while  great  and 
important  effects  are  produced  by  the 
knowledge  which  goes  forth  from  the 
works  of  God,  converting  power  goes 
forth  only  from  the  "  law  "  of  God, 
or  from  revealed  truth.  It  is  ob- 
servable that  none  of  the  effects  here 
(vers.  7-12)  ascribed  to  the  revealed 
truth  of  God,  under  the  various  forms 
in  which  it  is  contemplated,  are  as- 
cribed to  the  knowledge  which  goes 
forth  from  the  contemplation  of  his 
works,  vers.  1-6.  It  is  not  scientific 
truth  which  converts  men,  but  re- 
vealed truth.      ^[    The  testimony    of 


J  72 


PSALM  XIX. 


perfect,  l  converting  the  soul :  the 
testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure, 

making  wise  the  simple. 

1  restoring. 


8  The  statutes  of  the  Lord 
are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart: 
the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is 
pure,  enlightening  the  eyes. 


the  Lord.  The  word  here  used — 
Dili?,  aidooth — means  properly  that 
which  is  borne  witness  to,  and  is  ap- 
plied to  revealed  truth  as  that  which 
God  bears  witness  to.  In  reference 
to  the  truth  of  what  is  stated  he  is 
the  witness  or  the  voucher ;  it  is  that 
which  he  declares  to  be  true.  Hence 
the  term  is  applicable  to  all  that  is 
revealed  as  being  that  which  he 
affirms  to  be  true,  and  the  word  may 
be  applied  to  historical  truths;  or  to 
precepts  or  laws;  or  to  statements 
respecting  himself,  respecting  man, 
respecting  the  way  of  salvation,  re- 
specting the  fallen  world.  On  all 
these  subjects  he  has  borne  witness  in 
his  word,  pledging  his  veracity  as  to 
the  correctness  of  the  statements 
which  are  thus  made.  The  word, 
therefore,  refers  to  the  whole  of  what 
is  revealed  in  his  word,  considered  as 
that  to  the  truth  of  which  he  bears 
witness.  The  word  is  often  used  in 
this  sense :  Ps.  lxxxi.  5 ;  cxix.  14,  31, 
36,  88,  99,  111,  129,  141,  157 ;  Jer. 
xliv.  23.  It  is  often  also  applied  to 
the  two  tables  of  the  law  laid  up  in 
the  ark,  which  is  hence  called  "  the 
ark  of  the  testimony  :"  Ex.  xvi.  34; 
xxv.  16,  21,  22;  xxvi.  33;  xxx.  26, 
et  sa^pe.  r  Is  sure.  Established,  firm. 
That  "testimony,"  or  that  revealed 
truth,  is  not  unsettled,  vacillating, 
uncertain.  It  is  so  certain  that  it 
may  be  relied  on  ;  so  well  established, 
that  it  cannot  be  shaken.  ^  Making 
tvise  the  simple.  The  word  rendered 
simple — \HD,  pethi — means  simplicity, 
folly,  Prov.  i.  22;  and  then,  simple  in 
the  sense  of  being  open  to  persuasion, 
easily  seduced  :  Prov.  vii.  7;  xxii.  3; 
xxvii.  12 ;  Ps.  cxvi.  6.  Then  it  means 
credulous,  Prov.  xiv.  15 ;  and  inex- 
perienced, Ps.  xix.  7.  Gesenius,  Lex. 
The  meaning  here  is  evidently  in- 
experienced in  the  sense  of  being 
ignorant  or  untaught.  It  refers  to 
those   who    need   spiritual   guidance 


and  direction,  and  is  applicable  to 
men  as  they  are  by  nature,  as  un- 
taught, or    needing   instruction, 


but 

with  the  idea  that  their  minds  are 
susceptible  (to  impressions,  or  are  open 
to  conviction.  Those  who  are  natu- 
rally destitute  of  wisdom,  it  makes 
wise.  The  statement  is,  that  that 
testimony,  or  revealed  truth,  makes 
them  wise  in  the  knowledge  of  God, 
or  imparts  to  them  real  instruction. 

8.  The  statutes  of  the  Lord.  The 
word  here  rendered  statutes  properly 
means  mandates, precepts — rules  given 
to  any  one  to  guide  him,  Ps.  ciii.  18 ; 
cad.  7.  It  refers  to  the  laws  of  God 
considered  as  appointed,  or  as  the  re- 
sult of  Divine  authority.  The  verb 
from  which  this  word  is  derived 
(Hiphil)  means  to  set  over,  to  give 
the  oversight,  to  appoint.  Hence  the 
idea  of  laws,  or  statutes,  as  the  result 
of  such  an  appointment,  or  such  an 
authority.  ■"  Are  right.  Are  equal, 
just,  proper.  They  are  such  as  are 
founded  in  wisdom  and  equity;  not 
such  as  are  the  mere  result  of  arbi- 
trary appointment.  The  idea  is  that 
they  are  not  merely  appointed,  or 
made  binding  by  authority,  but  that 
they  are  in  themselves  equitable  and 
just.  %  Rejoicing  the  heart.  Making 
the  heart  glad  by  the  fact  that  they 
are  equitable  and  just, — and  glad  as 
the  result  of  obedience.  It  is  always 
a  source  of  true  happiness  when  we 
can  feel  that  we  are  under  just  and 
equal  laws ; — laws  in  themselves  right, 
and  laws  administered  in  righteous- 
ness and  truth.  ■[[  The  command- 
ment of  the  Lord.  An  appellation  of 
the  law  of  God  from  the  idea  of  set- 
ting tip,  appointing,  constituting; 
hence,  of  charging,  or  commanding. 
The  idea  here  is  not  so  much  that  the 
thing  is  right  in  itself  as  that  it  is 
appointed  or  ordered  by  God;  that 
it  is  what  he  requires.  The  term  is 
one  that  is  often  applied  to  the  laws 


PSALM   XIX. 


173 


9  The 
clean, 


fear    of  the  Lord  is 
for  ever :    the 


enduring 


of  God,  Dcut.  vi.  1 ;  viu  11 ;  Lev.  iv. 
13 ;  Gen.  xxvi.  5 ;  Ex.  xv.  26 ;  xvi. 
28  ;  Ps.  lxxviii.  7  ;  lxxxix.  31 ;  cxix. 
6,  10,  19,  21,  32,  35,  47,  48,  60,  66, 
73,  86,  96,  98,  115,  127,  131,  143, 
151,166,172,176.  fl  Is  pure.  Free 
from  all  stain ;  from  all  imperfection  ; 
from  any  corrupt  tendency.  %  En- 
lightening the  eyes.  That  is,  giving 
us  light  and  knowledge.  The  eyes 
are  mentioned,  as  it  is  by  them  that 
we  see  where  to  go.  The  reference 
here  is  undoubtedly  to  the  mind  or 
soul  as  being  enlightened  by  the  truth 
of  God.  We  are  made  by  these  com- 
mandments to  see  what  is  right  and 
proper ;  to  understand  what  we  should 
do. 

9.  The  fear  of  the  Lord.  The 
word  rendered  fear  in  this  place — 
HN-p,  yireah — means  properly  fear, 
terror,  Jonah  i.  10 ;  then,  reverence, 
or  holy  fear,  Ps.  ii.  11 ;  v.  7 ;  and 
hence,  reverence  towards  God,  piety, 
religion, — in  which  sense  it  is  often 
used.  Comp.  Prov.  i.  7 ;  Job  xxviii. 
28 ;  Isa.  xi.  2.  Hence,  by  metonymy, 
it  means  the  precepts  of  piety  or 
religion.  It  is  used  evidently  in  this 
sense  here,  as  referring  to  revela- 
tion, or  to  revealed  truth,  in  the 
sense  that  it  promotes  proper  rever- 
ence for  God,  or  secures  a  proper  re- 
gard for  his  name  and  worship.  %  Is 
clean.  The  word  here  used —  Tii7t2, 
tdhor — means  properly  clear,  pure, 
in  a  physical  sense,  as  opposed  to 
filthy,  soiled;  then,  in  a  ceremonial 
sense,  as  opposed  to  that  which  is 
profane  or  common  (Lev.  xiii.  17), 
and  then,  in  a  moral  sense,  as  a  clean 
heart,  etc.,  Ps.  xii.  •  6 ;  lit  10.  It  is 
also  applied  to  pure  gold,  Ex.  xxv. 
11.  The  sense  here  is,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  it  that  tends  to  corrupt 
the  morals,  or  defile  the  soul.  Every- 
thing connected  with  it  is  of  a  pure 
or  holy  tendency,  adapted  to  cleanse 
the  soul  and  to  make  it  holy.  ^  En- 
during for  ever.      Standing    to  all 


judgments  of  the  Lord  are  1  true 
and  righteous  altogether, 

l  truth. 


eternity.  Not  temporary;  not  de- 
caying ;  not  destined  to  pass  away. 
It  stands  firm  now,  and  it  will  stand 
firm  for  ever.  That  is,  the  law  of 
.  God,  considered  as  adapted  to  make 
the  heart  holy  and  pure,  is  eternal. 
What  it  is  now  it  will  always  be. 
What  its  teaching  is  now  it  will  con- 
tinue to  be  for  ever.  ^[  The  judg- 
ments of  the  Lord.  The  word  here 
rendered  judgments  refers  also  to  the 
revealed  truth  of  God,  with  the  idea 
that  that  has  been  judged  or  deter- 
mined by  him  to  be  right  and  to  be 
best.  It  is  the  result  of  the  Divine 
adjudication  as  to  what  is  true,  and 
what  is  best  for  man.  The  word  is 
often  used  in  this  sense.  Comp.  Exod. 
xxi.  1 ;  Lev.  xviii.  5 ;  xxvi.  43 ;  comp. 
Ps.  ix.  7,  16 ;  x.  5.  ^[  Are  true. 
Marg.,  truth.  So  the  Hebrew.  That 
is,  they  accord  entirely  with  the 
truth,  or  are  a  correct  representation 
of  the  reality  of  things.  They  are 
not  arbitrary,  but  are  in  accordance 
with  what  is  right.  This  supposes 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  truth  in 
itself,  and  the  Divine  law  conforms 
to  that ; — not  that  God  determines  a 
thing  by  mere  will,  and  that  it  is, 
therefore,  right.  God  is  infinitely 
perfect,  and  what  he  does  will  be 
always  right,  for  that  is  in  accord- 
ance with  his  nature;  but  still  his 
judgments  are  right,  not  because  he 
makes  that  to  be  right  which  is  deter- 
mined by  his  will,  but  because  his 
will  is  always  in  accordance  with  what 
is  right.  ^[  And  righteous  altogether. 
That  is,  they  are,  without  exception, 
just ;  or,  they  are  altogether  or  wholly 
righteous.  There  is  no  one  of  them 
which  is  not  just  and  proper.  All  that 
God  determines,  whether  in  giving  or 
in  executing  his  laws, — all  in  his  re- 
quirements, and  all  in  the  administra- 
tion of  his  government,— is  always  and 
wholly  righteous.  It  is  precisely  what 
it  should  be  in  the  case,  and  is,  there- 
fore, worthy  of  universal  confidence. 


171 


PSALM   XIX. 


10  More  to  be  desired  are  iliey 
than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine 
gold ;  sweeter  also  than  honey 
and  '  the  honeycomb. 


11  Moreover  by  them  is  thy 
servant  warned  :  and  in  keeping 
of  them  there  is  great  reward. 

1  the  dropping  of  hotieycomhs. 


10.  More  to  be  desired  are  they 
than  gold.  That  is,  his  law ;  or,  as  in 
the  preceding  verse,  his  judgments. 
They  are  more  valuable  than  gold; 
they  are  of  such  a  nature  that  the 
soul  should  more  desire  to  be  in 
possession  of  them  than  to  he  in 
posse--:  d  of  gold,  and  should  value 
them  more.  The  psalmist  here  and 
in  the  following  verses  descrihes 
his  estimate  of  the  worth  of  revealed 
truth  as  he  perceived  it.  In  the 
previous  verses  he  had  shown  its  value 
in  the  abstract ;  he  here  speaks  of 
his  own  feelings  in  regard  to  it,  and 
shows  that  he  esteems  it  more  than 
he  did  the  objects  most  prized  and 


valued   among:    men. 


Yea,    than 


much  fine  gold.  The  word  here  used 
—  7E.  poz  —  means  properly  that 
which  is  purified  or  pure,  and  thus 
becomes  an  epithet  of  gold,  particu- 
larly of  gold  that  is  purified.  It  is 
rendered  fine  gold  here,  as  in  Ps.  cxix. 
127;  Prow  viii.  19;  Cant.  v.  11,  15; 
Isa.  xiii.  12  ;  Lam.  iv.  2  ;  ^and  pure 
gold  in  Ps.  xxi.  3.  The  word  does 
not  occur  elsewhere.  Gold  is  an 
article  of  principal  value  among  men  ; 
and  the  object  here  is  to  show  that  to 
a  pious  mind  the  revealed  truth  of 
God  is  esteemed  to  be  the  most  valu- 
able of  all  things — a  treasure  above 
all  which  men  can  accumulate,  and 
all  which  men  can  prize.  Every  truly 
pious  heart  will  respond  to  the  senti- 
ment expressed  here.  r-  Sweeter  also 
than  honey.  Honey,  the  sweetest  of 
all  substances,  and  regarded  as  an 
article  of  luxury,  or  as  most  grateful 
to  the  taste.  It  entered  largely  into 
the  food  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pales- 
tine, as  it  does  now  in  Switzerland 
and  in  some.parts  of  Africa.  The  idea 
is  that  the  truth  of  God,  as  revealed, 
is  more  grateful  to  the  heart,  or  affords 
more  pleasure  to  the  soul,  than  that 
which  is  esteemed  as  the  highest  luxury 
to  the  palate.     The  meaning  is,  that 


it  is  loved;  it  is  pleasant ;  it  is  agree- 
able ;  it  is  not  regarded  merely  as 
necessary,  and  admitted  to  the  soul 
because  it  is  needful,  as  medicine  is, 
but  it  is  received  into  the  soul  because 
it  is  delighted  in,  or  is  more  agreeable 
and  pleasant  than  the  most  luscious 
article  of  food  is  to  the  taste.  To  this, 
also,  the  heart  of  every  one  who  "  has 
tasted  the  good  word  of  God*  will 
respond.  %  And  the  honeycomb. 
Mars:.,  dropping  of  honeycombs.  So 
the  Hebrew.  The  allusion  is  to  honey 
that  drops  from  the  combs,  and 
therefore  the  most  pure  honey.  That 
which  is  pressed  from  the  combs 
will  have  almost  inevitably  a  mixture 
of  bee-bread  and  of  the  combs  them- 
selves. That  which  naturally  fiows 
from  the  comb  will  be  pure. 

11.  Moreover  by  them  is  thy  servant 
v:amed.     The  word  here  used — *"irTT 

-    t  9 

zahar — means,  properly,  to  be  bright, 
to  shine ;  then,  to  cause  to  shine,  to 
make  light;  and  then,  to  admonish, 
to  instruct,  to  warn.  The  essential 
idea  here  is,  to  throw  light  on  a 
subject,  so  as  to  show  it  clearly ; 
that  is,  to  make  the  duty  plain,  and 
the  consequences  plain.  Comp.  Lev. 
xv.  31 ;  Ezek.  iii.  18;  xxxiii.  7.  The 
word  is  rendered  admonished  in  Eccl. 
iv.  13  ;  xii.  12  ;  v:arn,  and  warned,  in 
Ps.  xix.  11 ;  2  Kings  vi.  10;  2  Chron. 
xix.  10;  Ezek.  iii.  17-21 ;  xxxiii.  3-9; 
teach,  in  Exod.  xviii.  20;  and  shine, 
in  Dan.  xii.  3.  It  does  not  elsewhere 
occur.  *"  And  in  keeping  of  them 
there  is  great  reward.  Either  as  the 
result  of  keeping  them,  or  in  the  act 
of  keeping  them.  In  the  former 
sense  it  would  mean  that  a  careful 
observance  of  the  laws  of  God  will 
be  followed  by  rewards  hereafter;  in 
the  other  sense,  that  the  act  of  keep- 
ing them  will  be  attended  with  so 
much  peace  and  happiness  as  to  con- 
stitute of  itself  an  ample  reward.  In 
both   these   senses    is   the   assertion 


PSALM  XIX. 


175 


12  Who   can    understand   his     secret  faults. 
errors  ?    cleanse   thou   me  from 


here  made  a  correct  one.  Both  will 
be  found  to  be  true.  It  is  not  easy  to 
determine  which  is  the  true  sense. 
Perhaps  the  language  implies  both. 
The  phrase  "  thy  servant  "  refers  to 
the  author  of  the  psalm,  and  shows 
that  in  this  part  of  the  psalm,  in 
speaking  of  the  "  sweetness  "  of  the 
law  of  God,  and  of  its  value  as  per- 
ceived by  the  soul,  and  of  the  effect 
of  keeping  that  law,  he  is  referring 
to  his  own  experience. 

12.  Who  can  understand  his  errors  ? 
The  word  rendered  errors  is  derived 
from  a  verb  which  means  to  wander, 
to  go  astray ;  then,  to  do  wrong,  to 
transgress.  It  refers  here  to  wan- 
derings, or  departures  from  the  law 
of  God,  and  the  question  seems  to 
have  been  asked  in  view  of  the  purity, 
the  strictness,  and  the  extent  of  the 
law  of  God.  In  view  of  a  law  so  pure, 
so  holy,  so  strict  in  its  demands,  and 
so  extended  in  its  requirements, — as- 
serting jurisdiction  over  the  thoughts, 
the  words,  and  the  whole  life, — who 
can  recall  the  number  of  times  that 
he  has  departed  from  such  a  law  ? 
A  sentiment  somewhat  similar  is  found 
in  Ps.  cxix.  96,  "  I  have  seen  an  end 
of  all  perfection  ;  thy  commandment 
is  exceeding  broad."  The  language 
is  such  as  every  man  who  has  any 
just  sense  of  the  nature  and  the  re- 
quirements of  the  law,  and  a  just 
view  of  his  own  life,  must  use  in 
reference  to  himself.  The  reason  why 
any  man  is  elated  with  a  conviction 
of  his  own  goodness  is  that  he  has  no 
just  sense  of  the  requirements  of  the 
law  of  God;  and  the  more  any  one 
studies  that  law,  the  more  will  he  be 
convinced  of  the  extent  of  his  own 
depravity.  Hence  the  importance  of 
preaching  the  law,  that  sinners  may 
be  brought  to  conviction  of  sin ; 
hence  the  importance  of  presenting 
it  constantly  before  the  mind  of  even 
the  believer,  that  he  may  be  kept 
from  pride,  and  may  walk  humbly 
before  God.  And  who  is  there  that 
can  understand  his  own  errors  ?    Who 


:  can  number  up  the  sins  of  a  life  ? 
Who  can  make  an  estimate  of  the  num- 

:  ber  of  impure  and  unholy  thoughts 
which,  in  the  course  of  many  years, 
have  flitted  through,  or  found  a  lodg- 
ment in  the  mind  ?  Who  can  num- 
ber up  the  words  which  have  been 
spoken  and  should  not  have  been 
spoken  ?  Who  can  recall  the  forgotten 
sins  and  follies  of  a  life — the  sins  of 
childhood,  of  youth,  of  riper  years  ? 
There  is  but  one  Being  in  the  uni- 
verse that  can  do  this.  To  him  all 
this  is  known.  Nothing  has  escaped 
his  observation;  nothing  has  faded 
from  his  memory.  Nothing  can  pre- 
vent his  making  a  full  disclosure  of 
this  if  he  shall  choose  to  do  so.  It  is 
in  his  power  at  any  moment  to  over- 
whelm the  soul  with  the  recollection 
of  all  this  guilt ;  it  is  in  his  power  to 
cover  us  with  confusion  and  shame  at 
the  revelation  of  the  judgment- day. 
Our  only  hope — our  only  security — 
that  he  will  not  do  this,  is  in  his 
mercy;  and  that  he  may  not  do  it, 
we  should  without  delay  seek  his 
mercy,  and  pray  that  our  sins  may  be 
so  blotted  out  that  they  shall  not  be 
disclosed  to  us  and  to  assembled  worlds 
when  we  appear  before  him.  % 
Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults. 
The  word  here  rendered  secret  means 
that  which  is  hidden,  covered,  con- 
cealed. The  reference  is  to  those 
errors  and  faults  which  had  been 
hidden  from  the  eye  of  him  who  had 
committed  them,  as  well  as  from  the 
eve  of  the  world.  The  sense  is,  that 
the  law  of  God  is  so  spiritual,  and  so 
pure;  and  so  extended  in  its  claims, 
that  the  author  of  the  psalm  felt  that 
it  must  embrace  many  things  which 
had  been  hidden  even  from  his  own 
view, — errors  and  faults  lying  deep  in 
the  soul,  and  which  had  never  been 
developed  or  expressed.  From  these, 
as  well  as  from  those  sins  which  had 
been  manifest  to  himself* and  to  the 
world,  he  prayed  that  he  might  be 
cleansed.  These  are  the  things  that 
pollute  the  soul ;  from  these  the  soul 


176 


PSALM  XIX. 


13  Keep  back  thy  servant  also 
from  presumptuous  sins;  let 
them  not  have  dominion  9  over 
me :  then  shall  I  be  upright,  and 


must  he  cleansed,  or  it  can  never  find 
permanent  peace.  A  man  who  does 
not  desire  to  be  cleansed  from  all 
these  "  secret  faults "  cannot  he  a 
child  of  God ;  he  who  is  a  child  of 
God  will  pray  without  ceasing  that 
from  these  pollutions  of  the  soul  he 
may  be  made  pure. 

13.  Keep  back  thy  servant  also. 
Restrain  thy  servant;  or,  do  not 
suffer  him  to  commit  those  sins.  % 
Fro)u  presumptuous  sins.  The  word 
here  used  is  manifestly  designed  to 
stand  in  some  respects  in  contrast 
with  the  secret  faults  mentioned  in 
the  previous  verse.  The  word — 1]? 
zaicl — means  properly  that  which  is 
boiling,  swelling,  inflated',  then  proud, 
arrogant ;  with  the  accessory  notion 
of  shameless  wickedness  or  impiety. 
Gesenius,  Lex.  The  word  is  rendered 
proud  in  Ps.  Jxxxvi.  14;  cxix.  21,  51, 
69,  78,  85,  122 ;  Prov.  xxi.  24 ;  Isa. 
xiii.  11 ;  Jer.  xliii.  2 ;  Mai.  iii.  15 ; 
iv.  1.  It  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 
The  prevailing  thought  is  that  of 
pride,  and  the  reference  is  particularly 
to  sins  which  proceed  from  self- 
confidence  ;  from  reliance  on  one's 
own  strength.  The  word  does  not 
mean  open  sins,  or  flagrant  sins,  so 
much  as  those  which  spring  from 
self-reliance  or  pride.  The  prayer  is 
substantially  that  he  might  have  a 
proper  distrust  of  himself,  and  might 
not  be  left  by  an  improper  reliance  on 
his  own  power  to  the  commission  of 
sin.  This  also  is  said  in  view  of  the 
extent  and  spirituality  of  the  law  of 
God — expressing  the  earnest  desire 
of  the  author  of  the  psalm  that  he 
might  not  be  left  to  violate  a  law  so 
pure  and  holy.  %  Let  them  not  have 
dominion  over  me.  Let  them  not 
reign  over  me ;  that  is,  let  them  not 
get  the  mastery  or  the  ascendancy  over 
me.  Let  me  not  become  the  slave  of 
sin ;  so  subject  to  it  that  it  shall 
domineer  over  me.     Sin  often  secures 


I  shall  be  innocent  from  1  the 
great  transgression. 

14  Let  the  words  of  my  mouth, 

g  Rom.  vi.  12 — 14.  1  Or,  much. 


that  kind  of  triumph  or  mastery  over 
the  mind,  making  a  slave  of  him  who 
yields  to  it.  The  pious  man  alone  is 
a  true  freeman.  He  is  emancipated 
from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  walks 
in  true  liberty  :  see  John  viii.  32,36; 
Gal.  v.  1.  ^[  Then  shall  I  be  upright. 
Heb.,  I  shall  be  perfect.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used,  see 
Notes  on  ver.  7.  It  means  here  that 
he  would  be  truly  a  servant  of  God; 
or,  that  he  would  have  this  evidence 
that  he  was  a  friend  of  God,  that  he 
was  kept  from  the  indulgence  of 
secret  faults,  and  from  open  trans- 
gressions— that  is,  his  piety  would 
have  completeness  of  parts;  or,  it 
would  be  shown  to  be  true  and 
genuine.  It  cannot  be  demonstrated 
from  the  use  of  the  word  that  he 
supposed  that  he  would  be  absolutely 
perfect  or  free  from  all  sin.  See 
Notes  on  Job  i.  1.  %  And  I  shall  be 
innocent.  This  does  not. mean  that 
he  would  be  absolutely  innocent,  or 
free  from  all  sin ;  hut  it  means  here, 
as  it  is  explained  in  the  following 
phrase,  that  he  would  be  innocent  of 
the  great  transgression,  or  would  be 
free  from  that.  %  From  the  great 
transgression.  Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew, 
much.  It  does  not  refer  to  any  one 
specific  offence,  but  it  means  that  he 
would  be  free  from  the  transgression 
which  would  exist  if  he  were  not 
cleansed  from  secret  faults,  and  if  he 
were  not  kept  back  from  presump- 
tuous sins.  He  would  be  saved  from 
the  great  guilt  which  would  ensue  if 
he  should  give  unchecked  indulgence 
to  secret  faults,  and  if  he  should  be 
allowed  to  commit  the  open  sins 
which  were  the  result  of  pride  and 
over- weening  self-con  fidence. 

14.  Let   the   zvords  of  my  mouth. 
The   words   that    I    speak ;    all   tlu 
words  that  I  speak.     %  And  the  medi 
tation  of  my  heart.     The  thoughts  of 
my  heart.     %  Be  acceptable  in  it 


PSALM  XX. 


177 


and  the  meditation  of  my  heart, 
be     acceptable     in      thy    sight, 


sight.  Be  such  as  thou  wilt  approve; 
or,  be  such  as  will  be  pleasing  to 
thee ;  such  as  will  give  thee  delight 
or  satisfaction  ;  such  as  will  be  agree- 
able to  thee.  Cornp.  Prov.  xiv.  35  ; 
Isa.  lvi.  7 ;  lx.  7  ;  Jer.  vi.  20  ;  Exod. 
xxviii.  38 ;  Lev.  xxii.  20,  21 ;  xix.  5. 
This  supposes  (a)  that  God  has  such 
control  over  our  thoughts  and  words, 
that  he  can  cause  us  to  order  them 
aright ;  (b)  that  it  is  proper  to  pray 
to  him  to  exert  such  an  influence  on 
our  minds  that  our  words  and  thoughts 
may  be  right  and  pure ;  (c)  that  it  is 
one  of  the  sincere  desires  and  wishes 
of  true  piety  that  the  thoughts  and 
words  may  be  acceptable  or  pleasing 
to  God.  The  great  purpose  of  the 
truly  pious  is,  not  to  please  them- 
selves, or  to  please  their  fellow-men, 
(comp.  Gal.  i.  10),  but  to  please  God. 
The  great  object  is  to  secure  accept- 
ance with  him;  to  have  such  thoughts, 
and  to  utter  such  words,  that  He  can 
look  upon  them  with  approbation. 
%  O  Lord  my  strength.  Marg.,  as  in 
Hebrew,  rock.-  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps. 
xviii.  2.  ^[  And  my  redeemer.  On 
the  word  here  used,  see  Notes  on  Job 
xix.  25;  comp.  Isa.  xli.  14;  xliii.  14; 
xliv.  6,  24;  xlvii.  4;  lxiii.  16.  The 
two  things  which  the  psalmist  here 
refers  to  in  regard  to  God,  as  the 
appellations  dear  to  his  heart,  are  (a) 
that  God  is  his  Hock,  or  strength; 
that  is,  that  he  was  his  defence  and 
refuge ;  and  (b)  that  he  had  rescued 
or  redeemed  him  from  sin  ;  or  that 
he  looked  to  him  as  alone  able  to  re- 
deem him  from  sin  and  death.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  inquire  here  how  far 
the  psalmist  was  acquainted  with  the 
plan  of  salvation  as  it  would  be  ulti- 
mately disclosed  through  the  great 
Redeemer  of  mankind ;  it  is  sufficient 
to  know  that  he  had  an  idea  of  re- 
demption, and  that  he  looked  to  God 
as  his  Redeemer,  and  believed  that  he 
could  rescue  him  from  sin.  The 
psalm,  therefore,  which  begins  with  a 
contemplation  of  God  in  his  ivorks, 


O  Lord,  my  l  strength  and  my 
redeemer. 

1  rocJc. 


appropriately  closes  with  a  contempla- 
tion of  God  in  redemption ;  or  brings 
before  us  the  great  thought  that  it  is 
not  by  the  knowledge  of  God  as  we 
can  gain  it  from  his  works  of  creation 
that  we  are  to  be  saved,  but  that  the 
most  endearing  character  in  which  he 
can  be  manifested  to  us  is  in  the  work 
of  redemption,  and  that  wherever  we 
begin  in  our  contemplation  of  God,  it 
becomes  us  to  end  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  his  character  as  our  Redeemer. 

TSALM  XX. 

This  psalm  purports  to  be  "  A  Psalm  of 
David,"  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  doubt 
that  he  wrote  it.  Of  the  precise  occasion 
on  which  it  was  composed  nothing  can 
be  known  with  certainty,  for  there  is  no 
historical  statement  on  the  point,  and 
there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  to  indicate 
it.  It  would  seem,  however,  from  the 
psalm,  that  it  was  composed  on  some 
occasion  when  the  king  was  about  going 
to  Avar,  and  that  it  was  designed  to  be 
used  by  the  people  of  the  nation,  and  by 
the  king  and  his  hosts  mustered  for  war, 
as  expressing  mutually  their  wishes  in 
regard  to  the  result,  and  their  confidence 
in  each  other  and  in  God.  Or  if  it  was 
not  designed  to  be  used  by  the  people 
actually,  it  was  intended  to  be  a  poetic 
expression  of  the  real  feelings  of  the 
king  and  the  people  in  regard  to  the 
enterprise  in  which  he  was  embarked. 

According  to  this  idea,  and  as  seems  to 
me  to  be  manifest  on  the  face  of  the 
psalm,  it  is  composed  of  alternate  parts 
as  if  to  be  used  by  the  people,  and  by  the 
king  and  his  followers,  in  alternate 
responses,  closing  with  a  chorus  to  be 
used  by  all.  If  it  was  intended  to  be 
employed  in  public  service,  it  was  doubt- 
less to  be  sung  by  alternate  choirs,  repre- 
senting the  people  and  the  king. 

The  whole  may  be  divided  into  three 
strophes  or  parts  :  — 
I.  The  first  strophe,  vers.  1-5. 
(a)  The  people,   vers.    1-5.     They 
pray  that  the  Lord  would  defend 
the  king  in  the  day  of  trouble  ; 
that  the  name   of  the   God  of 
Jacob  would  defend  him ;   that 
he   would  send  him  help   from 
the    sanctuary,   and  strengthen 
I  2 


17S 


PSALM  XX. 


PSALM  XX. 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

THE  Loed  hear  thee  in  the  day 

him  out  of  Zi'in  ;  that  he  would 
remember  his  offerings  and  accept 
his  burnt  sacrifice ;  that  he  would 
grant  him  according  to  his  own 
heart,  and  fulfil  all  his  counsel. 
(b)  The  king,  ver.  o.  part  first.  He 
says,  as  expressive  of  the  feeling  | 
with  winch  the  expedition  was 
undertaken.  "  We  will  rejoice  in 
thy  salvation,  and  in  the  name 
of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our 
banners." 

II.  The  second  strophe,  rer.  5  (latter 
part},  and  ver.  6. 

(a)  The  people,  ver.  5,  latter  clause ; 

expressing  a  desire  for  Ms  suce 
and  triumph,  "The  Lord  fulfil 
all  thy  petitions  '" 

(b)  The  king.  ver.  6 ;  expressing  con- 

fidence of  success  from  the  ob- 
served zeal  and  co-operation  of 
the  people  : — "  Xow  know  I  that 
the  Lord  saveth  his  anointed  ; 
he  will  hear  him  from  his  holy 
heaven  with  the  saving  strength 
of  his  right  hand." 

III.  General  chorus  of  all,  vers. 
7-9.  Tliis  is  the  language  of  exultation 
and  triumph  in  God  ;  of  joyful  trust  in 
him.  "Some."  is  the  language  of  this 
chorus,  "  trust  in  chariots  and  some  in 
horses,  but  we  will  remember  the  name 
of  the  Lord  our  God,"  ver.  7.  Then  they 
see  their  enemies  fallen  and  subdued, 
while  their  armies  stand  upright  and 
firm,  ver.  8.  Then  they  call,  in  joyful 
exultation  and  triumph,  on  God  as  the 

U  King  over  all.  and  supplicate  his 
mercy  and  favour,  ver.  9. 

This  is.  therefore,  a  patriotic  and  loyal 
psalm,  full  of  confidence  in  the  king  as 
he  starts  on  his  expedition,  full  of  desire 
for  his  success,  and  full  of  confidence  in 
God  ;  expressing  union  of  heart  between 
the  sovereign  and  the  people,  and  the 
union  of  all  their  hearts  in  the  great 
God. 

On  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  the 
title.  M  To  the  chief  Musician,*"  see  Notes 
on  the  title  to  Ps.  iv. 

1.  The  Lord  hear  thee  in  the  day  of 
trouble.  According  to  the  view  ex- 
pressed  in  the  introduction  to  the 
psaim,  this  is  the  language  of  the 
people  praying  for  their  king,  or  ex-  | 


of  trouble  ;  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Jacob  !  defend  thee. 

1  set  thee  on  an  high  place. 

pressing  the  hope  that  he  would  be 
delivered  from  trouble,  and  would  be 
successful  in  what  he  had  undertaken, 
in  the  prosecution  of  a  war  apparently 
of  defence.  The  word  "  trouble  "  htre 
used  would  seem  to  imply  that  he  was 
beset  with  difficulties  and  clangers; 
perhaps,  that  he  was  surrounded  by 
foes.  It  seems  that  he  was  going 
forth  to  war  to  deliver  his  country 
from  trouble,  having  offered  sacrifices 
and  prayers  (ver.  3)  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  Divine  favour  on  the 
expedition.  The  point  or  the  moment 
of  the  psalm  is  when  those  sacrifices 
had  been  offered,  and  when  he  was 
about  to  embark  on  his  enterprise. 
At  that  moment  the  people  lift  up 
the  voice  of  sympathy  and  of  encou- 
ragement, and  pray  that  those  sacri- 
fices might  be  accepted,  and  that  lie 
might  find  the  deliverance  which  he 
had  desired.  c"  The  name  of  the  God 
of  Jacob.  The  word  name  is  often 
put  in  the  Scriptures  for  the  person 
himself;  and  hence  this  is  equivalent 
to  saying,  "May  the  God  of  Jacob 
defend  thee."  See  Ps.  v.  11  ;  ix.  10  ; 
xliv.  5 ;  liv.  1 ;  Exod.  xxiii.  21.  Jacob 
was  the  one  of  the  patriarchs  from 
whom,  after  his  other  name,  the 
Hebrew  people  derived  their  name 
Israel,  and  the  word  seems  here  to  be 
used  with  reference  to  the  people 
rather  than  to  the  ancestor.  Comp. 
Isa.  xliv.  2.  The  God  of  Jacob,  or  the 
God  of  Israel,  would  be  svnonvmous 
terms,  and  either  would  denote  that 
he  was  the  Protector  of  the  nation. 
As  such  he  is  invoked  here ;  and  the 
prayer  is,  that  the  Great  Protector  of 
the  Hebrew  people  would  now  defend 
the  king  in  the  dangers  which  beset 
him,  and  in  the  enterprise  which  he 
had  undertaken.  ■"  Defend  thee. 
Marcr.,  as  in  Hebrew,  set  thee  on  a 
high  place.  The  word  means  the  same 
as  defend  him,  for  the  idea  is  that  of 
being  set  on  a  high  place,  a  tower,  a 
mountain,  a  lofty  rock,  where  his  ene- 
mies could  not  reach  or  assail  him. 


PSALM  XX. 


171) 


2  Send  l  thee  help  from  the  I  3  Remember  all  thy  offerings, 
sanctuary,  -  and  strengthen  thee  I  and  3  accept  thy  burnt  sacrifice, 
out  of  Zion.  Selali. 


thy  help. 


2  support. 


3  turn  to  ashes,  or,  make  fat. 


2.  Send  thee  help.    Marg.,  thy  lielp. 
So  the  Hebrew.    The  idea  is,  such  help 
as  he  needed ;  such   as  would   make 
him    safe.       ^  From    the    sanctuary. 
From  the  tabernacle,  or  the  holy  place 
where  God  was  worshipped,  and  where 
he  was  supposed  to  reside,  Ex.  xxviii. 
43 ;    xxix.   30 ;    xxxv.   19 ;   xxxix.   1. 
This  was  his  seat ;  his  throne ;  where 
he  abode  among  the  people.     Here, 
too,  it  would  seem  that  he  had  been 
worshipped,  aud  his  aid  implored,  in 
view    of    this    expedition;    here   the 
royal  psalmist  had  sought  to  secure  the 
Divine  favour  by  the  presentation  of 
appropriate    sacrifices    and    offerings 
(ver.    3).     The   prayer  here  is,  that 
God  would  accept  those  offerings,  and 
hear  those  supplications,  and  would 
now  send  the  desired  help  from  the 
sanctuary  where  he  resided ;  that  is, 
that  he  would   grant  his  protection 
and   aid.       *~  And    strengthen    thee. 
Marg.,   as  in  Hebrew,  support  thee. 
The  idea  is,  that  he  would  grant  his 
upholding  hand  in  the  day  of  peril. 
■~  Out   of  Zion.     The    place   where 
God  was  worshipped ;  the  place  where 
the  tabernacle  was  reared.    See  Xotes 
on  Ps.  ii.  6. 

3.  Remember  all  thy.  offerings.  On 
the  meaning  of  the  word  here  used, 
see  Xotes  on  Isa.  i.  13,  where  it  is 
rendered  oblations.  The  word  occurs 
often  in  the  Scriptures,  and  is  some- 
times rendered  offering,  and  some- 
times oblation.  The  word  means  an 
offering  of  any  kind  or  anything  that 
is  presented  to  God,  except  a  bloody 
sacrifice, — anything  offered  as  an  ex- 
pression of  thankfulness,  or  with  a 
view  to  obtain  his  favour.  It  is 
distinguished  from  bloody  sacrifices, 
which  are  expressed  by  the  word  in 
the  following  clause.  The  word  here 
employed  occurs  in  the  Psalms  only 
in  the  following  places  :  xx.  3 ;  xl.  6 ; 
xcvi.  8  ;  where  it  is  rendered  offer- 
ing and  offerings ;  — xlv.  12,  rendered 


gift ; — lxxii.  10,  rendered  presents  ; — 
and  cxli.  2,  rendered  sacrifice.     The 
use  of  the  word  in  this  place  proves 
that  such  offerings  had  been  made  to 
God  by   him  who  was   about   to  go 
forth  to  the  war  ;  and  the  prayer  of 
the  people   here  is  that  God  would 
remember    all    tlrose    offerings ;    that 
is,    that   he    would   grant  the  bless- 
ing which  he  who  had  offered  them 
had  sought  to  obtain.      ^[  And  ac- 
cept.    Marg.,  turn  to  ashes,  or  make 
fat.     The    Hebrew   word — fffifo    da- 
shain — means  properly  to   make  fat, 
or  marrowy,  Prov.   xv.  30 ;   to  pro- 
nounce or  regard  as  fat ;  to  be  fat 
or  satiated,  or   abundantly  satisfied, 
Prov.  xiii.  4.      It   conveys    also   the 
notion  of  reducing  to  ashes ;  perhaps 
from  the  fact  that  the  victim  which 
had  been  fattened  for   sacrifice  was 
reduced  to  ashes ;  or,  as  Gesenius  sup- 
poses {Lex, see  "pER),  because  "ashes 
were  used  by  the  ancients  for  fattening, 
i.  e.,  manuring  the  soil."     The  prayer 
here  seems   to   be   that    God    would 
"pronounce  the  burnt- offering  fat;" 
that  is,  that  he  would  regard  it  fa- 
vourably, or  would   accept  it.     This 
proves,  also,  that  a  sacrifice  had  been 
made  with  a  view  to  propitiate  the 
Divine  favour  in  regard  to  the  expe- 
dition which  had  been  undertaken; 
that    is,    a   solemn   act   of  devotion, 
according  to  the  manner  of  worship 
which  then  obtained,  had  been  per- 
formed with    a   view  to    secure  the 
Divine  favour  and    protection.     The 
example   is   one  which  suggests  the 
propriety    of    always    entering   upon 
any  enterprise  by  solemn  acts  of  wor- 
ship, or  by  supplicating  the   Divine 
blessing;  that  is,  by  acknowledging 
our  dependence  on  God,  and  asking 
his  guidance  and  his  protecting  care. 
^f   Thy    burnt    sacrifice.       The    word 
here  used  denotes  bloody   offerings; 
see  Xotes  on  Isa.  i.  11.     These  offer- 
iugs  were  designed  especially  for  the 


180 


PSALM  XX. 


4  Grant  tliee  according  to  thine 
heart,  and  fulfil  all  thy  counsel. 

5  We  will  rejoice  in  thy  salva- 
tion, and  in  the  name  of  our  God 
we  will  set  up  our  banners: 
the  Lord  fulfil  all  thy  petitions. 

1  heaven  of  his  holiness. 


expiation  of  sin,  and  for  thus  securing 
the  Divine  favour.  They  were  an 
acknowledgment  of  guilt,  and  they 
were  offered  with  a  view  to  secure 
the  pardon  of  sin,  and,  in  connexion 
with  that,  the  favour  of  God.  In 
similar  circumstances  ice  approach 
God,  not  by  an  offering  which  we 
make,  whether  bloody  or  bloodless, 
but  through  the  one  great  sacrifice 
made  by  the  Redeemer  on  the  cross 
for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

4.  Grant  thee  according  to  thine 
own  heart.  According  to  thy  wishes; 
according  to  the  desires  of  thy  heart. 
%  And  fulfil  all  thy  counsel.  All 
that  thou  hast  designed  or  under- 
taken in  the  matter ;  that  is,  may  he 
enable  thee  to  execute  thy  purpose. 

5.  We  will  rejoice  in  thy  salvation. 
According  to  the  idea  of  the  psalm 
suggested  in  the  introduction,  this 
is  a  response  of  the  king  and  those 
associated  with  him  in  going  forth  to 
battle.  It  expresses  the  joy  which 
they  would  have  in  the  expected  de- 
liverance from  danger,  and  their  con- 
viction that  through  his  strength 
they  would  be  able  to  obtain  it.  The 
word  salvation  here  means  deliver' 
ance ;  to  wit,  from  the  anticipated 
danger.  The  phrase  implies  that  God 
would  interpose  to  save  them  ;  it  ex- 
presses alike  their  confidence  in  that, 
and  the  fact  that  such  a  deliverance 
would  fill  their  hearts  with  joy  and 
rejoicing.  *~  And  in  the  name  of  our 
God.  This  indicates  a  sense  of  de- 
pendence on  God,  and  also  that  the 
enterprise  undertaken  was  in  order  to 
promote  his  honour  and  glory.  It 
was  not  in  their  own  strength,  nor 
was  it  to  promote  the  purposes  of 
conquest  and  the  ends  of  ambition; 
it  was  that  God  might  be  honoured, 
and  it  was  with  confidence  of  success 


6  Now  know  I  that  the  Lord 
saveth  his  anointed  :  he  will  hear 
him  from  l  his  holy  heaven  2  with 
the  saving  strength  of  his  right 
hand. 

3  by  the  strength  of  the  saltation  of. 


derived  from  his  anticipated  aid.  % 
We  will  set  up  our  banners.  We  will 
erect  our  standards ;  or,  as  we  should 
say,  we  will  unfurl  our  flag.  All 
people,  when  they  go  to  war,  have 
standards  or  banners,  whether  flags 
or  some  other  ensigns,  around  which 
they  rally ;  which  they  follow  •  under 
which  they  fight;  and  which  they 
feel  bound  to  defend.  Each  nation 
has  its  own  standard;  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine  what  precisely  was 
the  form  of  the  standards  used  among 
the  ancient  Hebrews.  Military  stand- 
ards, however,  were  earlv  used  (comp. 
Numb,  i.  52 ;  ii.  2,  3,  10,  18,  25 ;  x. 
14,  25),  and  indeed  were  necessary 
whenever  armies  were  mustered  for 
war.  For  the  forms  of  ancient  stand- 
ards, see  the  article  in  Kitto's  Cyclo- 
paedia of  Bib.  Lit.,  art.  Standards. 
~f  The  Loed  fulfil  all  thy  petition*. 
The  prayers  offered  in  counexion  with 
the  sacrifice  referred  to  in  ver.  3 
(comp.  ver.  4).  This,  according  to 
the  view  suggested  in  the  introduc- 
tion, is  the  response  of  the  people, 
expressing  their  desire  that  the  king 
might  be  successful  in  what  he  had 
undertaken,  and  that  the  prayers 
which  had  been  offered  for  success 
might  be  answered. 

6.  Xoio  know* I  that  the  Lord 
saveth  his  anointed.  Saveth,  or  will 
save,  the  king,  who  had  been  anointed, 
or  consecrated  by  anointing  to  that 
office.  Comp.  Xotes  on  Ps.  ii. 
This,  according  to  the  view  given  in 
the  introduction,  is  the  response  of 
the  king.  It  expresses  his  confident 
assurance  of  success  from  the  interest 
which  the  people  had  expressed  in  the 
enterprise,  as  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
vious verses,  and  from  the  earnestness 
of  their  prayers  in  his  behalf  and  in 
behalf  of  the  enterprise.     They  had 


PSALM  XX. 


181 


7  Some  trust  in  chariots,  and 
some  in  horses  :  but  we  will  re- 
member the  name  of  the  Lord 
our  God. 


manifested  such  zeal  in  the  cause,  and 
they  had  offered  so  earnest  petitions, 
that  he  could  not  douht  that  God 
would  smile  favourably  on  the  under- 
taking, and  would  grant  success. 
%  He  ivill  hear  him  from  his  holy 
heaven.  Marg.,  from  the  heaven  of 
his  holiness.  So  the  Hebrew.  Comp. 
1  Chron.  xxi.  26 ;  2  Chron.  vii.  14 ; 
Neh.  ix.  27,  28;  Ps.  xiv.  2;  cii. 
19.  Heaven  is  represented  as  the 
dwelling-place  of  God,  and  it  is  there 
that  he  hears  and  answers  our  prayers. 
The  meaning  of  the  word  hear  in  this 
passage  is,  that  he  will  favourably  hear, 
or  regard;  that  is,  that  he  will  answer 
the  petition,  or  grant  the  request. 
%  With  the  saving  strength.  That  is, 
he  will  interpose  with  that  saving 
strength.  Literally,  "with  the  strengths 
of  salvation."  The  answer  to  the 
prayer  will  be  manifest  in  the  strength 
or  power  put  forth  by  him  to  save. 
IT  Of  his  right  hand.  The  right  hand 
is  the  instrument  by  which  mainly  we 
execute  our  purposes;  and  by  con- 
stant use  it  becomes  in  fact  more  fully 
developed,  and  is  stronger  than  the 
left  hand.  Hence  it  is  used  to  denote 
strength.  See  Ex.  xv.  6 ;  Judges  v. 
26 ;  Notes  on  Ps.  xvii.  7  ;  xviii.  35. 

7.  Some  trust  in  chariots.  This  (see 
introd.  to  the  psalm)  seems  to  be  a 
general  chorus  of  the  king  and  the 
people,  expressing  the  fullest  confi- 
dence in  God,  and  showing  the  true 
ground  of  their  reliance.  The  general 
meaning  is,  that  their  entire  trust  was 
in  God.  This  is  put  in  strong  contrast 
with  others,  who  relied,  some  on  their 
chariots,  and  some  on  their  horses, 
while  they  relied  alone  on  God.  They 
who  trusted  in  horses  and  in  chariots 
would  be  overcome ;  they  who  trusted 
in  God  alone  would  triumph.  The 
word  rendered  chariots — H'D'l,  rai- 
chaib — means  properly  riding,  andthen 
a. vehicle  for  riding,  a  wagon,  a  cha- 
riot. Here  it  refers  to  the  war-chariot, 


8  They  are~brought  down  and 
fallen;  but  we  are  risen,  and 
stand  upright. 


or  the  vehicle  for  carrying  armed  men 
into  battle.  These  furnished  great 
advantages  in  war,  by  the  speed  with 
which  they  could  be  driven  against 
an  enemy,  and  by  the  facilities  in 
fighting  from  them.  They  were  usu- 
ally very  simple.  They  consisted  of 
"a  light  pole  suspended  between  and 
on  the  withers  of  a  pair  of  horses,  the 
after  end  resting  on  a  light  axletree, 
with  two  low  wheels.  Upon  the  axle 
stood  a  light  frame,  open  behind,  and 
floored  for  the  warrior  and  his  chario- 
teer, who  both  stood  within.  On  the 
sides  of  the  frame  hung  the  war-bow, 
in  its  case;  a  large  quiver  with  ar- 
rows and  darts  had  commonly  a  parti- 
cular sheath.  In  Persia,  the  chariots, 
elevated  upon  wheels  of  considerable 
diameter,  had  four  horses  abreast;  and 
in  early  ages,  there  were  occasionally 
hooks  or  scythes  attached  to  the 
axles." — Kitto,  Cyclo.  In  early  ages 
these  constituted  a  main  reliance  in 
determining  the  result  of  a  battle. 
^f  And  some  in  horses.  Some  in 
cavalry,  commonly  a  very  material  re- 
liance in  war.  The  use  of  horses  in 
war  was  early  known  in  the  world, 
for  we  find  mention  of  them  in  the 
earliest  periods  of  history,  ^f  But 
we  ivill  remember  the  name  of  the 
Loed  our  God.  That  is,  we  will  re- 
member God — the  name,  as  before 
remarked,  often  being  used  to  denote 
the  person.  The  meaning  is,  V£e  will 
not  forget  that  our  reliance  is  not  on 
armies,  but  on  God,  the  living  God. 
Whatever  instrumentality  we  may 
employ,  we  will  remember  always  that 
our  hope  is  in  God,  and  that  he  only 
can  give  success  to  our  arms. 

8.  They  are  brought  down  and  fal- 
len. That  is,  those  who  trust  in 
chariots  and  horses.  The  reference 
here  is  undoubtedly  to  the  enemies 
against  whom  the  king  was  about  to 
wage  war,  and  the  language  here  is 
indicative  of  his  certain  conviction 


182 


PSALM  XXI. 


9  Save,   Lord  :  let  the  King 


that  they  would  be  vanquished.  So 
certain  was  he  now  of  this  that  he 
could  speak  of  it  as  if  it  were  already- 
done.  "  They  are  brought  down."  He 
sees  them  in  anticipation  prostrate 
and  subdued;  he  goes  forth  to  war 
with  the  certainty  on  his  mind  that 
this  would  occur.  The  word  rendered 
brought  down — yi3,  chdra — means 
to  bend,  to  bow  (as  the  knees)  ;  and 
then  it  refers  to  one  who  bows  down 
before  an  enemy,  that  is,  one  who  is 
subdued,  Isa.  x.  4;  lxv.  12;  Ps.  lxxii. 
9;  lxxviii.  31.  ^[  But  we  are  risen, 
and  stand  upright.  That  is,  he  sees 
this  in  anticipation.  He  is  certain 
of  success  and  triumph.  Depressed 
though  we  may  now  be,  yet  we  are 
certain  of  victory. 

9.  Save,  Lord.  "Jehovah,  save." 
This  is  still  an  earnest  prayer.  Con- 
fident as  they  are  of  success  and 
triumph,  yet  they  do  not  forget  their 
dependence  on  God;  they  do  not  for- 
get that  victory  must  come  from  his 
hand.  There  was,  indeed,  exultation, 
but  it  was  exultation  in  the  belief  that 
God  would  grant  success — an  exulta- 
tion connected  with,  and  springing 
from  prayer.  Prayer  is  not  inconsis- 
tent with  the  most  confident  antici- 
pation of  success  in  any  undertaking  ; 
and  confidence  of  success  can  only 
spring  from  prayer.  ^[  Let  the  King. 
That  is,  let  God,  spoken  of  here  as  the 
Great  King.  The  connexion  and  the 
parallelism  demand  this  interpreta- 
tion, for  to  God  only  is  this  prayer 
addressed.  He  is  here  invoked  as  the 
supreme  monarch.  A  king  going 
forth  to  war  implores  the  protection 
of  a  greater  king  than  himself — the 
King  of  all  nations  ;  and  who,  there- 
fore, had  the  disposal  of  the  whole 
result  of  the  conflict  in  which  he  was 
about  to  engage.  ^[  Hear  us  xvhen  toe 
call.  As  we  now  call  on  him  ;  as  we 
shall  call  on  him  in  the  da}r  of  battle. 
Thus  the  close  of  the  psalm  corre- 
sponds with  the  beginning.  In  the 
beginning  (vers.  1-4)  there  is  an 
earnest  desire  that  God  would  hear 
the  suppliant  in  the  day  of  trouble  ; 


hear  us  when  we  call. 


in  the  close  there  is  an  earnest  prayer 
to  him  from  all  the  people  that  he 
toould  thus  hear.  The  desire  of  the 
blessing  goes  forth  in  the  form  of 
prayer,  for  God  only  can  grant  the 
objects  of  our  desire.  The  whole 
psalm,  therefore,  is  an  expression  of  a 
strong  confidence  in  God;  of  a  sense 
of  the  most  complete  dependence  on 
him  ;  and  of  that  assurance  of  success 
which  often  comes  into  the  soul,  in  an 
important  and  difficult  undertaking, 
when  we  have  committed  the  whole 
cause  to  God.'  The  psalm,  too,  is  a 
model  for  us  to  imitate  when  we 
embark  in  any  great  and  arduous 
enterprise.  The  desire  for  success 
should  be  accompanied  with  earnest 
prayer  and  supplication  on  our  part ; 
and  when  our  friends  express  the 
desire  that  we  may  be  successful, 
there  should  have  been  on  our  part 
such  acts  of  devotion — such  manifest . 
reliance  on  God — such  religious  trust 
— that  they  can  simply  pray  for  our 
success  to  be  in  accordance  with  our 
own  prayer.  Never  should  we  look 
for  success  unless  our  undertaking 
has  been  preceded  by  prayer;  and 
when  our  best  preparations  have  been 
made,  our  hope  of  success  is  not  pri- 
marily and  mainly  in  them,  but  only 
in  God. 

PSALM  XXI. 

This  psalm  likewise  purports  to  be  "A 
Psalm  of  David,"  and  there  is  no  cause 
to  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  super- 
scription which  ascribes  it  to  him. 
There  is,  however,  no  certain  intimation 
at  what  time  of  his  life,  or  on  what 
occasion,  it  was  composed,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  determine  these  points. 

The  most  probable  supposition  in  re- 
gard to  its  composition  seems  to  me  to  be, 
that  it  is  a  song  of  thanksgiving  for  the 
victory  secured  in  answer  to  the  prayer 
of  himself  and  the  people  in  the  previous 
psalm.  Nothing  can  be  argued,  indeed, 
on  this  point,  from  the  mere  fact  that  it 
stands  in  close  connexion  with  the  pre- 
vious psalm ;  but  there  are,  it  seems  to 
me,  internal  marks  that  this  was  its 
design,  and  that  it  is  the  expression  of  a 
heart  overt!  owing  with  gratitude,  and, 


PSALM  XXI. 


183 


PSALM  XXI. 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 
rrHE    king    shall    joy    in    thy 
strength,   O   Lord  ;    and    in 
thy  salvation  how  greatly  shall 
he  rejoice  ! 

2    Thou  hast  given    him   his 


therefore,  recalling  not  merely  the  imme- 
diate blessings  of  a  recent  victory,  but 
also  the  other  blessings  with  which  God 
had  crowned  Ins  life,  vers.  3,  4. 

Thus  understood  in  regard  to  its 
origin,  the  psalm  may  be  regarded  as 
divided  into  the  following  parts  : — 

I.  Thanksgiving  for  success,  or  for 
granting  the  object  which  had  been  so 
earnestly  sought,  vers.  1-7.  In  this 
thanksgiving  the  psalmist  says  that  God 
had  not  only  granted  what  had  been 
asked  (vers.  1-3),  but  that  he  had  greatly 
exceeded  this  : — he  had  granted  far  more 
than  had  been  the  literal  request.  Ho 
had  added  blessings  which  had  not  been 
specifically  sought ;  he  had  made  those 
blessings  permanent  and  eternal,  vers. 
4-7. 

II.  The  general  truth  that  all  the  foes 
of  God  would  thus  be  overcome,  and  that 
the  cause  of  truth  would  be  finally 
triumphant,  vers.  8-12.  This  was  sug- 
gested by  the  victory  which  had  been 
achieved.  As  God  had  granted  that 
victory, — as  he  had  so  easily  subdued 
the  enemies  of  himself  and  of  his  people, 
—  as  he  had  gone  so  far  beyond  the  ex- 
pectations and  the  hopes  of  those  who 
had  gone  forth  to  the  conflict,  the  idea  is 
naturally  suggested  that  it  would  be 
thus  with  all  his  foes,  and  that  there 
would  be  ultimately  a  complete  victory 
over  them. 

III.  The  expression  of  an  earnest 
desire  that  God  might  be  thus  exalted, 
and  might  thus  achieve  a  complete  and 
final  victory,  ver.  13. 

For  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  To 
the' chief  Musician,"  in  the  title  to  the 
psalm,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  iv. 

1.  The  Icing  shall  joy  in  thy 
strength.  King-  David,  who  had 
achieved  the  victory  which  he  had 
desired  and  prayed  for,  Ps.  xx.  This 
is  in  the  third  person,  but  the  refer- 
ence is  doubtless  to  David  himself, 
and  is  to  be  understood  as  his  own 
language.  If  it  be  understood,  how- 
ever, as  the  language  of  the  people, 
it  is  still  an  ascription  of  praise  to 


heart's  desire,  and  hast  not  with- 
holden  the  request  of  his  lips. 
Selah. 

3  For  thou  preventest  him  with 
the  blessings  of  goodness  :  thou 
settest  a  crown  of  pure  gold  on 
his  head. 


God  for  his  favour  to  their  king.  It 
seems  better,  however,  to  regard  it  as 
the  language  of  David  himself.  The 
word  "strength"  here  implies  that 
all  the  success  referred  to  was  to 
he  traced  to  God.  It  was  not  by 
the  prowess  of  a  human  arm  ;  it  was 
not  by  the  valour  or  skill  of  the  king 
himself;  it  was  by  the  power  of  God 
alone,  %  And  in  thy  salvation.  In 
the  salvation  or  deliverance  from  foes 
which  thou  hast  granted,  and  in  all 
that  thou  doest  to  save.  The  lan- 
guage would  embrace  all  that  God 
does  to  save  his  people.  *}[  Soto 
greatly  shall  he  rejoice  ?  Not  only 
does  he  rejoice  now,  but  he  ever  will 
rejoice.  It  will  be  to  him  a  constant 
joy.  Salvation,  now  to  us  a  source  of 
comfort,  will  always  be  such  j  and 
when  we  once  have  evidence  that 
God  has  interposed  to  save  us,  it  is 
accompanied  with  the  confident  anti- 
cipation that  this  will  continue  to  be 
the  source  of  our  highest  joy  for 
ever. 

2.  Thou  hast  given  him  his  heart's 
desire.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xx.  4.  This 
had  been  the  prayer  of  the  people 
that  God  would  "  grant  him  accord- 
ing to  his  own  heart,  and  fulfil  all  his 
counsel,"  and  this  desire  had  now 
been  granted.  All  that  had  been 
wished ;  nil  that  had  been  prayed  for 
by  himself  or  by  the  people,  had  been 
granted.  %  And  hast  not  icith- 
holden.  Hast  not  denied  or  refused. 
Tf  The  request  of  his  lips.  The  re- 
quest, or  the  desire  which  his  lips 
had  uttered.  The  meaning  is,  that 
Ids  petitions  had  been  fully  granted. 
IT  Selah.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  iii.  2. 

3.  For  thou  preventest  him.  Thou 
goest  before  him ;  thou  dost  anticipate 
him.  See  Ps.  xvii.  13,  margin.  Our 
word  prevent  is  now  most  commonly 
used  in  the  sense  of  hinder,  stop,  or 


184 


PSALM  xx  r. 


4  He  asked  life  of  thee,  and 
thou  gavest  it  hiin,  even  length  of 


days  for  ever  and  ever. 


intercept.  This  is  not  the  original 
meaning  of  the  English  word ;  and 
the  word  is  never  used  in  this  sense 
in  the  Bible.  The  English  word, 
when  our  translation  was  made,  meant 
to  go  before,  to  anticipate,  and  this 
is  the  uniform  meaning  of  it  in  our 
English  version,  as  it  is  the  meaning 
of  the  original.  See  Notes  on  Job 
iii.  12.  Comp.  Ps.  lix.  10;  lxxix.  8; 
lxxxviii.  13  ;  xcv.  2  ;  cxix.  147,  148 ; 
Amos  ix.  10 ;  Notes  on  1  Thess.  iv.  15. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  God  had 
anticipated  him,  or  his  desires.  He 
had  gone  before  him.  He  had  de- 
signed the  blessing  even  before  it  was 
asked.  %  With  the  blessings  of  good- 
ness. Blessings  indicating  goodness 
on  his  part ;  blessings  adapted  to 
promote  the  "good"  or  the  welfare 
of  him  on  whom  they  were  bestowed. 
Perhaps  the  meaning  here  is,  not 
only  that  they  toere  good,  but  they 
seemed  to  be  good ;  they  were  not 
"blessings  in  disguise/'  or  blessings 
as  the  result  of  previous  calamity  and 
trial,  but  blessings  where  there  was 
no  trial — no  shadow — no  appearance 
of  disappointment.  %  Thou  settest  a 
crown  of  pure  gold  on  his  head.  This 
does  not  refer  to  the  time  of  his 
coronation,  or  the  period  when  he 
was  crowned  a  king,  but  it  refers  to 
the  victory  which  he  had  archieved, 
and  by  which  he  had  been  made 
truly  a  king.  He  was  crowned  with 
triumph;  he  was  shown  to  be  a  king; 
the  victory  was  like  making  him  a 
king,  or  setting  a  crown  of  pure  gold 
upon  his  head.  He  was  now  a  con- 
queror, and  was  indeed  a  king. 

4.  He  asJced  life  of  thee.  An  ex- 
pression similar  to  this  occurs  in  Ps. 
lxi.  5,  6,  "  For  thou,  O  God,  hast 
heard  my  vows ;  .  .  .  Thou  wilt  pro- 
long the  king's  life,  and  his  years  to 
many  generations."  The  expression 
in  both  cases  implies  that  there  had 
been  a  prayer  for  life,  as  if  life  were 
in  danger.  The  expression  itself 
would  be  applicable  to  a  time  of  sick- 
ness, or  to  danger  of  any  kind,  and 


here  it  is  used  doubtless  in  reference 
to  the  exposure  of  life  in  going  into 
battle,  or  in  going  forth  to  war.  In 
this  apprehended  peril  he  prayed 
that  God  would  defend  him.  He 
earnestly  sought  protection  as  he  went 
forth  to  the  perils  of  war.  ^  And 
thou  gavest  it  him.  Thou  didst  hear 
and  answer  his  prayer.  He  was  saved 
from  danger.  ^[  Even  length  of  days 
for  ever  and  ever.  Thou  didst  grant 
him  more  than  he  asked.  He  sought 
life  for  himself;  thou  hast  not  only 
granted  that,  but  hast  granted  to, 
him  the  assurance  that  he  should  live 
in  his  posterity  to  all  generations. 
The  idea  is,  that  there  would  be  an 
indefinite  continuation  of  his  race. 
His  posterity  would  occupy  his  throne, 
and  there  would  be  no  end  to  his 
reign  thus  prolonged.  Beyond  all  his 
petitions  and  his  hopes,  God  had 
given  the  assurance  that  his  reign 
would  be  permanent  and  enduring. 
We  cannot  suppose  that  he  under- 
stood this  as  if  it  were  a  promise 
made  to  him  personally,  that  he  would 
live  and  would  occupy  the  throne  for 
ever;  but  the  natural  interpretation 
is  that  which  would  refer  it  to  his 
posterity,  and  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
reign  of  his  family  or  descendants. 
A  similar  promise  occurs  elsewhere : 
2  Sam.  vii.  13,  16 ;  comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  xviii.  50.  It  is  by  no  means  an 
uncommon  thing  that  God  gives  us 
more  than  we  asked  in  our  prayers. 
The  offering  of  prayer  is  not  only  the 
means  of  securing  the  blessing  which 
we  asked,  but  also  often  of  securing 
much  more  important  blessings  which 
we  did  not  ask.  If  the  expression 
were  allowable  it  might  be  said  that 
the  prayer  suggested  to  the  Divine 
mind  the  conferring  of  all  needed 
blessings,  or  it  indicates  such  a  state 
of  mind  on  the  part  of  him  who  prays 
that  God  takes  occasion  to  confer 
blessings  which  were  not  asked  ; — as 
a  request  made  by  a  child  to  a  parent 
for  a  specific  favour  is  followed  not 
only  by  granting  that  favour,  but  by 


PSALM  XXI. 


185 


5  His  glory  is  great  in  thy 
salvation :  honour  and  majesty 
hast  thou  laid  upon  him. 

6  For  thou  hast  J  made  him 

1  set  him  to  be  blessings,  Gen.  xii.  2. 


bestowing  others  of  which  the  child 
did  not  think.  The  state  of  mind  on 
the  part  of  the  child  was  such  as  to 
dispose  the  parent  to  grant  much 
larger  blessings. 

5.  His  glory  is  great  in  thy  sal- 
vation. Not  in  himself;  not  in  any- 
thing that  he  has  done,  but  in  what 
thou  hast  done.  The  fact  that  thou 
hast  saved  him,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  been  done,  has  put  upon 
him  great  honour.  He  felt  indeed 
that  his  condition  as  king,  and  as  to 
the  prospects  before  him,  was  one  of 
great  "  glory  "  or  honour ;  but  he  felt 
at  the  same  time  that  it  was  not  in 
himself,  or  for  anything  that  he  had 
done  :  it  was  only  in  the  "  salvation  " 
^which  God  had  conferred  upon  him. 
Every  child  of  God,  in  like  manner, 
has  great  "glory"  conferred  upon 
him,  and  his  "  glory  "  will  be  great 
for  ever;  but  it  is  not  in  himself,  or 
in  virtue  of  anything  that  he  has 
done.  It  is  "  great "  in  the  "  salva- 
tion "  of  God,  (a)  in  the  fact  that 
God  has  interposed  to  save  him ;  and 

(b)  in  the  manner  in  which  it  has 
been  done.  The  highest  honour  that 
can  be  put  upon  man  is  in  the  fact 
that  God  will  save  him.  %  Honour 
and  majesty  hast  thou  laid  upon  him. 
(a)  In  making  him  a  king;  (b)  in 
the  victories  and  triumphs  which 
thou  hast  now  given  him,  placing  on 
his  head,  as  it  were,  a  brighter  crown  ; 

(c)  in  the  promised  perpetuity  of  his 
reign.  So  we  may  say  of  the  ran- 
somed sinner — the  child  of  God — 
now.  Honour  and  majesty  have  been 
laid  on  him,  (a)  in  the  fact  that  God 
has  redeemed  him ;  (b)  in  the  manner 
in  which  this  has  been  accomplished ; 
(c)  in  his  adoption  into  the  family  of 
God;  (d)  in  the  rank  and  dignity  which 
he  occupies  as  a  child  of  God;  (e) 
in  the  hope  of  immortal  blessedness 
beyond  the  grave. 


most  blessed  for  ever  :  thou  hast 
2  made  him  exceeding  glad  "  with 
thy  countenance. 

2  gladded  him  with  joy. 
a  Ps.  iv.  6,7  ;  xvi.  11. 


6.  For  thou  hast  made  him  most 
blessed  for  ever.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
set  him  to  be  blessings.  The  expres- 
sion in  our  translation,  as  it  is  now 
commonly  understood,  would  mean 
that  God  had  made  him  happy  or 
prosperous.  This  does  not  seem  to 
be  the  sense  of  the  original.  -The 
idea  is,  that  he  had  made  him  a  bless- 
ing to  mankind  or  to  the  world ;  or, 
that  he  had  made  him  to  be  a  source 
of  blessing  to  others.  Blessings  would 
descend  through  him  ;  and  though  in 
the  consciousness  of  this  fact  he  would 
be  happy,  and  in  that  sense  be 
"  blessed,"  yet  the  idea  is  rather  that 
blessings  would  be  imparted  or  scat- 
tered through  him.  Blessings  would 
abound  to  others  through  his  own 
reign  ;  blessings  through  the  reigns  of 
those  who  should  succeed  him  in  the 
throne ;  blessings  would  be  imparted 
to  men  as  far  as  the  import  of  the 
promise  extended,  that  is,  for  ever, 
ver.  4.  The  word  "for  ever"  here 
undoubtedly,  as  it  was  used  by  the 
Spirit  of  inspiration,  was  designed  to 
refer  to  the  eternal  blessings  which 
would  descend  on  mankind  through 
the  Messiah,  the  illustrious  descen- 
dant of  David.  How  far  David  him- 
self understood  this,  is  not  a  material 
inquiry.  He  was  undoubtedly  di- 
rected by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  to 
use  such  language  as  would  fairly  and 
properly  express  this.  It  is  right, 
therefore,  for  us  so  to  regard  it,  and 
so  to  interpret  and  apply  it.  %  Thou 
hast  made  him  exceeding  glad.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  gladded  him  with  joy. 
The  Hebrew  phrase  means,  as  it  is 
expressed  in  our  translation,  that  he 
had  been  made  very  glad,  or  very 
happy.  The  favours  of  God  to  him, 
alike  in  his  protection  and  in  the 
promises  which  had  been  made  in  re- 
ference to  the  future,  were  such  as  to 
make  him  happy  in  the  highest  de- 


186 


PSALM  XXI. 


7  For h  the  king  trusteth  in  the 
Lokd,  and,  through  the  mercy  of 
the  Most  High,  he  shall  not  be 
moved. 

I  1  Sam.  xxx.  6;  Ps.  xxvi.  1. 


8  Thine  hand  shall  find  e  out 
all  thine  enemies  :  thy  right  hand 
shall  find  out  those  that  hate 
thee. 

c  Amos  ix.  2,  3. 


gree.  \  With  thy  countenance.  With 
thy  favour.  By  lifting  the  light  of 
thy  countenance  upon  him  ;  or,  as  we 
should  express  it,  by  smiling  upon 
him.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  iv.  6. 

7.  For  the  king.  David,  tlie  author 
of  the  psalm.  %  Trusteth  in  the  ! 
Loed.  All  these  blessings  have  re- 
sulted from  his  confiding  in  God,  and  j 
looking  to  him  for  his  favour  and  pro- 
tection. ^[  And  through  the  mercy 
of  the  Most  High.  The  favour  of 
Him  who  is  exalted  above  all ; — the 
most  exalted  Being  in  the  universe. 
The  word  mercy  here  is  equivalent  to 

favour.  He  had  already  experienced 
God's  favour;  he  looked  for  a  con- 
tinuance of  it;  and  through  that 
favour  he  was  confident  that  he  would 
never  be  shaken  in  his  purposes,  and 
that  he  would  never  be  disappointed. 
*|[  lie  shall  not  be  moved.  He  shall 
be  firmly  established.  That  is,  his 
throne  would  be  firm;  he  himself 
would  live  a  life  of  integrity,  purity, 
and  prosperity;  and  the  promises  which 
had  been  so  graciously  made  to  him, 
and  which  extended  so  far  into  the 
future,  would  all  be  acomplished. 
The  truth  taught  here  is,  that  how- 
ever firm  or  prosperous  our  way  seems 
to  be,  the  continuance  of  our  pros- 
perity, and  the  completion  of  our 
hopes  and  our  designs,  depend  wholly 
on  the  "  mercy"  or  the  favour  of  the 
Most  High.  Confiding  in  that,  we 
may  feel  assured  that  whatever 
changes  and  reverses  we  may  ex- 
perience in  our  temporal  matters,  our 
ultimate  welfare  will  be  secure.  No- 
thing can  shake  a  hope  of  heaven  that 
is  founded  on  his  gracious  promises 
as  made  through  a  Saviour. 

8.  Thine  hand  shall  find  out.  That 
is,  Thou  wilt  find  out, — the  hand 
being  that  by  which  we  execute  our 
purposes.  This  verse  commences  a 
new  division  of  the  psalm  (see  the 


introd.), — in  which  the  psalmist  looks 
forward  to  the  complete  and  final 
triumph  of  God  over  all  his  enemies. 
He  looks  to  this  in  connexion  with 
what  God  had  done  for  him.  He  in- 
fers that  he  who  had  enabled  him  to 
achieve  such  signal  conquests  over 
his  own  foes  and  the  foes  of  God 
would  not  withdraw  his  interposition 
until  he  had  secured  a  complete  vic- 
tory for  the  cause  of  truth  and  holi- 
ness. In  connexion  with  the  promise 
made  to  him  respecting  his  perma- 
nent reign  and  the  reign  of  his  suc- 
cessors on  the  throne  (ver.  4),  he 
infers  that  God  would  ultimately 
subdue  the  enemies  of  truth,  and 
would  set  up  his  kingdom  over  all. 
%  All  thine  enemies.  However  they 
may  attempt  to  conceal  themselves, 
— however  they  may  evade  the  efforts 
to  subdue  them, — yet  they  shall  all 
be  found  out  and  overcome.  As  this 
was  intended  by  the  Spirit  of  inspira- 
tion, it  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  final 
triumph  of  truth  on  the  earth,  or  to 
the  fact  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
will  be  set  up  over  all  the  world.  All 
that  are  properly  ranked  among  the 
enemies  of  God, — all  that  are  in 
any  way  opposed  to  him  and  to  his 
reign, — will  be  found  out  and  con- 
quered. All  the  worshippers  of  idols, 
— all  the  enemies  of  truth, — all  the 
rejecters  of  revelation,  —  all  the 
workers  of  iniquity, — all  that  are 
infidels  or  scoffers, — shall  be  found  out 
and  subdued.  Either  by  being  made 
to  yield  to  the  claims  of  truth,  and 
thus  becoming  the  friends  of  God, — 
or  by  being  cut  off  and  punished  for 
their  sins, — they  will  be  all  so  over- 
come that  God  shall  reign  over  all 
the  earth.  An  important  truth  is 
further  taught  here,  to  wit,  that  no 
enemy  of  God  can  escape  him.  There 
is  no  place  to  which  he  can  flee  where 
God  will  not  find  him.      "  There  is 


PSALM  XXI. 


187 


9  Thou  shalt  make  them  as 
a  fiery  <*  oven  in  the  time  of  thine 
anger :  the  Lord  shall  swallow 
them  up  in  his  wrath,  and  the 
fire  e  shall  devour  them. 

i  Mai.  iv.  1.  e  Isa.  xxvi.  11. 


XI 

vii.  4,  6,  7 ;  Mai. 
occur  elsewhere, 
the   Hebrews  was 


no  darkness,  nor  shadow  of  death, 
where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may- 
hide  themselves,"  Job  xxxiv.  22. 
^[  Thy  right  hand.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xvii.  7.  %  Those  that  hate  thee.  All 
thine  enemies. 

9.  Thou  shalt  make  them  as  a  fieri/ 
oven  in  the  time  of  thine  anger.    Thou 
shalt  consume  or  destroy  them,  as  if 
they  were  burned  in  a  heated  oven. 
Or,  they  shall  burn,  as  if  they  were  a 
flaming  oven ;  that  is,  they  would  be 
wholly    consumed.     The   word   ren- 
dered   oven — "Ton,     tannoor — means 
either  an  oven  or  a  furnace.     It  is 
rendered  furnace  and  furnaces  in  Gen. 
xv.  17;    Neh.  hi.   11;  xii.  38;    Isa. 
xxxi.  9 ;  and,  as  here,  oven  or  ovens, 
in  Exod.  viii.  3  ;    Lev.  ii.  4;    vii.  9; 
35 ;  xxvi.  26 ;   Lam.  v.  10 ;    Hos. 
iv.  1.     It  does  not 
The   oven   among 
in  the  form  of  a 
large  pot,  and  was  heated  from  within 
by    placing    the    wood   inside    of    it. 
Of  course,  while  being  heated,  it  had 
the   appearance   of  a   furnace.     The 
meaniug    here   is    that    the    wicked 
would  be  consumed  or  destroyed  as  if 
they  were  such  a  burning  oven ;  as  if 
they  were  set  on  fire,  and  burned  up. 
%  The  Lord  shall  swallow  them  up 
in  his  wrath.     The  same  idea  of  the 
utter  destruction   of  the    wicked   is 
here  presented  under  another  form — 
that  they  would  be   destroyed  as  if 
the  earth  should  open    and  swallow 
them   up.      Perhaps  the   allusion  in 
the  language  is  to  the  case  of  Korah, 
Dathan,  and  Abiram,  Num.  xvi.  32; 
comp.   Ps.   cvi.   17.     %  And  the  fire 
shall   devour   them.     The  same  idea 
under  another  form.     The  wrath  of 
God    would    utterly    destroy   them. 
That  wrath  is  often  represented  under 
the   image    of  fire.      See   Deut.    iv. 
24 ;    xxxii.  22 ;    Ps.  xviii.  8  ;    Matt. 


10  Their  /  fruit  shalt  thou 
destroy  from  the  earth,  and  their 
seed  from  among  the  children  of 
men. 


/Ps.  xxxvii.  28. 


xiii.  42  ;  xviii.  8  ;  xxv.  41 ;  Mark  ix. 
44 ;  2  Thess.  i.  8.  Fire  is  the  em- 
blem by  which  the  future  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked  is  most  frequently 
denoted. 

10.  Their  fruit.     Their  offspring  ; 
their   children ;   their  posterity ;    for 
so  the  parallelism  demands.  The  fruit 
is  that  which  the  tree  produces  ;    and 
hence  the  word  comes  to  be  applied 
to  children  as  the  production  of  the 
parent.     See  this  use  of  the  word  in 
Gen.  xxx.  2  ;    Exod.   xxi.  22 ;    Deut. 
xxviii.  4,  11,  18  ;  Ps.  cxxvii.  3  ;    Hos. 
ix.  16 ;    Micah  vi.  7.      1  Shalt  thou 
destroy  from  the  earth.     Thou  shalt 
utterly    destroy    them.     This    is    in 
accordance   with    the    statement    so 
often   made  in   the    Scriptures,    and 
with  what  so  often   occurs    in   fact, 
that  the  consequences  of  the  sins  of 
parents  pass  over  to  their  posterity, 
and  that  they  suffer  in  consequence  of 
those  sins.    Comp.  Exod.  xx.  5;  xxxiv. 
7;  Lev.  xx.  5;  xxvi.  39;  comp.  Notes 
on  Romans  v.  12-19.     %  And  their 
seed.  Their  posterity.    %  From  among 
the  children  of  men.     From    among 
men,  or  the  human  family.     That  is, 
they  would  be  entirely  cut  off  from 
the  earth.     The  truth  taught  here  is, 
that  the  wicked  will   ultimately   be 
destroyed,  and  that  God  will  obtain  a 
complete  triumph  over  them,  or  that 
the  kingdom  of  righteousness  shall  be 
at  length  completely  established.     A 
time  will  come  when  truth  and  justice 
shall   be   triumphant,    when   all   the 
wicked  shall  be  removed  out  of  the 
way ;  when  all  that  oppose  God  and 
his  cause  shall  be  destroyed,  and  when 
God  shall  show,  by  thus  removing  and 
punishing  the  wicked,  that  he  is  the 
Friend  of  all  that  is  true,  and  good, 
and  right.     The  idea  of  the  psalmist 
probably    was   that   this   would    yet 
occur  on  the  earth ;  the  language  is 


188 


PSALM  XXL 


11  For  they  intended  evil 
against  thee ;  they  imagined  a 
mischievous  device  icliicli  g  they 
are  not  able  to  perform  : 

12  Therefore  shalt  thou  l  make 

g  Ps.  ii.  1 — L        l  Or,  set  them  as  a  licit. 


such,  also,  as  may  be  applied  to  that 
ultimate  state,  in  the  future  world, 
when  all  the  wicked  shall  be  destroyed, 
and  the  righteous  shall  be  no  more 
troubled  with  them. 

11.  For  they  intended  evil  against 
thee.  Literally,  "They  stretched  out 
evil."  The  idea  seems  to  be  derived 
from  stretching  out  or  laying  snares, 
nets,  or  gins,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
wild  beasts.  That  is,  they  formed  a  plan 
or  purpose  to  bring  evil  upon  God  and 
his  cause :  as  the  hunter  or  fowler  forms 
a  purpose  or  plan  to  take  wild  beasts 
or  fowls.  It  is  not  merely  a  purpose  in 
the  head,  as  our  word  "  intended  " 
would  seem  to  imply ;  it  supposes 
that  arrangements  had  been  entered 
into,  or  that  a  scheme  had  been  formed 
to  injure  the  cause  of  God, — that  is, 
through  the  person  referred  to  in  the 
psalm.  The  purposes  of  wicked  men 
against  religion  are  usually  much 
more  than  a  mere  intention.  The  in- 
tention is  accompanied  with  a  scheme 
or  plan  in  their  own  mind  by  which 
the  act  may  be  accomplished.  The 
evil  here  referred  to  was  that  of  re- 
sisting or  overpowering  him  who  was 
engaged  in  the  cause  of  God,  or  whom 
God  had  appointed  to  administer  his 
laws.  %  They  imagined  a  mischiev- 
ous device.  They  thought,  or  they 
purposed.  The  word  rendered  "  mis- 
chievous device" — TTOfTD,  mezimmah 
— means  properly  counsel,  purpose; 
then  prudence,  sagacity ;  then,  in  a 
bad  sense,  machination,  device,  trick. 
Gesenius,  Lex.  Prov.  xii.  2;  xiv.  17 ; 
xxiv.  8.  %  Which  they  are  not  able  to 
perform.  Literally,  "they  could  not;" 
that  is,  they  had  not  the  power  to 
accomplish  it,  or  to  carry  out  their 
purpose.  Their  purpose  was  plain ; 
their  guilt  was  therefore  clear ;  but 
they  were  prevented  from  executing 
their  design.    Many  such  designs  are 


them  turn  their  2  back,  ivhen 
thou  shalt  make  ready  thine 
arrows  upon  thy  strings  against 
the  face  of  them. 

2  shoulder. 


kept  from  being  carried  into  execu- 
tion for  the  want  of  power.  If  all  the 
devices  and  the  desires  of  the  wicked 
were  accomplished,  righteousness 
would  soon  cease  in  the  earth,  re- 
ligion and  virtue  would  come  to  an 
end,  and  even  God  would  cease  to  oc- 
cupy the  throne. 

12.  Therefore  shalt  thou  make  them 
turn  their  back.  Marg.,  Thou  shalt  set 
them  as  a  butt.  The  word  back  also 
is  rendered  in  the  margin  shoulder. 
The  word  translated  therefore  means 
in  this  place  for,  and  the  rendering 
"  therefore"  obscures  the  sense.  The 
statement  in  this  verse  in  connexion 
with  the  previous  verse,  is,  that  they 
would  not  be  able  to  "  perform  "  or 
carry  out  their  well-laid  schemes,  for 
or  because  God  would  make  them  turn 
the  back  ;  that  is,  he  had  vanquished  # 
them.  They  were  going  forward  in 
the  execution  of  their  purposes,  but 
God  would  interpose  and  turn  them 
back,  or  compel  them  to  retreat.  The 
word  rendered  back  in  this  place 
—  Dpti?,  shechem  —  means  properly 
shoulder,  or,  more  strictly,  the 
'shoulder-blades,  —  that  is,  the  part 
where  these  approach  each  other  be- 
hind ;  and  then  the  upper  part  of  the 
back.  It  is  not,  therefore,  incorrectly 
rendered  by  the  phrase  "  thou  shalt 
make  them  turn  the  back."  The  ex- 
pression is  equivalent  to  saying  that 
they  would  be  defeated  or  foiled  in 
their  plans  and  purposes,  ^f  When 
thou  shalt  make  ready  thine  arrows 
upon  thy  strings.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  xi.  2.  That  is,  when  God  should 
go  forth  against  them,  armed  as  a 
warrior.  ^[  Against  the  face  of  them. 
Against  them;  or,  in  their  very  front. 
He  would  meet  them  as  they  seemed 
to  be  marching  on  to  certain  conquest, 
and  would  discomfit  them.  It  would 
not  be  by  a  side-blow,  or  by  skilful 


PSALM  XXII. 


189 


13  Be  thou  exalted,  Lord,  in 

tliiiie  own  ;'  strength  :  so  will  we 


manoeuvre,  or  by  turning  their  flank 
and  attacking  them  in  the  rear. 
Truth  meets  error  boldly,  face  to  face, 
and  is  not  afraid  of  a  fair  fight.  In 
every  such  conflict  error  will  ultimately 
yield;  and  whenever  the  wicked  come 
openly  into  conflict  with  God,  they 
must  be  compelled  to  turn  and  flee. 

13.  Be  thou  exalted,  Lord,  in  thine 
own  strength.  This  is  the  concluding 
part  of  the  psalm  (see  the  introd.), 
expressing  a  desire  that  God  might  be 
exalted  over  all  his  foes ;  or  that  his 
own  strength  might  be  so  manifestly 
put  forth  that  he  would  be  exalted  as 
he  ought  to  be.  This  is  the  ultimate 
and  chief  desire  of  all  holy  created 
beings,  that  God  might  be  exalted  in 
the  estimation  of  the  universe  above 
all  other  beings, — or  that  he  might  so 
triumph  over  all  his  enemies  as  to 
reign  supreme.  %  So  will  ice  sing 
and  praise  thy  power.  That  is,  as 
the  result  of  thy  being  thus  exalted 
to  proper  honour,  we  will  unite  in 
celebrating  thy  glory  and  thy  power. 
Comp.  Rev.  vii.  10 — 12  ;  xii.  10  ;  xix. 
1—3.  This  will  be  the  result  of  all 
the  triumphs  which  God  will  achieve 
in  the  world,  that  the  holy  beings  of 
all  worlds  will  gather  around  his 
throne  and  "  sing  and  praise  his 
power."  The  thought  in  the  psalm 
is  that  God  will  ultimately  triumph 
over  all  his  foes,  and  that  this  triumph 
will  be  followed  by  universal  rejoicing 
and  praise.     Come  that  blessed  day  ! 

PSALM  XXII. 

I.  The  author  of  the  psalm. — This 
psalm  is  said  to  have  been  composed  by 
David:— "A  Psalm  of  David ;"  comp. 
Xotes  on  the  title  of  Psalm  iii.  It  can- 
not be  absolutely  demonstrated  that  these 
titles  to  the  psalms  are  all  of  them  cor- 
rect, as  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  they 
were  affixed  to  them  by  the  authors  of 
the  psalms  themselves ;  and  it  is  not 
absolutely  known  by  whom  they  were 
prefixed.  Of  course  there  is  no  certain 
evidence  that  they  were  attached  to  the 
psalms  bj  an  inspired  writer.     Still  they 


sing  and  praise  thy  power. 

h  Job  ix.  19. 


are  to  be  presumed  to  be  correct  unless 
there  is  some  clear  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary. In  this  case  there  seems  to  be 
none.  There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm 
itself  that  is  inconsistent  with  the  sup- 
position, and  there  are  no  historical 
evidences  in  the  case  which  would  make 
it  necessary  for  us  to  set  the  title  aside. 
The  affixing  of  this  title  to  the  psalm 
undoubtedly  implies  that  it  was  the 
prevailing  opinion,  at  the  time  when  the 
collection  of  Psalms  was  made,  that  tins 
was  a  psalm  of  David.  Eosenmiiller 
indeed  doubts  this ;  but  he  assigns  no 
historical  reasons  for  the  doubt.  Hitzig 
supposes  that  the  author  was  Jeremiah, 
on  the  ground,  as  he  says,  that  it  is  "  in 
the  broad  and  flowing  style"  of  Jere- 
miah, but  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  suppose 
that  David,  though  he  was  the  author  of 
the  psalm,  refers  to  himself.  Lf  it  be 
admitted  that  he  was  inspired,  or  even 
if  this  should  be  doubted,  it  would  still 
be  an  open  question  to  whom  the  psalm 
refers, — whether  to  himself  as  an  indi- 
vidaal ; — whether  to  an  imaginary  suf- 
ferer, designing  to  illustrate  the  feelings 
of  piety  in  a  time  of  sorrow; — whether 
to  the  people  of  God,  considered  collec- 
tively ; — or  whether  to  the  Messiah.  The 
mere  fact  of  the  authorship  of  the  psalm 
detei-mines  none  of  these  questions. 

It  is  not  known,  and  it  cannot  now  be 
determined,  on  what  occasion  the  psalm 
was  written.  It  is  expressive  of  the 
feelings  of  a  pious  sufferer, — of  one  who 
appears  to  be  forsaken  by  God  and  by 
man.  Perhaps  there  may  have  been 
occasions  in  the  life  of  David  to  which  the 
expressions  in  the  psalm  may  have  been 
applicable ;  but  if  so,  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine  on  which  one  of  these 
trials  of  his  life  the  psalm  was  composed. 
There  is  no  one  period  in  which,  from 
the  histoi-ical  records  of  his  life,  we 
could  be  able  to  make  out  all  the  circum- 
stances which  are  mentioned  in  the 
psalm.  There  are,  however,  expressions 
in  it  which  in  their  intensity,  as  express- 
ing wretchedness  and  woe,  seem  to  go 
beyond  anything  that  occurred  in  his 
experience,  and  which  lead  naturally  to 
the  question  whether  he  did  not  refer  to 
some  other  than  himself. 

II.  T/ie  contents  of  the  psalm. — 
Various  divisions  of  the  psalm  have  been 
proposed,  but  there  are  no  marked  and 


190 


PSALM  XXII. 


prominent  divisions  in  the  psalm  itself. 
Hengstenberg,  and  after  him  Prof.  Alex- 
ander, divide  it  into  three  parts,  or 
strophes,  (1)  vers.  1-10;  (2)  vers.  12-21 ; 
(3)  vers.  22-31.  According  to  this,  each 
strophe,  as  Hengstenberg  remarks,  would 
consist  of  ten  verses, — with  an  inter- 
mediate verse  between  the  10th  and  the 
12th  (ver.  11)  connecting  the  first  and 
second  parts.  Professor  Alexander  sup- 
poses that  ver.  21  is  a  connecting  link 
also  between  the  second  and  thvrd  pai-ts. 
This  division,  however,  seems  fanciful 
and  arbitrary;  and  it  will  present  a  more 
simple  and  clear  view  of  the  psalm  to  re- 
gard it  as  embracing  two  main  things :  — 

I.  The   condition  of  the  sufferer;    and 

II.  His  consolations  or  supports  in  his 
trials. 

I.  The  condition  of  the  sufferer. 
This  consists  of  two  parts:  — (1)  His 
sufferings  as  derived  from  God,  or  as 
they  spring  from  God ;  (2)  as  they  are 
derived  from  men,  or  as  they  spring 
from  the  treatment  which  he  receives 
from  men. 

(1.)  As  they  are  derived  from  God, 
vers.  1,  2. 

(a)  He  is  forsaken  of  God,  ver.  1. 

(b)  He  cries  to  him  day  and  night  (or 

continually),    and    receives    no 
answer,  ver.  2. 
His  prayer  seems  not  to  be  heard,  and 
he  is  left  to  suffer  apparently  unpitied 
and  alone. 

(2)  His  sufferings  as  derived  from 
men,  as  produced  by  the  treatment  which 
he  received  from  men. 

Here  there  am  Jive  specifications  ;  Jive 
sources  of  his  affliction  and  sorrow. 
First.  He   was   despised,  reproached, 
derided   by   them  in  the  midst 
of  his  other  sufferings,  vers.  6,  7, 
8  ; — especially  his  piet}r,  or  con- 
fidence in  God  was  ridiculed,  for 
it  now  seemed  as  if   God  had 
abandoned  him. 
Second.  His  enemies  were  fierce  and 
ravenous     as     strong     bulls    of 
Bashan,  or   as   a   ravening   and 
roaring  lion,  vers.  12,  13. 
Third.  His  sufferings  were  intense,  so 
that  his  whole  frame  was  relaxed 
•    and  prostrated  and  crushed  ,  he 
seemed  to   be  poured  out    like 
water,  and  all  his  bones  were  out 
of  joint ;  his  heart  was  melted 
like  wax  ;  his  strength  was  dried 
up  like  a  potsherd ;  his  tongue 
clave  to  his  jaws,    and  he  was 
brought  into  the  dust  of  death, 
vers.  14,  15. 


Fourth.  His  enemies  pierced  his  hands 
and  his  feet,  ver.  16. 

Fifth.  They  stripped  him  of  his  rai- 
ment, and  parted  his  garments 
among  themselves,  ver.  18. 

II.  His  consolations  or  supports  in  his 
trials.  These  are  scattered  through  the 
psalm,  and  consist  of  the  following 
things  :  — 

(1)  His  unshaken  confidence  in  God  as 

holy,  ver.  3. 

(2)  His  faith  in  God  as  the  hearer  of 

prayer,  and  especially  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  heard  prayer 
in  times  past,  vers.  4,  5. 

(3)  The  fact  that  he  had  been  himself 

early  devoted  to  God,  and  cast 
upon  him  as  his  Protector  from 
very  childhood,  and  trained  up 
for  him,  vers.  9,  10,  11. 

(4)  The  anticipated  effect  or  result  of 

what  he  was  then  suffering,  or 
the  things  to  be  accomplished  by 
his  sufferings,  vers.  19-31.  There 
are  mainly  two  things  implied 
here  as  to  the  anticipated  result 
of  his  sufferings  :  — 

(a)  The  establishment  of  a  gi*eat  prin- 

ciple that  would  encourage  the 
friends  of  God,  or  those  whom 
the  sufferer  calls  his  "  brethren," 
vers.  22-26. 

(b)  The  world  would  be  converted  as 

the  result  of  his  sufferings,  and 
the  kingdom  of  God  would  be  set 
up  everywhere  among  men,  vers. 
27-31. 
These  views  of  the  psalm  are  apparent 
on  its  face,  or  are  such  as  are  suggested  by 
the  analysis  without  reference  to  the  in- 
quiry who  was  the  author,  or  to  whom 
it  refers.     The  analysis  of  the  psalm, 
however,  necessarily  leads — 

III.  To  the  inquiry  to  whom  the  psalm 
refers  : — 

(1.)  It  refers  to  a  sufferer,  and  it 
is  designed  to  describe  his  condition 
and  his  feelings,  when  apparently  for- 
saken by  God  and  man.  At  the  same 
time,  he  is  a  pious  sufferer,  or  one  who 
has  real  trust  in  God,  though  God  appears 
to  have  forsaken  him. 

(2.)  There  seems  to.  be  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  psalm  refers  to  David 
himself,  or  that  he  means  to  describe  his 
own  feelings  and  condition.  .  He  was 
indeed  a  sufferer  ;  and  he  often  refers  to 
his  own  sufferings  in  the  Psalms.  It  is 
true,  also,  that  there  are  expressions  in 
this  psalm  which  would  be  applicable  to 
him,  or  which  might  refer  to  his  condi- 
tion.    But  there  are  nine  which  can  be 


PSALM  XXII. 


191 


regarded  as  exclusively  applicable  to  him, 
and  there  are  some  which  could  not  be 
applied  to  him.  Of  the  latter  class  are 
the  expressions,  "  They  pierced  my  hands 
and  my  feet,"  ver.  16;  "They  part  my 
garments  among  them,  and  cast  lots  upon 
my  vesture,"  ver.  18.  We  know  of  no 
circumstances  in  the  life  of  David  to 
which  these  expressions  would  be  appli- 
cable ;  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
there  were  any  in  which  what  is  here 
said  would  have  been  literally  true  of 
him.  On  the  other  hand,  this  language 
cannot  with  propriety  be  regarded  as 
figurative,  for  Ave  cannot  conceive  of  any 
circumstances  which  would  be  described 
by  such  figures  of  speech.  The  whole 
cast  of  the  psalm,  moreover,  is  different 
from  those  in  which  David  refers  to  his 
own  sufferings. 

(3.)  The  psalm  refers  to  a  case  not  then 
actually  before  the  psalmist,  but  to  some 
case  that  might  or  would  occur,  as  an 
individual  or  as  a  representative  case. 
So  far  as  the  mere  language  of  the  psalm 
is  concerned,  this  might  have  been  a  case 
purely  imaginary,  and  the  design  might 
have  been  to  describe  a  pious  sufferer 
who  seemed  to  be  forsaken  both  by  God 
and  man,  or  to  illustrate  the  nature  of 
true  submission  to  God  in  such  trials. 
In  other  words,  it  might  have  been  a 
supposed  case  intended  to  show  the 
nature  of  real  religion  under  the  severest 
forms  of  suffering;  and,  as  a  poet,  the 
author  of  the  psalm  may  have  pictured 
to  himself  such  an  instance  in  order  to 
show  what  the  feelings  of  true  piety 
would  suggest  in  such  circumstances,  or 
what  would  be  the  effect  of  true  religion 
then.  It  is  true  that  this  interpretation 
would  not  be  quite  obvious  and  natural, 
for  we  usually  find  such  descriptions  con- 
nected with  real  cases  ;  but  I  am  merely 
saying  that  so  far  as  the  language  of  the 
psalm  is  concerned,  if  we  had  no  other 
way  to  ascertain  its  meaning,  this  inter- 
pretation would  be  allowable, — and  if  we 
could  not  attach  the  psalm  properly  to 
any  real  person,  this  explanation  would 
be  admissible.  But  in  this  case  such  an 
interpretation  is  unnecessary,  for  there 
is  a  real  person  to  whom  the  language  is 
applicable,  and  one  to  whom  we  may  pro- 
perly suppose  an  inspired  writer  would 
refer  in  the  language  which  is  here  used. 

(4.)  The  psalm  refers,  therefore,  I 
apprehend,  originally  and  exclusively, 
to  the  Messiah.  The  proof  of  this  is  to 
be  found  in  such  circumstances  as  the 
following:  — 

(a)  Portions  of  it  are  expressly  applied 


to  him  in  the  New  Testament.  The  cry 
in  ver.  1,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  r"  is  the  very  one  used 
by  the  Redeemer  when  on  the  cross, 
Matt,  xxvii.  46.  The  language  (ver.  8), 
"  He  trusted  in  the  Lord  that  he  would 
deliver  him ;  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing 
he  delighted  in  him,"  is  the  taunt  which 
his  enemies  used  as  they  passed  by  the 
cross,  Matt,  xxvii.  43.  The  language 
(ver.  18),  "They  part  my  garments 
among .  them,  and  cast  lots  upon  my 
vesture,"  is  more  than  once  expressly 
applied  to  him ;  and,  in  one  instance, 
with  the  unequivocal  statement  that  it 
was  done  "  that  the  Scripture  might  be 
fulfilled,"  John  xix.  24.  Comp.  Luke 
xxiii.  34. 

(b)  We  have  evidence  derived  from 
the  early  Jewish  interpreters.  The 
modern  Jews,  indeed,  affirm  that  it  has 
no  reference  to  the  Messiah,  for  they  re- 
ject the  idea  of  a  suffering  Messiah  alto- 
gether. Some  of  them  suppose  that  it 
refers  to  David,  and  endeavour  to  find  a 
fulfilment' of  it  in  his  persecutions  and 
trials.  Others,  as  Kimchi  and  Jarchi, 
suppose  that  the  psalm  is  applicable  to 
the  suffering  Jewish  people,  and  apply  it 
to  them  in  their  trials  and  dispersions,  as 
if  they  were  forsaken  of  God.  Some  have 
supposed  that  it  refers  to  the  condition 
of  the  Jews  in  Babylon.  But  this  was 
not  the  prevailing  interpretation  among 
the  ancient  Jewish  interpreters.  See 
Jo.  BT.  Michaelis,  Com.  in  Ps.,  p.  138 ; 
and  Schottgen  de  Messia,  p.  232,  seq. 
It  is  true  that  the  opinion  of  the  ancient 
Jews  does  not  demonstrate  that  the 
psalm  refers  to  the  Messiah  ;  but  the 
fact  that  they  held  that  opinion  is  an 
important  circumstance  in  snowing  what 
is  its  fair  and  obvious  interpretation,  for 
there  was  everything  to  induce  them  to 
reject  this  explanation.  In  general,  the 
Jews  who  lived  in  the  times  referred  to 
here  were  opposed  to  the  idea  of  a  suf- 
fering Messiah  ;  and  the  fact  that  they 
admitted  the  applicability  of  the  psalm 
to  the  Messiah  must  have  embarrassed 
them  not  a  little  in  their  early  contro- 
versies with  Christians ;  for  the  early 
Christians  with  one  voice  maintained 
that  it  referred  to  the  Messiah,  and  that 
it  was  fulfilled  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
The  correspondence  between  the  psalm 
and  his  sufferings  was  one  of  the  argu- 
ments on  which  they  relied  in  proving 
that  he  was  the  Christ ;  and  if  the  Jews 
admitted  that  the  psalm  had  reference  to 
the  Messiah,  they  would  find  it  hard  to 
meet  the  force  of  this  argument.    Their 


192 


PSALM  XXII. 


admission,  therefore,  under  these  circum- 
stances, that  it  referred  to  the  Messiah, 
could  have  arisen  only  from  the  fair  and 
obvious  interpretation  of  the  psalm 
which  it  -was  not  easy  to  set  aside. 

(c)  The  internal  character  of  the  psalm 
shows  that  it  refers  to  the  Messiah.  -This 
will  appear  more  conclusively  in  the 
course  of  the  exposition,  in  the  entire 
correspondence  as  will  be  seen  there 
between  the  psalm  and  the  sufferings  of 
the  Redeemer.  It  will  be  found  that 
many  of  the  expressions  in  the  psalm 
are  as  applicable  to  him  as  they  would 
be  if  they  were  history  instead  of  pro- 
phecy ;  if  they  had  been  penned  after, 
instead  of  having  been  penned  before  his 
Bufferings  occurred.  It  is  sufficient  here 
to  refer  to  the  expressions  in  vers.  1,  7, 
8,  16,  18,  and  to  the  Notes  on  those  pas- 
sages. 

(d)  There  is  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  David  here  refers  to  the 
Messiah.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there 
is,  in  the  Old  Testament,  from  some 
cause,  a  frequent  reference  to  a  person- 
age who  was  expected  to  appear  in  future 
time,  and  who  was  called  the  Messiah. 
And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  is  often 
represented  as  a  sufferer,  and  that  Ms 
humiliation  and  sufferings  are  often  de- 
scribed. Somehow,  beyond  all  question, 
the  Jewish  writers  had  formed  the  con- 
ception of  such  a  personage,  and  they 
exhaust  the  powers  of  their  native  tongue 
in  their  description  of  his  person  and  his 
work.  He  was,  in  fact,  their  "hero;" — 
he  to  whom  they  always  looked,  and  on 
whom  their  descriptions  usually  termi- 
nated, wherever  they  began.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Isa.  liii.  and  Dan.  ix.  Now,  if  it  be 
admitted  that  the  Jewish  writers  were 
inspired,  and  that  this  view  of  the 
Messiah  had  been  furnished  by  the  Spirit 
of  inspiration,  nothing  is  more  natural 
than  to  expect  to  find  such  descriptions 
of  the  Messiah  as  occur  in  this  psalm ; 
and  if  it  should  be  said  that  they  were 
not  inspired,  and  that  this  anticipation 
was  wholly  a  poetic  fiction, — a  matter  of 
national  vanity, — a  mere  favourite  idea  of 
the  nation, — nothing  would  even  then 
be  more  natural  than  that  there  should 
be  a  frequent  reference  to  this  imaginary 
person  in  their  writings ;  and  nothing 
would  be  more  probable  than  that  we 
should  find  frequent  reference  to  him  in 
the  writings  of  one  who  was  so  deeply 
imbued  with  the  national  spirit,  and  who 
occupied  so  high  a  position  among  the 
poets  of  the  nation,  as  David.  Inspired 
or  uninspired,  then,  there  is  the  strongest 


probability  that  there  would  bo  in  then- 
poetic  writings  such  allusions  to  the 
Messiah  as  we  have  in  this  psalm. 

An  examination  of  the  objections  to 
the  interpretation  which  refers  the  psalm 
to  the  Messiah,  may  be  found  in  Heng- 
stenberg's  Christologv,  vol.  i,  pp.  14o- 
147. 

The  title  of  the  psalm  is,  "To  the  chief 
Musician  upon  Aijeleth  Shahar."  On 
the  jneaning  of  the  expression  chief 
Musician,  see  Notes  on  the  title  to  Psalm 
iv.  The  expression  Aijdeth  Shahar  is 
rendered  in  the  margin,  the  hind  of  the 
morning.  The  word  Aijeleth— Tr3\i< — 
means  a  hind,  and  is  used  as  a  term  of 
endearment  towards  a  female,  Prov.  v.  19. 
It  is  found  in  Gen.  xlix.  21,  "  Naphtali 
is  a  hind  let  loose."  Also  in  2  Sam. 
xxii.  34 ;  Job  xxxix.  1 ;  Ps.  xviii.  33 ; 
Cant.  ii.  7  ;  iii.  5  ;  Hab.  iii.  19  ; — in 
each  of  which  places  it  is  rendered  in  the 
singular  hind,  and  in  the  plural  hinds. 
The  word  Shahar  —  "irnD — means  t/ie 
aurora,  the  daicn,  the  morning.  "The 
phrase  'hind  of  the  dawn'  probably 
stands  for  the  morning  sun  scattering  his 
first  rays  upon  the  earth,  as  the  Arabian 
poets  call  the  rising  sun  the  gazelle,  com- 
paring his  rays  with  the  horns  of  that 
animal."  (fesenim,  Lex. — The  image 
is  one  o'f  gladness,  as  if  the  rays  of  the 
sun  leaped  and  bounded  over  the  hills 
with  joyousness  as  the  hart  or  hind  does. 
But  why  such  a  title  is  given  to  this 
psalm  can  be  only  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture. It  would  seem  most  probable  that 
these  words  were  the  beginning  of  some 
other  psalm  or  hymn  that  was  sung  to  a 
set  piece  of  music,  and  that  the  design 
was,  as  indicated  by  this  title,  that  this 
psalm  was  to  be  sung  to  the  same  tune. 
A  tune  might  not  improbably  be  known 
then,  as  it  is  in  fact  sometimes  now,  by 
the  first  or  opening  words  of  the  piece 
which  was  commonly  sung  in  that  mea- 
sure. Thus  we  have  hymns  so  constantly 
sung  to  certain  tunes  that  the  mention  of 
the  first  line  would  be  a  sufficient  sug- 
gestion of  the  strain  of  music  in  which 
it  was  to  be  sung.  It  would  be,  for  ex- 
ample, sufficient  to  say  that  it  was  to  be 
sung'to  the  same  tune  as  "  From  Green- 
land's icy  mountains  ;"  or,  "All  hail  the 
power  of  Jesus'  name ;"  or,  "  I  would 
not  live  alway."  Other  views  of  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase  may  be  seen  in 
Eosenmiiller,  Com.  in  loc.  Rosenmuller 
himself  adopts  the  views  here  expressed, 
and  sustains  his  opinion  by  the  authority 
of  Bochaii. 


PSALM  XXII. 


193 


PSALM  XXII. 

To  the  chief  Musician  upon  l  Aijeleth  Shahar. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 

]\/T  T  i  God,  my  God,  why  bast 

1  Or,  the  hind  of  the  morning. 


1.  My  God,  my  God.  These  are 
the  very  words  uttered  by  the  Sa- 
viour when  on  the  cross  (Matt,  xxvii. 
46) ;  and  he  evidently  used  them  as 
best  adapted  of  all  the  words  that 
could  have  been  chosen  to  express 
the  extremity  of  his  sorrow.  The 
fact  that  he  employed  them  may  be 
referred  to  as  some  evidence  that  the 
psalm  was  designed  to  refer  to  him ; 
though  it  must  be  admitted  that  this 
circumstance  is  no  conclusive  proof 
of  such  a  design,  since  he  might  have 
used  words  having  originally  another 
reference,  as  best  fitted  to  express  his 
own  sufferings.  The  language  is 
abrupt,  and  is  uttered  without  any 
previous  intimation  of  what  would 
produce  or  cause  it.  It  comes  from 
the  midst  of  suffering — from  one  en- 
during intense  agony — as  if  a  new 
form  of  sorrow  suddenly  came  upon 
him  which  he  was  unable  to  endure. 
That  new  form  of  suffering  was  the 
feeling  that  now  he  was  forsaken  by 
the  last  friend  of  the  wretched, — God 
himself.  We  may  suppose  that  he 
had  patiently  borne  all  the  other 
forms  of  trial,  but  the  moment  the 
thought  strikes  him  that  he  is  for- 
saken of  God,  he  ci'ies  out  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  soul,  under  the 
pressure  of  anguish  which  is  no  longer 
to  be  borne.  All  other  forms  of  suf- 
fering he  could  bear.  All  others  he 
had  borne.  But  this  crushes  him; 
overpowers  him;  is  beyond  all  that 
the  soul  can  sustain, — for  the  soul 
may  bear  all  else  but  this.  It  is  to 
be  observed,  however,  that  the  suf- 
ferer himself  still  has  confidence  in 
God.  He  addresses  him  as  his  God, 
though  he  seems  to  have  forsaken 
him:— "My  God;  my  God."  f 
Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  Why 
hast  thou  abandoned  me,  or  left  me 
to  myself,  to  suffer  unaided  and  alone  ? 
As  applicable  to  the  Saviour,  this 
refers  to  those  dreadful  moments  on 

VOL.  I. 


thou  forsaken  me  ?  why  art  thou 
so  far  from  2  helping  me,  and 
from  the  words  of  my  *  roaring  ? 

i  Matt,  xxvii.  46  ;  Luke  xxiv.  44. 
2  mi/  salvation.  k  Hcb.  v.  7. 


the  cross  when,  forsaken  by  men,  he 
seemed  also  to  be  forsaken  of  Gcd 
himself.  God  did  not  interpose  to 
rescue  him,  but  left  him  to  bear  those 
dreadful  agonies  alone.  He  bore  the 
burden  of  the  world's  atonement  by 
himself.  He  was  overwhelmed  with 
grief,  and  crushed  with  pain ;  for  the 
sins  of  the  world,  as  well  as  the 
agonies  of  the  cross,  had  come  upon 
him.  But  there  was  evidently  more 
than  this ; — ivhat  more  we  are  unable 
fully  to  understand !  There  was  a 
higher  sense  in  which  he  was  forsaken 
of  God ;  for  no  mere  physical  suffer- 
ings, no  pains  of  dying  even  on  the 
cross,  would  have  extorted  this  cry. 
If  he  had  enjoyed  the  light  of  his 
-Father's  countenance ;  if  these  had 
been  merely  physical  sufferings ;  if 
there  was  nothing  else  than  what  is 
apparent  to  our  view  in  the  record  of 
those  sufferings,  we  cannot  suppose 
that  this  cry  would  have  been  heard 
even  on  the  cross.  There  is  evidently 
some  sense  in  which  it  was  true  that 
the  dying  Saviour  was  given  up  to 
darkness — to  mental  trouble,  to  de- 
spair, as  if  He  who  is  the  last  hope  of 
the  suffering  and  the  dying — the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies — had  withdrawn  from 
him ;  as  if  he  were  personally  a  sin- 
ner; as  if  he  were  himself  guilty  or 
blameworthy  on  account  of  the  sins 
for  which  he  was  making  an  expiation. 
In  some  sense  he  experienced  what 
the  sinner  will  himself  experience 
when,  for  his  own  sins,  he  will  be  at 
last  forsaken  of  God,  and  abandoned 
to  despair.  Every  word  in  this  won- 
derful exclamation  may  be  supposed 
to  be  emphatic.  "  Why."  What  is 
the  cause  ?  How  is  it  to  be  accounted 
for  ?  What  end  is  to  be  answered  by 
it  ?  "  East  thou."  Thou,  my  Father"; 
thou,  the  comforter  of  those  in  trouble; 
thou,  to  whom  the  suffering  and  the 
dying  may  look  when  all  else  fails. 
"Forsaken"  Left  me  to  suffer  alone ; 
K 


194 


PSALM    XX II. 


2  O  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  day- 
time, but  thou  nearest  not :  and 
in  the  night- season,  and  l  am  not 
silent. 

1  there  is  no  silence  to  me. 


3  But  thou  art  holy,  0  thou 
that  inhabitest  the  praises  l  of 
Israel. 


l  Ps.  lxv.  l. 


withdrawn  the  light  of  thy  counte- 
nance— the  comfort  of  thy  presence — 
the  joy  of  thy  manifested  favour. 
"  Me."  Thy  well-beloved  Son ;  me, 
whom  thou  hast  sent  into  the  world 
to  accomplish  thine  own  work  in  re- 
deeming man;  me,  against  whom  no 
sin  can  he  charged,  whose  life  has 
been  perfectly  pure  and  holy; — why, 
now,  in  the  extremity  of  these  suffer- 
ings, hast  thou  forsaken  me,  and 
added  to  the  agony  of  the  cross  the 
deeper  agony  of  being  abandoned  by 
the  God  whom  I  love,  the  Father 
who  loved  me  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  John  xvii.  24.  There 
is  a  reason  why  God  should  forsake 
the  wicked ;  but  why  should  he  forsake 
his  own  pure  and  holy  Son  in  the 
agonies  of  death  ?  %  Why  art  thou 
so  far  from  helping  me  ?  Marg., 
from  my  salvation.  So  the  Hebrew. 
The  idea  is  that  of  one  who  stood  so 
far  off  that  he  could  not  hear  the 
cry,  or  that  he  could  not  reach  out 
the  hand  to  deliver.  Comp.  Ps.  x.  1. 
%  And  from  the  words  of  my  roaring. 
The  word  here  used  properly  denotes 
the  roaring  of  a  lion,  Job  iv.  10; 
Isa.  v.  29;  Zech.  xi.  3;  and  then  the 
outcry  or  the  groaning  of  a  person  in 
great  pain,  Job  iii.  24;  Ps.  xxxii.  3. 
It  refers  here  to  a  loud  cry  for  help 
or  deliverance,  and  is  descriptive  of 
the  intense  suffering  of  the  Redeemer 
on  the  cross.  Comp.  Matt,  xxvii.  50; 
Luke  xxiii.  46. 

2.  0  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  daytime. 
This,  in  connexion  with  what  is  said 
at  the  close  of  the  verse,  "  and  in  the 
night-season,"  means  that  his  cry  was 
incessant  or  constant.  See  Xotes  on 
Ps.  i.  2.  The  whole  expression  de- 
notes that  his  prayer  or  cry  was  con- 
tinuous, but  that  it  was  not  heard. 
As  applicable  to  the  Redeemer  it  re- 
fers not  merel}7  to  the  moment  when 
he  uttered  the  cry  as  stated  in  ver.  1, 
but  to  the  continuous  sufferings  which 


he  endured  as  if  forsaken  by  God  and 
men.  His  life  in  general  was  of  that 
description.  The  whole  series  of  sor- 
rows and  trials  through  which  he 
passed  was  as  if  he  were  forsaken  by 
God;  as  if  he  uttered  a  long  con- 
tinuous cry,  day  and  night,  and  was 
not  heard.  %  But  thou  hearest  not. 
Thou  dost  not  answer  me.  It  is  as  if 
my  prayers  were  not  heard.  God 
hears  every  cry ;  but  the  answer  to  a 
prayer  is  sometimes  withheld  or  de- 
layed, as  if  he  did  not  hear  the  voice 
of  the  suppliant.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Dan.  x.  12,  13.  So  it  was  with  the 
Redeemer.  He  was  permitted  to 
sutler  without  being  rescued  by  Di- 
vine power,  as  if  his  prayers  had  not 
been  heard.  God  seemed  to  disregard 
his  supplications.  %  And  in  the 
night-season.  As  explained  above, 
this  means  constantly.  It  was  literally 
true,  however,  that  the  Redeemer's 
most  intense  and  earnest  prayer  was 
uttered  in  the  night-season,  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.  %  And  am 
not  silent.  Marg.,  there  is  no  silence 
to  me.  Heb.,  "There  is  not  silence 
to  me."  The  idea  is,  that  he  prayed 
or  cried  incessantly.  He  was  never 
silent.  All  this  denotes  intense  and 
continuous  supplication,  supplication 
that  came  from  the  deepest  anguish 
of  the  soul,  but  which  was  unheard 
and  unanswered.  If  Christ  expe- 
rienced this,  who  may  not  ? 

3.  But  thou  art  holy.  Thou  art 
righteous  and  blameless.  This  indi- 
cates that  the  sufferer  had  still  un- 
wavering confidence  in  God.  Though 
his  prayer  seemed  not  to  be  heard, 
and  though  he  was  not  delivered,  he 
was  not  disposed  to  blame  God.  He 
believed  that  God  was  righteous, 
though  he  received  no  answer;  he 
doubted  not  that  there  was  some 
sufficient  reason  why  he  was  not 
answered.  This  is  applicable,  not 
only  to  the  Redeemer,   in  whom   it 


PSALM  XXII. 


195 


4  Our  fathers  trusted  in  thee : 
they  trusted,  and  thou  didst 
deliver  them. 


was  most  fully  illustrated,  but  also  to 
the  people  of  God  everywhere.  It 
expresses  a  state  of  mind  such  as  all 
true  believers  in  God  have — confidence 
in  him,  whatever  may  be  their  trials; 
confidence  in  him,  though  the  answer 
to  their  prayers  may  be  long  delayed ; 
confidence  in  him,  though  their  prayers 
should  seem  to  be  unanswered.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  xiii.  15.  ^[  0  thou 
that  inhabitest  the  praises  of  Israel. 
That*  dwellest  where  praise  is  cele- 
brated ;  that  seemest  to  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  praises.  The  language  here 
refers  to  the  praises  offered  in  the 
tabernacle  or  temple.  God  was  sup- 
posed to  dwell  there,  and  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  those  who  praised  him. 
The  sufferer  looks  upon  him  as  wor- 
shipped by  the  multitude  of  his 
people;  and  the  feeling  of  his  heart 
is,  that  though  he  was  himself  a 
sufferer — a  great  and  apparently  un- 
pitied  sufferer — though  he,  by  his 
afflictions,  was  not  permitted  to  unite 
in  those  lofty  praises,  yet  he  could 
own  that  God  was  worthy  of  all  those 
songs,  and  that  it  was  proper  that 
they  should  be  addressed  to  him. 

4.  Our  fathers  trusted  in  thee. 
This  is  a  plea  of  the  sufferer  as 
drawn  from  the  character  which  God 
had  manifested  in  former  times.  The 
argument  is,  that  he  had  interposed 
in  those  times  when  his  people  in 
trouble  had  called  upon  him  ;  and  he 
now  pleads  with  God  that  he  would 
manifest  himself  to  him  in  the  same 
way.  The  argument  derives  addi- 
tional force  also  from  the  idea  that  he 
who  now  pleads  was  descended  from 
them,  or  was  of  the  same  nation  and 
people,  and  that  he  might  call  them 
his  ancestors.  As  applicable  to  the 
Redeemer,  the  argument  is  that  he 
was  descended  from  those  holy  and 
suffering  men  who  had  trusted  in  God, 
and  in  whose  behalf  God  had  so  often 
interposed.  He  identifies  himself 
with  that  people  5  he  regards  himself 


5  They  cried  unto  thee,  and 
were  delivered :  they  trusted  in 
thee,  and  were  not  confounded. 


as  one  of  their  number;  and  he 
makes  mention  of  God's  merciful  in- 
terposition in  their  behalf,  and  of  the 
fact  that  he  had  not  forsaken  them  in 
their  troubles,  as  a  reason  why  he 
should  now  interpose  in  his  behalf 
and  save  him.  As  applicable  to  others, 
it  is  an  argument  which  the  people  of 
God  may  always  use  in  their  trials — 
that  God  has  thus  interposed  in  behalf 
of  his  people  of  former  times  who 
trusted  in  him,  and  who  called  upon 
him.  God  is  always  the  same.  We 
may  strengthen  our  faith  in  our  trials 
by  the  assurance  that  he  never  changes ; 
and,  in  pleading  with  him,  we  may 
urge  it  as  an  argument  that  he  has 
often  interposed  when  the  tried  and 
the  afflicted  of  his  people  have  called 
upon  him.  %  They  trusted,  and  thou 
didst  deliver  them.  They  confided  in 
thee  ;  they  called  on  thee ;  thou  didst 
not  spurn  their  prayer ;  thou  didst 
not  forsake  them. 

5.  They  cried  unto  thee.  They 
offered  earnest  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion. %  And  ivere  delivered.  From 
dangers  and  trials.  %  They  trusted 
in  thee,  and  were  not  confounded. 
Were  not  disappointed.  Literally, 
"  they  were  not  ashamed."  That  is, 
they  had  not  the  confusion  which 
those  have  who  are  disappointed. 
The  idea  in  the  word  is,  that  when 
men  put  their  trust  in  anything  and 
are  disappointed,  they  are  conscious 
of  a  species  of  shame  as  if  they  had 
been  foolish  in  relying  on  that  which 
proved  to  be  insufficient  to  help  them ; 
as  if  they  had  manifested  a  want  of 
wisdom  in  not  being  more  cautious, 
or  in  supposing  that  they  could  de- 
rive help  from  that  which  has  proved 
to  be  fallacious.  So  in  Jer.  xiv.  3, 
"  Their  nobles  have  sent  their  little 
ones  to  the  waters;  they  came  to  the 
pits,  and  found  no  water;  they  re- 
turned with  their  vessels  empty ;  they 
were  ashamed  and  confounded,  and 
covered  their  heads."     That  is,  they 


196 


PSALM  XXII. 


6  But  I  am  a  worm,  'and  no 
man ;  a  reproach  of  men,  and 
despised  '"  of  the  people. 

7  All  "  they  that  see  me  laugh 

/  Isa.  xli.  14.  m  Isa.  liii.  3. 

n  Mark  xv.  29,  etc. 


felt  as  if  they  had  acted  foolishly  or 
unwisely  in  expecting  to  find  water 
there.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  vi.  20. 
In  the  expression  here,  "  the}'  trusted 
in  thee,  and  were  not  confounded," 
it  is  meant  that  men  who  confide  in 
God  are  never  disappointed,  or  never 
have  occasion  for  shame  as  if  herein 
they  had  acted  foolishly.  They  are 
never  left  to  feel  that  they  had  put 
their  trust  where  no  help  was  to  be 
found ;  that  they  had  confided  in  one 
who  had  deceived  them,  or  that  they 
had  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  their  act 
as  an  act  of  foolishness. 

6.  But  I  am  a  worm,  and  no  man. 
In  contrast  with  the  fathers  who 
trusted  in  thee.  They  prayed,  and 
were  heard :  thev  confided  in  God, 
and  were  treated  as  men.  I  am  left 
and  forsaken,  as  if  I  were  not  worth 
regarding ;  as  if  I  were  a  grovelling 
worm  beneath  the  notice  of  the  great 
God.  In  other  words,  I  am  treated 
as  if  I  were  the  most  insignificant, 
the  most  despicable,  of  all  objects, — 
alike  unworthy  the  attention  of  God 
or  man.  By  the  one-my  prayers  are 
unheard  ;  by  the  other  I  am  cast  out 
and  despised.  Comp.  Job  xxv.  6.  As 
applicable  to  the  Redeemer,  this 
means  that  he  was  forsaken  alike  by 
God  and  men,  as  if  he  had  no  claims 
to  the  treatment  due  to  a  man.  *~  A 
reproach  of  men.  Reproached  by  men. 
Comp.  Isa.  liii.  3,  and  the  Notes  on 
that  verse.  *""  Despised  of  the  people. 
That  is,  of  the  people  who  witnessed 
his  sufferings.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
say  how  completely  this  had  a  fulfil- 
ment in  the  sufferings  of  the  Saviour. 

7.  All  they  that  see  me  laugh  me 
to  scorn.  They  deride  or  mock  me. 
On  the  word  used  here — *y%,  !<*<?<? — 
see  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  4.  The  meaning 
here  is  to  mock,  to  deride,  to  treat 
with  scorn.     The  idea  of  laughing  is 


me  to  scorn  :  they  i  shoot  out  the 

lip,  they  shake  °  the  head,  saying, 

8  He  ~  trusted  on  the   Lord 

that  he  would  deliver   him  :    let 

1  oj>en.  o  Ps.  cix.  25. 

2  rolled  himself. 


not  properly  in  the  word,  nor  would 
that  necessarily  occur  in  the  treat- 
ment here  referred  to.  How  com- 
pletely this  was  fulfilled  in  the  case 
of  the  Saviour,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
say.  Comp.  Matt,  xxvii.  39,  "And 
they  that  passed  by,  reviled  him." 
There  is  no  evidence  that  this  literally 
occurred  in  the  life  of  David.  % 
They  shoot  out  the  lip.  Marg.,  open. 
The  Hebrew  word — "1133,  patar — 
means  properly  to  sp>lit,  to  burst  open; 
then,  as  in  this  place,  it  means  to 
open  wide  the  mouth ;  to  stretch  the 
mouth  in  derision  and  scorn.  See 
Ps.  xxxv.  21,  "  They  opened  their 
mouth  wide  against  me."  Job  xvi.  10, 
"  They  have  gaped  upon  me  with 
their  mouth."  *~  They  shaJce  the  head. 
In  contempt  and  derision.  See  Matt, 
xxvii.  39,  "Wagging  their  heads." 

8.  He  trusted  on  the  L.OKD  that  he 
iroi'ld  deliver  him.  Marg.,  He  rolled 
himself  on  the  Lokd.  The  margin 
expresses  the  true  sense  of  the  He- 
brew word.  The  idea  is  that  of  being 
under  the  pressure  of  a  heavy  burden, 
and  of  rolling  it  off,  or  casting  it  on 
another.  Hence  the  word  is  often 
used  in  the  sense  of  committing  to 
another;  entrusting  anything  to 
another ;  confiding  in  another.  Ps. 
xxxvii.  5,  "Commit  thv  way  unto  the 
Lord  ;"  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  "  Boll  thy 
way  upon  the  Lord."  Prov.  xvi.  3, 
"  Commit  thi/  works  unto  the  Lord," 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  "  Boll."  The  lan- 
guage here  is  the  taunting  language 
of  his  enemies,  and  the  meaning  is 
that  he  had  professed  to  commit  him- 
self to  the  Lord  as  if  he  were  his 
friend;  he  had  expressed  confidence 
in  God,  and  he  believed  that  his  cause 
was  safe  in  His  hand.  This,  too,  was 
actually  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  the 
Saviour.  Matt,  xxvii.  43 :  "  He 
trusted  in  God ;  let  him  deliver  him 


PSALM    XXII. 


19> 


him  deliver  p  him,  l  seeing  he  de- 
lighted in  him. 

9  But  thou  art  he  that  took 

1  Or,  if  he  delight  in  him. 
p  Ps.  xci.  14. 


me  out  of  the  womb  ;  thou  2  didst 
make  me  hope  when  I  ivas  upon 
my  mother's  breasts. 

2  Or,  keptest  me  in  safety. 


now,  if  he  will  have  him."  It  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of 
blindness  and  infatuation  that  has 
ever  occurred  in  the  world,  that  the 
Jews  should  have  used  this  language 
in  taunting  the  dying  Redeemer, 
without  even  suspecting  that  they 
were  fulfilling  the  prophecies,  and 
demonstrating  at  the  very  time  when 
they  were  reviling  him  that  he  was 
the  true  Messiah,  ^f  Let  him  deliver 
him.  Let  him  come  and  save  him. 
Since  he  professes  to  belong  to  God; 
since  he  claims  that  God  loves  him 
and  regards  him  as  his  friend,  let  him 
come  now  and  rescue  one  so  dear  to 
him.  He  is  hopelessly  abandoned  by 
men.  If  God  chooses  to  have  one  so 
abject,  so  despised,  so  forsaken,  so 
helpless,  let  him  come  now  and  take 
him  as  his  own.  We  will  not  rescue 
him  ;  we  will  do  nothing  to  save  him, 
for  we  do  not  need  him.  If  God 
wants  him,  let  him  come  and  save 
him.  What  blasphemy !  What  an 
exhibition  of  the  dreadful  depravity 
of  the  human  heart  was  manifested 
in  the  crucifixion  of  the  Redeemer  ! 
%  Seeing  he  delighted  in  him.  Marg.,  if 
he  delight  in  him.  The  correct  render- 
ing is,  "for  he  delighted  in  him/'  That 
is,  it  was  claimed  by  the  sufferer  that 
God  delighted  in  him.  If  this  is  so,  say 
they,  let  him  come  and  rescue  one  so 
dear  to  himself.  Let  him  show  his 
friendship  for  this  vagrant,  this  impos- 
tor, this  despised  and  worthless  man ! 
9.  But  thou  art  he  that  tooTc  me  out 
of  the  ivomb.  I  owe  my  life  to  thee. 
This  is  urged  by  the  sufferer  as  a 
reason  why  God  should  now  interpose 
and  protect  him.  God  had  brought 
him  into  the  world,  guarding  him  in 
the  perils  of  the  earliest  moments  of 
his  being,  and  he  now  pleads  that  in 
the  day  of  trouble  God  will  interpose 
and  save  him.  There  is  nothing  im- 
proper in  applying  this  to  the  Mes- 
siah.    He  was  a  man,  with  all  the 


innocent  propensities  and  feelings  of 
a  man ;  and  no  one  can  say  but  that 
when  on  the  cross, — and  perhaps  with 
peculiar  fitness  we  may  say  when  he 
saw  his  mother  standing  near  him 
(John  xix.  25), — these  thoughts  may 
have  passed  through  his  mind.  In 
the  remembrance  of  the  care  bestowed 
on  his  early  years,  he  may  now  have 
looked  with  an  eye  of  earnest  plead- 
ing to  God,  that,  if  it  were  possible, 
he  might  deliver  him.  ^  Thou  didst 
make  me  hope.  Marg.,  Keptest  me 
in  safety.  The  phrase  in  the  Hebrew 
means,  Thou  didst  cause  me  to  trust 
or  to  hope.  It  may  mean  here  either 
that  he  was  made  to  cherish  a  hope 
of  the  Divine  favour  in  very  early  life, 
as  it  were  when  an  infant  at  the 
breast ;  or  it  may  mean  that  he  had 
cause  then  to  hope,  or  to  trust  in 
God.  The  former,  it  seems  to  me,  is 
probably  the  meaning;  and  the  idea 
is,  that  from  his  earliest  years  he 
had  been  led  to  trust  in  God ;  and 
he  now  pleads  this  fact  as  a  reason 
why  he  should  interpose  to  save  him. 
Applied  to  the  Redeemer  as  a  man, 
it  means  that  in  his  earliest  child- 
hood he  had  trusted  in  God.  His 
first  breathings  were  those  of  piety. 
His  first  aspirations  were  for  the 
Divine  favour.  His  first  love  was  the 
love  of  God.  This  he  now  calls  to 
remembrance ;  this  he  now  urges  as 
a  reason  why  God  should  not  with- 
draw the  light  of  his  countenance, 
and  leave  him  to  suffer  alone.  No 
one  can  prove  that  these  thoughts 
did  not  pass  through  the  mind  of  the 
Redeemer  when  he  was  enduring  the 
agonies  of  desertion  on  the  cross;  no 
one  can  show  that  they  would  have 
been  improper.  %  Upon  my  mother's 
breast.  In  my  earliest  infancy.  This 
does  not  mean  that  he  literally 
cherished  hope  then,  but- that  he  had 
done  it  in  the  earliest  period  of  his  life, 
as  the  first  act  of  his  conscious  being. 


198 


PSALM    XXII. 


10  I  was  cast  upon  thee  from 
the  womb ;  thou  «  art  my  God 
from  my  mother's  belly. 

11  Be  not  far  from  me,  for 
trouble  is  near ;  for  there  is  l  none 
to  help. 

q  Isa.  xlvi.  3  ;  xlix.  1. 
1  not  a  helper. 


10.  I  was  cast  upon  thee  from  the 
womb.  Upon  thy  protection  and  care. 
This,  too,  is  an  argument  for  the 
Divine  interposition.  He  had  been, 
as  it  were,  thrown  early  in  life  upon 
the  protecting  care  of  God.  In  some 
peculiar  sense  he  had  been  more  un- 
protected and  defenceless  than  is 
common  at  that  period  of  life,  and  he 
owed  his  preservation  then  entirely  to 
God.  This,  too,  may  have  passed 
through  the  mind  of  the  Redeemer  on 
the  cross.  In  those  sad  and  desolate 
moments  he  may  have  recalled  the 
scenes  of  his  early  life — the  events 
which  had  occurred  in  regard  to  him 
in  his  early  years ;  the  poverty  of  his 
mother,  the  manger,  the  persecution 
by  Herod,  the  flight  into  Egypt, 
the  return,  the  safety  which  he  then 
enjoyed  from  persecution  in  a  distant 
part  of  the  land  of  Palestine,  in  the 
obscure  and  unknown  village  of  Xaza- 
reth.  This  too  may  have  occurred  to 
his  mind  as  a  reason  why  God  should 
interpose  and  deliver  him  from  the 
dreadful  darkness  which  had  come 
over  him  now.  ■"  Thou  art  my  God 
from  my  mother's  belly.  Thou  hast 
been  my  God  from  my  very  child- 
hood. He  had  loved  God  as  su<:-h; 
he  had  obeyed  him  as  such;  he  had 
trusted  him  as  such;  and  he  now 
pleads  this  as  a  reason  why  God 
should  interpose  for  him. 

11.  Be  not  far  from  me.  Do  not 
withdraw  from  me ;  do  not  leave  or 
forsake  me.  %  For  trouble  is  near. 
Xear,  in  the  sense  that  deep  sorrow 
has  come  upon  me ;  near,  in  the  sense 
that  I  am  approaching  a  dreadful 
death.  r  For  there  is  none  to  help. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  not  a  helper.  There 
were  those  who  icov.ld  have  helped, 
but  they  could  not ;  there  were  those 
who   could    have    helped,   but   they 


12  Many  bulls  have  compassed 
me  :  strong  bulls  of  Bashan  have 
beset  me  round. 

13  They  -  gaped  upon  me  with 
their  mouths,  as  a  ravening  and 


a  roaring  lion. 


2  opened  their  mouths  against  me. 


would  not.  His  friends  that  stood 
around  the  cross  were  unable  to  aid 
him  ;  his  foes  were  unwilling  to  do  it  ; 
and  he  was  left  to  suffer  unhelped. 

12.  3Ia>;y  bulls  have  compassed  me. 
Men  with  the  fierceness  and  fury  of 
bulls.  Comp.  Isa.  li.  20 ;  Ps.  lxviii*.  30. 
*~  Strong  bulls  of  Bashan.  The  coun- 
try of  Bashan  embraced  the  territory 
which  was  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan, 
north  of  Gilead,  which  was  given  to 
the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh :  comp. 
Gen.  xiv.  5  with  Joshua  xii.  4—6.  It 
was  distinguished  as  pasture  land  for 
its  richness.  Its  trees  and  its  breed 
of  cattle  are  frequently  referred  to  in 
the  Scriptures.  Thus  in  Deut.  xxxii. 
14,  "  rams  of  the  breed  of  Bashan " 
are  mentioned;  in  Isa.  ii.  13,  Zech. 
xi.  2,  '*'  oaks  of  Bashan "  are  men- 
tioned in  connexion  with  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon ;  in  Amos  iv.  1,  "  the  kine 
of  Bashan  "  are  mentioned.  The  bulls 
of  Bashan  are  here  alluded  to  as  re- 
markable for  their  size,,  their  strength, 
and  their  fierceness  ;  and  are  designed 
to  represent  men  that  were  fierce, 
savage,  and  violent.  As  applied  to 
the  Redeemer,  the  allusion  is  to  the 
fierce  and  cruel  men  that  persecuted 
him  and  sought  his  life.  Xo  one  can 
doubt  that  the  allusion  is  applicable 
to  his  persecutors  and  murderers;  and 
no  one  can  show  that  the  thought 
indicated  by  this  phrase  also  may  not 
have  passed  through  the  mind  of  the 
Kedeemer  when  on  the  cross. 

13.  They  gaped  upon  me  with  their 
mouths.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  opened 
their  mouths  against  me.  That  is, 
they  opened  tbeir  mouths  wide  as  if 
they  would  devour  me,  as  a  lion  does 
when  he  seizes  upon  his  prey.  In 
ver.  7  they  are  represented  as  "  open- 
ing "  the  mouth  for  another  purpose — 
that  of  derision  or  scorn;  here  they 


TSALM  XXII. 


199 


14  I  am  poured  out  like  water, 
and  all  my  bones  are  l  out  of 
joint :  my  heart  is  like  wax ;  it 
is  melted  in  the  midst  of  my 
bowels. 

15  My  strength  is    dried  up 

1  Or,  sundered. 


are  described  as  if  they  were  fierce 
and  wild  beasts  ready  to  fall  upou  | 
their  prey.  %  As  a  ravening  and 
roaring  lion:  The  word  ravening 
means  voraciously  devouring,  and  the 
allusion  in  the  Hebrew  word  is  to  the 
lion  as  he  tears  his  prey — t)*jtt,  toreph 
— rending  it  in  pieces  to  devour  it. 
All  this  is  designed  to  denote  the 
greediness  with  which  the  enemies  of 
the  Redeemer  sought  his  life. 

14.  I  am  poured  out  like  water. 
The  sufferer  now  turns  from  his  ene- 
mies, and  describes  the  effect  of  all 
these  outward  persecutions  and  trials 
on  himself.  The  meaning  in  this  ex- 
pression is,  that  all  his  strength  was 
gone.  It  is  remarkable  that  we  have 
a  similar  expression,  which  is  not 
easily  accounted  for,  when  we  say  of 
ourselves  that  "  we  are  as  weak  as 
water."  An  expression  similar  to  this 
occurs  in  Joshua  vii.  5  :  "  The  hearts 
of  the  people  melted,  and  became  as 
water."  Comp.  Lam.  ii.  19 ;  Ps.  lviii. 
7.  %  My  bones  are  out  of  joint. 
Marg.,  sundered.  The  Hebrew  word — 
ITS'  Vara^ — means  to  break  off,  to 
break  in  pieces,  to  separate  by  break- 
ing ;  and  then,  to  be  separated,  or 
divided.  It  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
pose here  that  his  bones  were  literally 
dislocated  or  "put  out  of  joint,"  any 
more  than  it  is  necessary  to  suppose 
that  he  was  literally  "  poured  out  like 
water,"  or  that  his  heart  was  literally 
"melted  like  wax"  within  him.  The 
meaning  is  that  he  was  utterly  pros- 
trated and  powerless;  he  was  as  if 
his  bones  had  been  dislocated,  and  he 
was  unable  to  use  his  limbs,  %  My 
heart  is  like  wax.  The  idea  here  also 
is  that  of  debility.  His  strength 
seemed  all  to  be  gone.  His  heart 
was  no  longer  firm;  his  vigour  was 
exhausted.     %    It  is   melted  in   the 


like  a  potsherd  ;  and  my  tongue 
cleaveth  to  my  jaws;  and  thou 
hast  brought  me  into  the  dust  of 
death. 

16  For  dogs  r  have  compassed 
me ;  the  assembly  of  the  wicked 

r  Rev.  xxii.  15. 


midst  of  my  boicels.  Or,  within  me. 
The  word  bowels  in  the  Scriptures  is 
not  restricted  in  its  signification  as  it 
is  with  us.  It  embraces  the  upper 
parts  of  the  viscera  as  well  as  the 
lower,  and  consequently  would  include 
that  part  in  which  the  heart  is  situ- 
ated. See  Notes  on  Isa.  xvi.  11.  The 
meaning  here  is  that  his  heart  was  no 
longer  firm  ami  strong.  As  applied 
to  the  Redeemer,  this  would  refer  to 
the  prostration  of  his  strength  in  his 
last  struggle;  and  no  one  can  prove 
that  these  thoughts  did  not  pass 
through  his  mind  when  on  the  cross. 

15.  My  strength  is  dried  up  like  a 
potsherd.  A  potsherd  is  a  fragment 
of  a  broken  pot,  or  a  piece  of  earthen- 
ware. See  Notes  on  Isa.  xlv.  9 ;  Job 
ii.  8.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  his 
strength  was  not  vigorous  like  a  green 
tree  that  was  growing,  and  that  was 
full  of  sap,  but  it  was  like  a  brittle 
piece  of  earthenware,  so  dry  and 
fragile  that  it  could  be  easily  crumbled 
to  pieces.  %  And  my  tongue  cleaveth 
to  my  jaws.  See  Notes  on  Job  xxix. 
10.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  his 
mouth  was  dry,  and  he  could  not 
speak.  His  tongue  adhered  to  the 
roof  of  his  mouth  so  that  he  could 
not  use  it, — another  description  of 
the  effects  of  intense  thirst.  Comp. 
John  xix.  28.  %  And  thou  hast  brought 
me  into  the  dust  of  death.  Or,  as  we 
should  say,  to  dust — to  the  grave — to 
the  dust  wThere  death  reigns.  See 
Notes  on  Dan.  xii.  2.  The  meaning 
is,  that  he  was  near  death;  or,  was 
just  ready  to  die.  Who  can  show  that 
the  Redeemer  when  on  the  cross  may 
not  in  his  own  meditations  have  gone 
over  these  very  expressions  in  the 
psalm  as  applicable  to  himself? 

16.  For  dogs  have  compassed  me. 
Men   who    resemble    dogs ;  —  harsh, 


200 


PSALM  XXII. 


have  inclosed  me  :  they  s  pierced 

s  John  xix.  23  ;  xx.  25—27. 


snarling,  fierce,  ferocious.     See  Notes 
on  Phil.   iii.  2;    Rev.   xxii.   15.     No 
one  can  doubt  that  this  is  applicable 
to  the  Redeemer.     %  The  assembly 
of  tli e  wicked  have  inclosed  me.    That 
is,  they  have  surrounded  rne;   they 
have  come  around  me  on  all  sides  so 
that  I  might  not  escape.     So  they 
surrounded  the  Redeemer  in  the  gar- 
den  of  Gethsemane   when   they   ar- 
rested him  and  bound  him  ;  so  they 
surrounded  him  when  on  his  trial  be- 
fore the  Sanhedrim  and  before  Pilate ; 
and  so  they  surrounded  him  on  the 
cross.     *y   They  pierced  my  hands  and 
my  feet.      This   passage  is    attended 
with  more  difficulty  than  perhaps  any 
other  part  of  the   psalm.      It  is  re- 
markable that  it  is  nowhere  quoted 
or  referred  to  in  the  New  Testament 
as  applicable  to  the  Saviour ;  and  it  is 
no  less  r  markable  that  there  is  no 
express  statement  in  the  actual  his- 
tory  of  the   crucifixion   that   either 
the  hands  or  the  feet  of  the  Saviour 
were  pierced,  or  that  he  was  nailed 
to   the   cross   at   all.     This  was   not 
necessarily  implied  in  the  idea  of  cru- 
cifixion,   for  the  hands  and  the  feet 
were  sometimes  merely  bound  to  the 
cross  by  cords,  and  the  sufferer  was 
allowed  to  linger  on  the   cross  thus 
suspended  until  he  died   from  mere 
exhaustion.     There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  that  the  common  mode  of 
crucifixion  was  to  nail  the  hands  to 
the  transverse  beam  of  the  cross,  and 
the  feet  to   the   upright   part  of  it. 
See  the  description  of  the  crucifixion 
in  the  Notes  on  Matt,  xxvii.  31,  32. 
Thus  Tertullian,  speaking  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  Christ,  and  applying  this 
passage  to  his  death,  says  that  "  this 
was  the  peculiar  or  proper — -propria 
— severity  of  the  cross." — Adv.  Mar- 
cionem,  iii.  19,  ed.  Wiirtz,  I.  p.  403. 
See      Hengstenberg's      Christology, 
1,139.      The  great  difficulty  in  this 
passage  is   in  the  word  rendered  in 
our  version,  they  ■pierced —  S*}S3>  Icaari. 
It  occurs  only  in  one  other  piace,  Isa. 
xxxviii.  13,  where  it  means  as  a  lion. 


my  bands  and  my  feet. 


This  would  undoubtedly  be  the  most 
natural    interpretation    of   the   word 
here,  unless  there  were  good  reasons 
for  setting  it  aside ;  and  not  a  few 
have  endeavoured  to  show  that  this 
is  the  true  rendering.     According  to 
this  interpretation,  the  passage  would 
mean,    "As   lions,  they  [that  is,  my 
enemies]    surround    (gape  upon)  my 
hands   and   my    feet;   that   is,   they 
threaten  to  tear  my  limbs  to  pieces." 
Gesenius,  Lex.     This  interpretation 
is  also  that  of  Aben  Ezra,  Ewald,  Pau- 
lus,  and  others.     But,  whatever  may 
be   the   true   explanation,  there   are 
very  serious   objections   to  this  one. 
(a)  It  is  difficult   to   make  sense  of 
the  passage  if  this  is  adopted.     The 
preceding  word,  rendered  in  our  ver- 
sion "  inclosed,"  can  mean  only  sur- 
rounded   or   encompassed,    and   it    is 
difficult  to  see  how  it  could  be  said 
that  a  lion  could  "surround"  or  "en- 
compass" the  hands  and  the  feet.     At 
all    events,    such    an   interpretation 
would   be   harsh    and   unusual,      (b) 
According  to  this  interpretation  the 
word  "  me  " — "  inclosed  me  " — would 
be  superfluous;  since  the  idea  would 
be,  "  they   enclose    or   surround   my 
hands  and   my  feet."      (c)    All   the 
ancient  interpreters  have  taken  the 
word  here  to  be  a  verb,  and  in   all 
the  ancient  versions  it  is  rendered  as 
if  it   were    a    verb.      Even    in   the 
Masora  parva    (Jewish)    it   is    said 
that  the  word  here  is  to  be  taken  in 
a  different  sense  from  what  it  has  in 
Isa.  xxxviii.  13,  where  it  plainly  means 
a  lion.     Gesenius  admits  that  all  the 
ancient  interpreters  have  taken  this 
as  a  verb,  and  says  that  it  is  "  cer- 
tainly possible "  that  it  may  be  so. 
He  says  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  a 
participle  formed  in  the  Chaldee  man- 
ner (from  "VI 3,   kur),  and  in  the  plu- 
ral number  for  0X>1>0,  kaarim,  and 
says  that   in   this   way  it  would   be 
properly  rendered,  piercing  my  hands 
and  my  feet ;   that   is,    as   he   says, 
"my  enemies,  who  are  understood  in 
the  dogs." 


From  such  high  authority 


PSALM  XXII. 


201 


and  from  the  uniform  mode  of  in- 
terpreting the  word  among  the  an- 
cients, it  may  be  regarded  as  morally 
certain  that  the  word  is  a  verb,  and 
that  it  is  not  to  be  rendered,  as  in 
Isa.  xxxviii.  13,  "  as  a  lion."  The 
material  question  is,  What  does  the 
verb  mean  ?  The  verb — ^3,  kur — 
properly  means  to  dig,  to  bore 
through,  to  pierce.  Thus  used,  ac- 
cording to  Gesenius,  it  would  mean 
piercing ;  and  if  the  word  used  here 
is  a  verb,  he  supposes  that  it  would 
refer  to  the  enemies  of  David  as 
wounding  him,  or  piercing  him,  "with 
darts  and  weapons."  He  maintains 
that  it  is  applicable  to  David  literally, 
and  he  sees  no  reason  to  refer  it  to 
the  Messiah.  But,  if  so,  it  is  natural 
to  ask  why  the  hands  and  the  feet  are 
mentioned.  Certainly  it  is  not  usual 
for  darts  and  spears  thrown  by  an 
enemy  to  injure  the  hands  or  the  feet 
particularly;  nor  is  it  customary  to 
refer  to  the  hands  or  the  feet  when 
describing  the  effects  produced  by  the 
use  of  those  weapons.  If  the  re- 
ference were  to  the  enemies  of  David 
as  wounding  him  with  darts  and 
spears,  it  would  be  much  more  natu- 
ral to  refer  to  the  body  in  general, 
without  specifying  any  of  the  parti- 
cular members  of  the  body.  De 
Wette  renders  it  fesseln — "  they  bind 
my  hands  and  my  feet."  He  re- 
marks, however,  in  a  note,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  ancient  versions,  and 
the  Codices  of  Kennicott  and  De 
Rossi,  it  means  durchbohren — bore 
through.  Aquila,  Symmachus,  and 
Jerome  in  five  codices,  says  he,  render 
it  bind.  The  Septuagint  renders  it 
u>pv£,av — they  pierced.  The  Latin 
Vulgate  the  same,  foderunt.  See  the 
Syriac.  For  these  reasons  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  common  rendering  is 
the  true  one,  and  that  the  meaning 
is,  that,  in  some  proper  sense,  the 
enemies  here  referred  to  "  pierced  or 
bored  through"  the  hands  and  the 
feet  of  the  sufferer.  Evidently  this 
could  not  be  literally  applied  to 
David,  for  there  is  not  the  least  au- 
thority for  supposing  that  this  ever 
happened  to  him ;  nor,  as  has  been 


shown,  was  such  a  thing  probable. 
A  casual  dart,  or  the  stroke  of  a 
spear,  might  indeed  strike  the  hand 
or  the  foot ;  but  it  would  be  uuusual 
and  remarkable  if  they  should  strike 
those  members  of  the  body  and  leave 
the  other  parts  uninjured,  so  as  to 
make  this  a  matter  for  special  notice; 
and  even  if  they  did  strike  those 
parts,  it  would  be  every  way  unlikely 
that  they  would  pierce  them,  or  bore 
them  through.  Such  an  event  would 
be  so  improbable  that  we  may  assume 
that  it  did  not  occur,  unless  there 
was  the  most  decisive  evidence  of  the 
fact.  Nor  is  there  the  least  proba- 
bility that  the  enemies  of  David 
would  pierce  his  hands  and  feet  de- 
liberately and  of  design.  I  say  no- 
thing in  regard  to  the  fact  that  they 
never  had  him  in  their  possession  so 
that  they  could  do  it ;  it  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  this  was  not  a  mode  of 
punishing  one  who  was  taken  captive 
in  war.  Conquerors  slew  their  cap- 
tives ;  they  made  them  pass  under 
yokes ;  they  put  them  under  saws 
and  harrows  of  iron  (comp.  2  Sam. 
xii.  31  ;  1  Chron.  xx.  3)  ;  but 
there  is  not  the  slightest  evidence 
that  they  ever  tortured  captives  in 
war  by  piercing  the  hands  and 
the  feet.  But,  as  has  been  remarked 
above,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  this  was  the  ordinary  mode  of 
crucifixion.  I  conclude,  therefore,  that 
this  must  have  had  original  refer- 
ence to  the  Messiah.  It  is  no  ob- 
jection to  the  interpretation  that 
this  passage  is  not  expressly  referred 
to  as  having  been  fulfilled  in  the 
Redeemer;  for  there  are  undoubtedly 
many  passages  in  the  prophets  which 
refer  to  the  Messiah,  which  are  not 
formally  applied  to  him  in  the  New 
Testament.  To  make  it  certain  that 
the  prophecy  referred  to  him,  and 
was  fulfilled  in  him,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  we  should  find  on  record 
an  actual  application  of  the  passage 
to  him.  All  that  is  necessary  in  the 
case  is,  that  it  should  be  a  prophecy; 
that  it  should  have  been  spoken  before 
the  event ;  and  that  to  him  it  should 
be  fairly  applicable. 
K  2 


202 


PSALM    XXII. 


17  I  '  may  tell  all  my  bones 
they  look  and  stare  upon  me. 

t  Isa.  lii.  14. 


IS  They  part  my  garments 
among  them,  and  cast  lots  upon 
my  vesture. 


17.  /  may  tell  all  my  bones.  That 
is,  I  may  count  them.  They  are  so 
prominent,  so  hare,  that  I  can  see 
them  and  count  their  numher.  The 
idea  here  is  that  of  emaciation  from 
continued  suffering  or  from  some 
other  cause.  As  applied  to  the  Re- 
deemer, it  would  deuote  the  effect  of 
long  protracted  suffering  and  anxiety 
on  his  frame,  as  rendering  it  crushed, 
weakened,  emaciated.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Isa.  lii.  14 ;  liii.  2,  3.  Xo  one  can 
prove  that  an  effect  such  as  is  here 
referred  to  may  not  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  sufferings  of  the  Re- 
deemer. *^  They  look  and  stare  upon 
me.  That  is,  either  my  bones, — or, 
my  enemies  that  stand  around  me. 
The  most  obvious  construction  would 
refer  it  to  the  former, — to  his  bones, — 
as  if  they  stood  out  prominently  and 
stared  him  in  the  face.  Rosenmiiller 
understands  it  in  the  latter  sense,  as 
meaning  that  his  enemies  gazed  with 
wonder  on  such  an  object.  Perhaps 
this,  on  the  whole,  furnishes  the  best 
interpretation,  as  there  is  something 
unnatural  in  speaking  of  a  man's  own 
bones  staring  or  gazing  upon  him, 
and  as  the  image  of  his  enemies 
standing  and  looking  with  wonder 
on  one  so  wretched,  so  crushed,  so 
broken,  is  a  very  striking  one.  This, 
too,  will  better  agree  with  the  state- 
ment in  Isa.  lii.  14,  "  Many  were  as- 
tonished at  thee;"  and  Isa.  liii.  2,  3, 
"  He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness, 
and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is 
no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him;" — "we  hid,  as  it  were,  our 
faces  from  him ;  he  was  despised,  and 
we  esteemed  him  not."  It  accords 
also  better  with  the  statement  in  the 
following  verse;  "they,"  that  is,  the 
same  persons  referred  to,  "  part  my 
garments  among  them." 

18.  They  part  my  garments  among 
them.  They  divide;  they  apportion. 
Tiiis  refers  merely  to  the  fact  that 
they  made  such  a  division  or  distribu- 
tion of  his  garments;  the  manner  in 


which  it  was  done,  is  specified  in  the 
other  part  of  the  verse.  The  word 
garments  is  a  general  term,  and  would 
be  applicable  to  any  part  of  the 
raiment.  ^[  And  cast  lots  v.pon  my 
vesture.  That  is,  upon  the  part  here 
represented  by  the  word  vesture,  they 
cast  lots.  There  was  a  general  divi- 
sion of  his  garments  by  agreement,  or 
in  some  other  mode  not  involving  the 
use  of  the  lot;  on  some  particular 
portion,  here  indicated  by  the  word 
vesture,  the  lot  was  cast  to  determine 
whose  it  should  be.  The  word  thus 
rendered  vesture — UJ^Q!?.  lebush — does 
not  necessarily  denote  any  particular 
article  of  raiment,  as  distinguished 
from  what  is  meant  by  the  word  ren- 
dered garments.  Both  are  general 
terms  denoting  clothing,  raiment, 
vestment ;  and  either  of  the  terms 
might  be  applied  to  any  article  of 
apparel.  The  original  words  used 
here  would  not  necessarily  designate 
one  article  of  raiment  as  disposed  of 
without  the  lot  and  another  specified 
portion  by  the  lot.  But  although  it 
could  not  be  argued  beforehand  from 
the  mere  use  of  the  language  that 
such  would  be  the  case,  yet  if  that 
should  occur,  it  would  be  natural  and 
not  improper  to  apply  the  language 
in  that  sense,  and  as  therein  com- 
pletely fulfilled.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
this  was  literally  fulfilled  in  the  cru- 
cifixion of  the  Saviour.  By  remark- 
able circumstances  which  no  human 
sagacity  could  have  foreseen  or  anti- 
cipated, there  occurred  a  general  divi- 
sion of  a  portion  of  his  raiment, 
without  an  appeal  to  the  lot,  among 
the  soldiers  who  were  engaged  in 
crucifying  him,  and  a  specific  disposal 
of  one  article  of  his  raiment  by  the  lot, 
Matt,  xxvii.  35;  Luke  xxiii.  34;  John 
xix.  23,  24.  It  never  occurred  in  the 
life  of  David,  as  far  as  we  know,  or 
have  reason  to  believe,  that  his  ene- 
mies stripped  him,  and  divided  his 
garments  among  themselves ;  and  the 
description  here,  therefore,  could  be 


PSALM  XXII. 


203 


19  But  be  not  thou  fav  from  me, 
O  Lord  :  O  my  strength,  haste 
thee  to  help  me. 

20  Deliver  my  soul  from  the 


applicable  only  to  some  one  else.  It 
was  completely  fulfilled  in  the  Saviour; 
and  this  verse,  therefore,  furnishes  the 
fullest  proof  that  the  psalm  refers  to 
him.  At  the  same  time  it  should  be 
observed  that  these  circumstances  are 
such  that  an  impostor  could  not  have 
secured  the  correspondence  of  the 
events  with  the  prediction.  The 
events  referred  to  were  not  under  the 
control  of  him  whose  garments  were 
thus  divided.  They  depended  wholly 
on  others;  and  by  no  art  or  plan 
could  an  impostor  have  so  arranged 
matters  that  all  these  things  should 
have  appeared  to  be  fulfilled  in  him- 
self. 

19.  But  be  not  thou  far  from  me, 
O  Loed.  0  Jehovah.  Others — all 
others — have  forsaken  me,  and  left 
me  to  perish.  Now,  in  the  day  of 
my  desertion  and  my  peril,  be  thou 
near  to  me.  See  ver.  11.  This  is 
the  burden  of  the  prayer  in  the  whole 
psalm,  that  God  would  not  leave  him, 
but  sustain  and  deliver  him.  Comp. 
ver.  1.  %  O  my  strength.  Source  of 
my  strength;  thou  on  whom  I  rely 
for  support  and  deliverance.  ^[  Haste 
thee  to  help  me.  Help  me  speedily. 
Come  to  support  me ;  come  to  deliver 
me  from  these  dreadful  sorrows.  This 
is  not  necessarily  a  prayer  to  be 
rescued  from  death,  but  it  would .  be 
applicable  to  deliverance  from  those 
deep  mental  sorrows  that  had  come 
upon  him — from  this  abandonment  to 
unutterable  woes. 

20.  Deliver  my  soul  from  the  sword. 
The  word  soul  here  means  life,  and 
denotes  a  living  person.  It  is  equiva- 
lent to  "deliver  me."  The  sword  is 
used  to  denote  an  instrument  of 
death,  or  anything  that  pierces  like  a 
sword.  Comp.  2  Sam.  xi.  24,  25.  As 
applied  to  the  Saviour  here,  it  may 
mean  those  extreme  mental  sufferiugs 
that  were  like  the  piercing  of  a  sword. 
^[  My  darling.     Marg.,  my  only  one. 


sword;    my   1  darling   from   the 
2  power  of  the  dog. 
21  Save    me  from    the    lion's 

1  only  one.  2  hand. 


Prof.  Alexander,  my  lonely  one.  De 
Wette,  my  life.  The  Hebrew  word — 
TrP>  yahhid — means  one  alone,  only, 
as  of  an  only  child ; — then  one  alone, 
as  forsaken,  solitary,  wretched,  Ps. 
xxv.  16 ;  lxviii.  6 ; — then  it  means  one 
only,  the  only  one,  in  the  sense  of 
most  dear,  darling.  Here,  according 
to  Gesenius  {Lex.),  it  is  used  poetically 
for  life,  as  being  something  most  dear, 
or  as  denoting  all  that  we  have,  and, 
therefore,  most  precious.  Comp.  Job 
ii.  4.  This  is  the  most  probable  inter- 
pretation here,  as  it  would  thus  cor- 
respond with  the  expression  in  the 
first  part  of  the  verse,  "deliver  my 
soul."  %  From  the  'power  of  the  dog. 
Marg.,  as  In  Heb.,  from  the  hand. 
The  enemy  is  represented,  as  in  ver. 
16,  as  a  dog  (see  Notes  on  that  verse) ; 
and  then  that  enemy  is  spoken  of  as 
inflicting  death  by  his  hand.  There 
is  a  little  incongruity  in  speaking  of  a 
dog  as  having  hands,  but  the  image 
before  the  mind  is  that  of  the  enemy 
with  the  character  of  a  dog,  and  thus 
there  is  no  impropriety  in  using  in 
reference  to  him  the  language  which 
is  commonly  applied  to  a  man. 

21.  Save  me  from  the  lion's  mouth. 
His  enemies  represented  as  fierce  and 
ravening  lions,  comp.  ver.  13.  ^[  For 
thou  hast  heard  me.  The  word  heard 
in  this  place  is  equivalent  to  saved — 
or  saved  in  answer  to  prayer.  The 
fact  of  hearing  the  prayer,  and  anstver- 
ing  it,  is  regarded  as  so  identical,  or 
the  one  as  so  certainly  following  from 
the  other,  that  they  may  be  spoken  of 
as  the  same  thing.  ^[  From  the 
horns  of  the  unicorns.  The  idea  here 
is,  that  he  cried  to  God  when  exposed 
to  what  is  here  called  "  the  horns  of 
the  unicorns."  That  is,  when  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  as  fierce  and 
violent  as  wild  beasts, — as  if  he  were 
among  "  unicorns  "  seeking  his  life, — 
he  had  culled  upon  God,  and  God  had 
heard  him.    This  would  refer  to  some 


204 


PSALM    XXII. 


"  mouth. :  for  thou  hast  heard  me 

from  the  horns  of  the  ■  unicorns. 

22  I  ■  will  declare  thy  name 

unto  my  brethren  :  in  the  midst 

u  2  Tim.  iv.  17.  r  Isa.  xvxiv.  7. 

ic  Ps.  xl.  9;  Hcb.ii.  11,  13. 

former  period  of  his  life,  when  sur- 
rounded by  dangers,  or  exposed  to 
the  attacks  of  wicked  men,  and  when 
he  had  called  upon  God,  and  had 
been  heard.  There  were  not  a  few 
occasions  alike  in  the  life  of  David 
and  in  the  life  of  the  Saviour,  to 
which  this  would  be  applicable.  The 
fact  that  he  had  thus  been  delivered 
from  danger,  is  now  urged  as  an 
argument  why  God  was  to  be  re- 
garded as  able  to  deliver  him  again, 
and  why  the  prayer  might  be  offered 
that  he  would  do  it ;  comp.  vers.  9-11. 
To  see  the  force  of  this  it  is  not 
necessary  to  be  able  to  determine 
with  accuracy  what  is  meant  here  by 
the  word  rendered  unicorn,  or  whether 
the  psalmist  referred  to  the  animal 
now  denoted  by  that  term.  The  ex- 
istence of  such  an  animal  was  long 
regarded  as  fabulous;  but  though  it 
has  been  proved  that  there  is  such  an 
animal,  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  the  psalmist  referred  to  it.  Ge- 
senius  renders  the  word — «N~\  ream 
— buffalo  {Lex.).  So  also  De  Wette. 
See  Xotes  on  Job  xxxix.  9,  10,  where 
the  meaning  of  the  word  is  fully  con- 
sidered. The  word  occurs  elsewhere 
only  in  Numb,  xxiii.  22 ;  xxiv.  8 ; 
Deut.  xxxiii.  17  ;  Ps.  xxix.  6  ;  xcii.  10 ; 
Isa.  xxxiv.  7,  in  all  which  places  it  is 
rendered  unicorn,  or  unicorns. 

22.  I  will  declare  thy  name.  I  will 
make  thee  known;  that  is,  thine  exist- 
ence; thy  perfections;  thy  law;  thy 
method  of  salvation.  As  the  result  or 
effect  of  the  interposition  which  he  de- 
sired, and  for  which  he  prayed,  he  says 
that  he  would  diffuse  a  knowledge  of 
God.  This  is  an  expression  of  true 
piety,  and  is  a  statement  of  what  in  a 
pure  mind  will  always  be  consequent 
on  a  gracious  Divine  interposition, — a 
purpose  to  make  the  character  of  the 
benefactor  known.  Comp.  Ps.  li.  12, 
13 ;  xviii.  48,  49.     As  applicable  to 


of  the  congregation  will  I  praise 
thee. 

23  Ye  r  that  fear  the  Lord, 
praise   him :  all   ye   the   seed  of 

z  Ps.  cxv.  11, 13. 

the  Redeemer,  it  means  that  he 
would  make  the  name  of  God  known 
to  men,  or  that  through  him  that 
name  would  be  made  known.  *~  Unto 
my  brethren.  Comp.  John  xx.  17 ; 
Horn.  viii.  29.  The  word  brethren 
would  embrace  literally  brothers  ; 
kinsfolk;  countrymen;  then,  those  of 
the  same  opinion,  profession,  or  re- 
ligion ;  then,  in  a  still  larger  sense, 
the  human  race  as  descended  from  a 
common  parent.  As  having  refer- 
ence to  the  Redeemer,  it  would  em-^ 
brace  here  not  only  those  who  were 
his  immediate  followers  and  whom 
he  called  brethren, — not  only  those 
of  his  own  nation, — but  the  human 
family  in  general,  towards  whom  he 
consented  to  sustain  this  relation. 
Comp.  Xotes  on  Heb.  ii.  10  —  12, 
where  this  passage  is  quoted  and 
expressly  applied  to  our  Saviour. 
r  In  the  midst  of  the  congregation. 
Among  the  people  assembled  to  wor- 
ship there.  See  Xotes  on  Heb.  ii.  12. 
This  is  the  place  where  praise  is  com- 
monlv  celebrated,  and  he  savs  that 
there  he  would  make  known  the 
goodness  of  God.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxviii. 
19,  20.  It  is  not  necessary  to  show- 
that  this  was  literally  done  by  the 
Redeemer.  It  is  enough  to  observe 
that  this  is  the  usual  language  of 
piety,  and  that  the  effect  of  his  work 
has  been  to  cause  the  praises  of  God 
to  be  celebrated  in  tens  of  thousands 
of  the  congregations  of  his  saints. 

23.  Ye  that  fear  the  Loed.  A 
phrase  denoting  those  who  are  pious. 
r  Praise  him.  This  is  language 
which  may  be  supposed  to  be  ad- 
dressed by  the  speaker  in  the  great 
congregation.  In  the  previous  verse 
he  had  said  that  he  would  praise  God 
"  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation  ;" 
he  here  speaks  as  if  he  icere  in  that 
congregation,  and  addressing  them. 
He,  therefore,  calls  on  them  to  praise 


PSALM    XXII. 


205 


Jacob,    glorify  him;    and    fear 
him,  all  ye  the  seed  of  Israel. 

24  For  lie  hath  not  despised 
nor  abhorred  the  affliction  of  the 
afflicted,  neither  hath  he  hid  his 
face  from  him;  but  when  he 
y  cried  unto  him,  he  heard, 

y  Heb.  v.  7.  z  Ps.  lxvi.  13—16. 


25  My  praise  shall  be  of  thee  in 
the  great  congregation :  - 1  "  will 
pay  my  vows  before  them  that 
fear  him. 

26  The  meek  b  shall  eat  and  be 
satis  ed :   they  shall  praise  the 

a  Ps.  cxvi.  14;  Eccles.  v.  4,  5. 
b  Matt.  v.  5. 


and  honour  God.  "IT  All  ye  the  seed 
of  Jacob,  glorify  him.  The  descend- 
ants of  Jacob  ;  that  is,  all  who  are 
true  worshippers  of  God.  %  And 
fear  him.  Honour  him,  worship  him. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  7.  ■jf  All  ye  the 
seed  of  Israel.  Another  name  for 
Jacob  (Gen.  xxxii.  28),  and  designed 
to  denote  also  all  who  are  true 
worshippers  of  Jehovah. 

24.  For  he  hath  not  despised  nor 
abhorred  the  affliction  of  the  afflicted. 
This  expresses  the  belief  that  his 
prayer  had  been  heard.  The  fact 
that  he  had  been  thus  heard  is  here 
assigned  to  be  the  ground  or  reason 
for  the  exhortation  in  the  previous 
verse,  addressed  to  all  the  pious.  The 
Lord  had  heard  his  prayer,  and  this 
was  a  reason  why  others  should  also 
confide  in  the  Lord,  and  feel  assured 
that  he  would  likewise  hear  their 
prayers.  %  ^either  hath  he  hid  his 
face  from  him.  That  is,  permanently, 
constantly,  finally,  completely.  He 
has  not  wholly  abandoned  me,  but 
though  he  seemed  to  forsake  me,  it 
wTas  for  a  time  only ;  and  his  friend- 
ship has  not  been  ultimately  and  for 
ever  withdrawn.  It  was  indeed  the 
foundation  of  all  the  petitions  in  this 
psalm  that  the  Lord  had  hid  his  face 
from  the  sufferer  (ver.  1) ;  but,  from 
this  verse,  it  seems  that  it  was  only 
for  a  time.  That  which  he  passed 
through  was  a  temporary  darkness, 
succeeded  by  the  clear  manifestations 
of  the  Divine  favour.  The  Lord 
heard  his  prayer;  the  Lord  showed 
that  he  had  not  utterly  forsaken  him. 
*|[  But  when  he  cried  unto  him,  he 
heard.  Showing  that  now  he  had 
the  evidence  and  the  assurance  that 
his  prayer  had  been  heard.  As  ap- 
plicable to  the  Redeemer  on  the  cross, 


this  means  that  though  the  darkness 
seemed  to  continue  till  death,  yet  it 
was  not  an  utter  forsaking.  His 
prayer  was  heard;  his  work  was  ac- 
cepted ;  the  great  object  for  which 
he  came  into  the  world  would  be  ac- 
complished ;  he  himself  would  rise 
triumphantly  from  his  sufferings  ;  and 
the  cause  which  he  came  to  establish, 
and  for  which  he  died,  would  finally 
prevail  in  the  world.  Comp.  Heb.  v. 
7,  8;  John  xi.  42;  Isa.  liii.  11,  12. 

25.  My  praise  shall  be  of  thee. 
Tint  is,  I  will  praise  thee.  I  will 
call  to  remembrance  thy  goodness, 
and  will  unite  with  others  in  cele- 
brating thy  faithfulness  and  loving- 
kindness.  %  In  the  great  congrega- 
tion. See  Notes  on  ver.  22.  ^f  I 
tvill  pay  my  voivs  before  them  that  fear 
him.  In  the  presence  of  his  worship- 
pers. That  is,  he  would  keep  the 
vows  which  in  his  afflictions  he  had 
made,  that  he  would  praise  and  serve 
God.  These  vows  or  promises  were 
of  the  nature  of  a  debt  which  he  says 
he  would  remember  to  pay.  Qf  the 
Redeemer,  this  need  not  be  understood 
personally,  but  it  means  that  as  the 
result  of  his  prayer  having  been  heard, 
the  worship  of  God  would  be  cele- 
brated by  those  who  feared  him.  The 
solemn  worship  of  the  people  of  God 
—the  praises  which  they  offer  to  the 
Most  High — may  be  regarded  as  wor- 
ship paid  by  the  Redeemer  himself, 
for  he  does  it  in  the  persons  and  ser- 
vices of  those  whom  he  redeemed. 
All  the  praises  which  proceed  from 
their  hearts  and  lips  are  the  frtiit  of 
his  "vows/'  of  his  fidelity,  and  his 
prayers. 

26.  The  meek  shall  eat  and  be 
satisfied.  The  word  meek — Q>*l3J? 
anavim — means  here  rather  afflicted) 


200 


PSALM  XXII. 


Lord  that  seek  him :  your  heart 
shall  live  for  ever. 

27  All  the  ends  of  the  world 
shall  remember  and  turn  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  all  the  kindreds  of 
the  nations  shall  worship  before 
thee. 


28  For  the  kingdom  is  the 
Lord's,  and  he  is  the  governor 
among  the  nations. 

29  All  they  that  he  fat  upon 
earth  shall  eat  and  worship  :  all 
they  that  go  down  to  the  dust 
shall  bow  before  him  :  and  none 


distressed,  miserable.  This  is  its 
usual  meaning.  It  is  employed  some- 
times in  the  sense  of  mild  or  meek 
(comp.  Num.  xii.  3) ;  but  it  here 
manifestly  denotes  the  afflicted;  the 
poor ;  the  distressed.  When  it  is 
said  that  they  would  "eat  and  be 
satisfied,"  the  idea  is  that  of  pros- 
perity or  abundance;  and  the  state- 
ment is,  that,  as  the  result  of  the 
Redeemer's  work,  blessings  in  abun- 
dance would  be  imparted  to  the  poor 
and  the  distressed — those  who  had 
been  destitute,  forsaken,  and  friend- 
less. ^~  They  shall  praise  the  Loed 
that  seek  him.  Those  that  worship 
God,  or  the  pious,  shall  see  abundant 
cause  to  praise  God.  They  will  not 
merely  call  upon  him  by  earnest 
prayer,  but  they  will  render  him 
thanks  for  his  mercies.  ^[  Your  heart 
shall  live  for  ever.  The  hearts  of 
those  that  worship  God.  Their  hearts 
would  not  faint  or  be  discouraged. 
They  would  exult  and  rejoice  con- 
tinually. In  other  words,  their  joy 
and  their  praise  would  never  die 
away. 

27.  All  the  ends  of  the  world.  All 
parts  of  the  earth ;  all  nations.  The 
earth  is  frequently  represented  in  the 
Scriptures  as  having  limits  or  boun- 
daries ;  as  spread  out ;  as  having 
corners,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xi.  12 ;  Jer. 
ix.  26 ;  xxv.  23 ;  xlix.  32 ;  Rev.  vii.  1. 
This  language  is  in  accordance  with 
,  the  prevailing  modes  of  thinking,  in 
the  same  way  as  we  say,  "  the  sun 
rises;"  "the  sun  sets,"  etc.  %  Shall 
remember.  The  nations  are  often 
represented  as  forgetting  God ;  that 
is,  they  act  as  if  they  had  once  known 
him,  and  had  then  forgotten  him. 
See  Job  viii.  13;  Ps.  ix.  17;  1.  22; 
Rom.  i.  21.  Here  it  is  said  that  they 
would  again  call  God  to  remembrance ; 


that  is,  they  would  worship  him  as 
the  true  God.  *j[  And  turn  unto  the 
Loed.  Turn  away  from  their  idols 
to  worship  the  living  God.  %  And  all 
the  kindreds  of  the  nations.  All  the 
families.  The  numerous  families 
upon  the  earth  that  constitute  the 
one  great  family  of  mankind.  %  Shall 
worship  before  thee.  Shall  worship 
in  thy  presence ;  that  is,  shall  worship 
thee.  The  language  is  derived  from 
the  act  of  worshipping  God  in  the 
tabernacle  or  the  temple,  before  the 
visible  symbol  of  his  presence  there. 
As  applicable  to  the  Redeemer,  this 
language  is  in  accordance  with  what 
is  uniformly  said  of  him  and  his  work, 
that  the  world  would  be  converted  to 
the  living  and  true  God.  Comp. 
Xotes  on  Ps.  ii.  8. 

28.  For  the  kingdom  is  the  Loed's. 
The  dominion  belongs  of  right  to 
Jehovah,  the  true  God.  See  Matt, 
vi.  13 ;  Ps.  xlvii.  7,  8.  %  And  he  is 
the  governor  among  the  nations.  He 
is  the  rightful  governor  or  ruler 
among  the  nations.  This  is  an  as- 
sertion of  the  absolute  right  of  Je- 
hovah to  reign  over  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  and  the  expression  of  an 
assurance  on  the  part  of  the  Messiah 
that,  as  the  consequence  of  his  work, 
this  empire  of  Jehovah  over  the 
nations  would  be  actually  established. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  13,  14,  27; 
and  on  1  Cor.  xv.  24-28. 

29.  All  they  that  be  fat  xipon  the 
earth.  The  general  meaning  of  this 
verse  is,  that  all  classes  of  persons 
\\  ill  come  and  worship  the  true  God; — 
not  the  poor  and  needy  only,  the  af- 
flicted, and  the  oppressed,  but  the  rich 
and  the  prosperous.  There  are  three 
classes  mentioned  as  representing 
all : — (1)  the  rich  and  prosperous  ;  (2) 
they  who  bow  down  to  the  dust,  or 


PSALM  XXII. 


207 


can  keep  alive  his  own  soul. 

30  A  seed  shall  serve  him ;  it 
shall  be  aceounted  to  the  Lord 
for 


a  generation. 


31  They  shall  come,  and  shall 
declare  his  righteousness  c  unto 
a  people  that  shall  be  born,  that 
he  hath  done  this. 

c  Rom.  iii.  21—26. 


the  crushed  and  the  oppressed ;  (3) 
those  who  are  approaching  the  grave, 
and  have  no  power  to  keep  themselves 
alive.  The  first  class  comprises  those 
who  are  mentioned  here  as  being  fat. 
This  image  is  often  used  to  denote 
prosperity  :  Judg.  iii.  29  ;  Job  xv.  27; 
Ps.  xvii.  10;  lxxiii.  4  (Heb.);  Dent, 
xxxi.  20 ;  xxxii.  15.  The  meaning  is, 
that  the  rich,  the  great,  the  prosperous 
would  be  a^nong  the  multitudes  who 
would  be  converted  to  the  living  God. 
^  Shall  eat  and  ivorship.  This  ex- 
pression is  derived  from  the  custom  of 
oifering  sacrifices,  and  of  feasting  upon 
portions  of  the  animal  that  was  slain. 
hi  accordance  with  this,  the  blessings 
of  salvation  are  often  represented  as  a 
feast  to  which  all  are  invited.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  xxv.  6.  Comp.  Luke 
xiv.  16.  ^[  All  they  that  go  doivn  to 
the  dust.  All  those  descending  to  the 
dust.  Those  who  are  bowed  down  to 
the  dust ;  who  are  crushed,  broken, 
and  oppressed; — the  poor,  the  sad, 
the  sorrowful.  Salvation  is  for  them, 
as  well  as  for  the  rich  and  the  great. 
If  Shall  boiv  before  him.  Shall  wor- 
ship before  the  true  God.  ^  And 
none  can  keep  alive  his  oivn  soul.  Or 
rather,  and  he  who  cannot  keep  his 
soul  (that  is,  himself)  alive.  So  the 
Hebrew  properly  means,  and  this  ac- 
cords better  with  the  connexion.  The 
class  here  represented  is  composed  of 
those  who  are  ready  to  perish,  who  are 
about  to  die, — the  aged — the  infirm — 
the  sick — the  dying.  These,  thus 
helpless,  feeble,  and  sad,  shall  also 
become  interested  in  the  great  plan 
of  salvation,  and  shall  turn  unto  the 
Lord.  These  classes  would  represent 
all  the  dwellers  on  the  earth ;  and 
the  affirmation  is  equivalent  to  a 
statement  that  men  of  all  classes 
would  be  converted,  and  would  par- 
take of  the  blessings  of  salvation. 

30.    A   seed   shall   serve  him.      A 
people;  a  race.     The  word  used  here, 


and  rendered  seed — ^1],  zera — means 
properly  a  sowing ;  then,  a  planting, 
a    plantation  ;    then,    seed   sown — of 
plants,  trees,  or  grain;    and  then,  a 
generation    of    men, — children,    off- 
spring, posterity  :    Gen.  iii.  15 ;  xiii. 
16 ;  xv.  5, 13 ;  et  al.     Hence  it  means 
a  race,  stock,  or  family.     It  is  used 
here  as  denoting  those  who  belong 
to  the  family  of  God;  his  children. 
Comp.  Isa.  vi.  13 ;  lxv.  9,  23.     The 
meaning  here  is,  that,  as  the  result 
of  the  work  performed  by  the  sufferer, 
many  would  be  brought  to  serve  God. 
%  It.     To  wit,  the  seed  mentioned; 
the  people  referred  to.     ^[  Shall  be 
accounted  to  the  Lord  for  a  genera- 
tion.    The  word  here  rendered  Lord 
is  not  Jehovah,  but  Adonai, — a  word 
which   is  often   used   as   a   name  of 
God, — and  should  not  be  printed  here 
in   small   capitals.      Prof.  Alexander 
renders    this,    it    seems    to    me    im- 
properly, "  It  shall  be  related  of  the 
Lord   to  the  next  generation."      So 
De  Wette  and  Hengstenberg.      But 
the  common  rendering  appears  to  me 
to  furnish  a  better  signification,  and 
to  be  more  in  accordance  with  the 
meaning  of  the  original.     According 
to  this  the  idea  is,  that  the  seed — the 
people  referred  to — would  be  reckoned 
to  the  Lord  as  a  generation  of  his 
own  people,  a  race,  a  tribe,  a  family 
pertaining  to  him.      They  would  be 
regarded  as  such  by  him ;  they  wculd 
be  so  estimated  by  mankind.     They 
would  not  be  a  generation  of  aliens 
and  strangers,  but  a  generation  of  his 
people  and  friends.    Comp.  Ps.  lxxxvii.   • 
6. 

31.  They  shall  come.  That  is,  there 
were  those  who  would  thus  come. 
Who  these  would  be  is  not  specified. 
The  obvious  sense  is,  that  some  tvould 
rise  up  to  do  this ;  that  the  succes- 
sion of  such  men  would  be  kept  up 
from  age  to  age,  making  known  these 
great  facts  and  truths  to  succeeding 


208 


PSALM  XXIII. 


generations.  The  language  would  be 
applicable  to  a  class  of  men  called, 
from  age  to  age,  to  proclaim  these 
truths,  and  set  apart  to  this  work. 
It  is  a  fair  application  of  the  verse  to 
refer  it  to  those  who  have  been  actu- 
ally designated  for  such  an  office, — 
the  ministers  of  religion  appointed  to 
keep  up  the  memory  of  the  great 
work  of  redemption  in  the  world. 
Thus  understood,  the  passage  is  a 
proper  carrying  out  of  the  great  truths 
stated  in  the  psalm — that,  in  virtue 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  Redeemer,  God 
would  be  made  known  to  men;  that 
his  worship  would  be  kept  up  in  the 
earth ;  that  distant  generations  would 
serve  him.  %  And  shall  declare  his 
righteousness.  No  language  could 
better  describe  the  actual  office  of 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  as  ap- 
pointed to  set  forth  the  "  righteous- 
ness "  of  God,  to  vindicate  his  govern- 
ment and  laws,  and  to  state  the  way 
in  which  men  may  be  made  righteous, 
or  may  be  justified.  Comp.  Rom. 
i.  17  ;  iii.  26.  %  Unto  a  people  that 
shall  le  horn.  To  future  generations. 
%  That  he  hath  done  this.  That  God 
has  done  or  accomplished  what  is 
stated  in  this  psalm ;  that  is,  on  the 
supposition  that  it  refers  to  the 
Messiah,  that  he  has  caused  an  atone- 
ment to  be  made  for  mankind,  or  that 
redemption  has  been  provided  through 
the  sufferings  of  the  Messiah. 

I  have  given  what  seems  to  me  to 
be  a  fair  exposition  of  this  psalm, 
referring  it  wholly  to  the  Messiah. 
No  part  of  the  interpretation,  on  this 
view  of  the  psalm,  seems  to  me  to  be 
forced  or  unnatural,  and  as  thus  in- 
terpreted it  seems  to  me  to  have  as 
fair  and  obvious  an  applicability  to 
him  as  even  the  liii.  chapter  of  Isaiah, 
or  any  other  portion  of  the  prophecies. 
Tiie  scene  in  the  psalm  is  the  cross, 
the  Redeemer  suffering  for  the  sins  of 
man.  The  main  features  of  the  psalm 
relate  to  the  course  of  thoughts  which 
then  passed  through  the  mind  of  the 
Redeemer;  his  sorrow  at  the  idea  of 
being  abandoned  by  God  ;  his  con- 
fidence in  God ;  the  remembrance  of 
his  early  hopes;  his  emotions  at  the 


taunts  and  rcvilings  of  his  ene- 
mies ;  his  consciousness  of  prostrated 
strength  ;  his  feelings  as  the  soldiers 
pierced  his  hands  and  his  feet,  and 
as  they  proceeded  to  divide  his  rai- 
ment; his  prayer  that  his  enemies 
might  not  be  suffered  to  accomplish 
their  design,  or  to  defeat  the  work  of 
redemption ;  his  purpose  to  make  God 
known  to  men ;  his  assurance  that 
the  effect  of  his  sufferiugs  would  be  to 
bring  the  dwellers  on  the  earth  to 
serve  God,  and  to  make  his  name  and 
his  righteousness  known  to  far  distant 
times.  I  regard  the  whole  psalm, 
therefore,  as  applicable  to  the  Messiah 
alone;  and  believing  it  to  be  inspired, 
I  cannot  but  feel  that  we  have  here  a 
most interesting  and  affecting  account, 
given  long  before  it  occurred,  of  what 
actually  passed  through  the  mind  of 
the  Redeemer  tchen  on  the  cross, — an 
account  more  full  than  we  have  any- 
where else  in  the  Bible.  Other  state- 
ments pertain  more  particularly  to 
the  external  events  of  the  crucifixion; 
here  we  have  a  record  in  anticipation 
of  what  actually  passed  through  his 
own  mind  in  those  hours  of  unspeak- 
able anguish  when  he  made  an  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  world. 


r 


PSALM  XXILL 


This  psalm  is  asserted  in  the  title  to 
have  been  composed  by  David,  and  there 
is  nothing  in  its  contents  contrary  to  this 
supposition,  as  there  is  nothing  in  it  that 
would  lead  us  necessarily  to  ascribe  it  to 
him.  The  contents  of  the  psalm  indeed 
correspond  with  the  facts  of  his  history, 
and  with  the  recollections  of  his  early  life 
as  a  shepherd ;  but  it  is  such  as  might 
have  been  composed  by  any  one  who  had 
been,  and  in  fact  by  any  one  though 
he  had  not  been,  a  shepherd,  as  the 
images  in  it  are  such  as  are  common  in 
all  poetry.  Still,  there  is  nothing  to 
lead  us  to  doubt  that  it  was  written 
by  David. 
*  It  is  wliolly  uncertain  on  what  occa- 
sion the  psalm  was  composed,  as  there 
are  in  the  psalm  no  historical  references, 
no  indications  of  time,  and  no  allusions 
to  any  circumstances  in  the  life  of  the 
author.  It  is  impossible  even  to  deter- 
mine whether  it  was  composed  in  a  tune 
of    prosperity    or    adversity ;    whether 


PSALM  XXIII. 


209 


PSALM  XXIII. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

THE  Lord  is  my  <*  shepherd  ;  I 


when  the  author  was  persecuted,  or 
when  he  was  prosperous  and  trium- 
phant. The  only  apparent  allusion  to 
any  circumstance  of  the  poet's  life  is  in 
ver.  6,  wheie  he  says,  as  the  crowning 
joy  which  he  anticipated,  that  he  would 
"dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for 
ever," — from  which  it  has  heen  inferred 
by  some  that  he  was  then  in  exile.  But 
this  allusion  is  of  too  general  a  character 
to  justify  this  inference  with  certainty^/ 
Such  a  hope  might  he  expressed  by  any 
one  in  any  circumstances,  as  the  highest 
desire  of  a  pious  heart.  Kimchi  sup- 
poses that  the  psalm  was  composed  by 
David  in  the  wilderness  of  Hareth 
(1  Sam.  xxii.  5)  ;  and  that  it  pertained 
to  the  people  of  Israel,  and  to  their 
return  from  exile.  But  this  is  mere 
conjecture.  The  Chaldee  Paraphrase 
applies  the  psalm  to  the  Hebrew  people 
when  delivered  from  captivity  and  exile, 
as  a  song  of  triumph  on  their  return  to 
their  own  land.  Biidinger,  and  J.  D. 
Michaelis,  suppose  that  it  refers  to  the 
time  when  David  had  obtained  a  com- 
plete victory  over  all  his  enemies — when 
the  rebellion  of  Absalom  was  quelled,  and 
when  he  was  seated  quietly  on  his 
throne.  Probably  if  we  are  to  attempt 
to  fix  a  time,  it  was  at  that  period  of  his 
life — an  advanced  period — when  the  re- 
collection of  the  merciful  interposition 
of  God  in  his  behalf  so  often  manifested, 
would  suggest  the  brightest  image  of  his 
earlier  years,  the  watchful  care  which 
he  as  a  shepherd  had  extended  over  his 
own  fiock — a  care  which  God  had  now 
extended  over  him  in  the  perils  of  his 
own  life.  Still,  all  this  is  no  more  than 
conjecture. 

\  The  psalm  has  always  been  regarded 
as  one  of  exquisite  beauty.  The  main 
subject  is  the  watchful  care  which  God 
had  extended  over  the  author,  and  the 
consequent  assurance  which  he  felt  that 
God  would  still  watch  over  him,  and 
supply  all  his  need.  The  leading  thought 
— the  essential  idea— is,  his  full  belief 
that  God  would  provide  for  him,  and 
that  he  would  never  be  left  to  want. 
Tins  is  the  thought  Avith  which  the 
psalm  commences  :  "  The  Lord  is  my 
shepherd;  I  shall  not  want:"  and  this 
thought  is  carried  through  the  psaln]^ 
It  is  illustrated  by  two  facts  or  images  : 
(a)  That  God  was  his  shepherd ;  that  he 


shall  not « want. 


d  Isa.  xl.  11 ;  John  x. 
e  Ps.  lxxxiv.  11. 


11,  14. 


had  always  manifested  towards  him  the 
care  which  a  shepherd  takes  of  his  flock, 
vers.  1-3  ;  and  (b)  That  he  had  prepared 
a  table  before  him  in  the  very  presence  of 
his  enemies,  or  that  he  had"  abundantly 
provided  for  him  in  their  very  sight, 
and  when  they  were  endeavouring  to 
destroy  him, — thus  giving  him  the  as- 
surance that  he  never  would  leave  him, 
\er.  o. 

•  The  psalm,  therefore,  may  be  regarded 
as  consisting  of  two  main  parts  : 

I.  The  general  subject  of  the  psalm — 
the  confidence  of  the  author  in  God — the 
assurance  that  he  would  always  so  pro- 
vide for  him  that  he  would  not  want, 
ver.  1. 

II.  The  grounds  or  reasons  for  this 
confidence,  vers.  2-6.  These  are  two- 
fold : 

(1.)  An  argument  derived  from  the 
care  of  God  over  him  as  a  shepherd, 
vers.  2-4. 

(a)  The  statement  of  the  fact,  vers. 

2,3, 
(&)  The  argument,  ver.  4.     From  his 
experience  of  the  Divine  care  in 
the  past,  he  says  that  he  would 
not  be  afraid  even  to  descend  into 
the  valley  of  death. 
(2.)  An  argument  derived  from  the 
fact  that  God  had  provided  for  him  in  the 
very  presence  of  his  enemies,  vers.  5,  6. 

(a)  The  statement  of  the  fact ;  or  a 

reference  to  his  life,  during 
which  God  had  shown  the  same 
care  and  goodness  as  if  He  had 
spread  a  table  for  him  even  in 
the  sight  of  his  enemies,  ver.  o. 

(b)  The  confident  assurance,  derived 

from  that  fact,  that  God  would 
follow  him  with  goodness  and 
mercy  all  the  days  of  his  life ; 
that  his  future  course  would  be 
as  if  he  were  always  to  dwell  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  ver.  6. 

v — 

1.  The  Loed  is  my  shepherd. 
Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  24,  "From  thence 
is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel;" 
Ps.  lxxx.  1,  "Give  ear,  O  Shepherd 
of  Israel."  See  also  Notes  on  John 
x.  1 — 14.  The  comparison  of  the 
care  which  God  extends  over  his  peo- 
ple to  that  of  a  shepherd  for  his  flock 
is  one  that  would  naturally  occur  to 


210 


PSALM  XXIII. 


2  He  inaketh  rue  to  lie  down  in 
1  green  pastures :  he  leadeth  me 
beside  the  still  2  waters. 

}  pastures  vf  tender  grass. 


those  who  were  accustomed  to  pas- 
toral life.  It  would  be  natural  that 
it  should  suggest  itself  to  Jacob 
(Gen.  xlix.  21),  and  to  David,  for 
both  of  them  had  been  shepherds. 
David,  in  advanced  years,  would 
naturally  remember  the  occupations 
of  his  early  life;  and  the  remem- 
brance of  the  care  of  God  over  him 
would  naturally  recall  the  care  which 
he   had,    in    earlier   years,   extended 

9  over  his  flocks.  The  idea  which  the 
language  suggests  is  that  of  tender 
care ;  protection  ;  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  young  and  the  feeble 
(comp.  Isa.  xl.  11) ;  and  providing 
for  their  wants.  All  these  things  are 
found  eminently  in  God  in  reference 
to  his  people,  ^f  I  shall  not  want. 
This  is  the  main  idea  in  the  psalm, 
and  this  idea  is  derived  from  the  fact 
that  God  is  a  shepherd.  The  meaning 
is,  that,  as  a  shepherd,  he  would 
make  all  needful  provision  for  his 
flock,  and  evince  all  proper  care  for 
it.  The  words  shall  not  want,  as  ap- 
plied to  the  psalmist,  would  em- 
brace everything  that  could  be  a 
proper  object  of  desire,  whether  tem- 
poral or  spiritual ;  whether  pertain- 
ing to  the  body  or  the  soul ;  whether 
having  reference  to  time  or  to  eter- 
nity. There  is  no  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  David  limited  this  to  his 
temporal  necessities,  or  to  the  present 
life,  but  the  idea  manifestly  is  that 
God  would  provide  all  that  was  need- 
ful for  him  always.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxiv. 
9,  "  There  is  no  want  to  them  that 
fear  him."  This  idea  enters  essen- 
tially into  the  conception  of  God  as 
the  shepherd  of  his  people,  that  all 
their  real  wants  shall  be  supplied. 

2.  He   maJceth   me  to  lie  down  in 
green  pastures.      Marg.,  pastures  of 

4  tender  grass.  The  Hebrew  word  ren- 
dered pastures  means  usually  dwell- 
ings, or  habitations.  It  is  applied 
here  properly  to  pastures,  as  places 
where  flocks  and  herds  lie  down  for 


3  He  restoreth  my  soul :  he 
leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  right- 
eousness for  his  name's  sake. 

2  waters  of  quietness. 


repose.  The  word  rendered  in  the 
^margin  tender  grass — Nlin,  deshe — 
refers  to  the  first  shoots  of  vegeta- 
tion from  the  earth — young  herbage 
— tender  grass — as  clothing  the  mea- 
dows, and  as  delicate  food  for  cattle, 
Job  vi.  5.  It  differs  from  ripe  grass 
ready  for  mowing,  which  is  expressed 
by  a  different  word — "l-^n.  hhatzir. 
The  idea  is  that  of  calmness  and  re- 
pose, as  suggested  by  the  image  of 
flocks  lying  down  on  the  grass.  But 
this  is  not  the  only  idea.  It  is  that 
of  flocks  that  lie  down  on  the  grass 
fully  fed  or  satisfied, — their  wants 
being  completely  supplied.  The  exact 
point  of  contemplation  in  the  mind 
of  the  poet,  I  apprehend,  is  that  of  a 
flock  in  young  and  luxuriant  grass, 
surrounded  by  abundance,  and,  having 
satisfied  their  wants,  lying  down 
amidst  this  luxuriance  with  calm  con- 
tentment. It  is  not  merely  a  flock 
enjoying  repose;  it  is  a  flock  whose 
wants  are  supplied,  lying  down  in 
the  midst  of  abundance.  Applied  to 
the  psalmist  himself,  or  to  the  people 
of  God  generally,  the  idea  is,  that 
the  wants  of  the  soul  are  met  and 
satisfied,  and  that,  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  this,  there  is  the  conviction 
of  abundance, — the  repose  of  the  soul 
at  present  satisfied,  and  feeling  that 
I  in  such  abundance  want  will  be  al- 
Lways  unknown.  ^[  He  leadeth  me 
beside  the  still  waters.  Marg.,  waters 
of  quietness.  Not  stagnant  waters, 
but  waters  not  tempestuous  and 
stormy  ;  waters  so  calm,  gentle,  and 
still,  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  repose, 
and  such  as  prompt  to  repose.  As 
applied  to  the  people  of  God,  this  de- 
notes the  calmness — the  peace — the 
repose  of  the  soul,  when  salvation 
flows  as  in  a  gently  running  stream  ; 
when  there  is  no  apprehension  of 
want ;  when  the  heart  is  at  peace 
with  God. 

3.  He  restoreth  my  soul.    Literally, 
"He  causes  my  life  to  return."     De 


PSALM  XXIII. 


211 


4  Yea,  though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
I  will  fear  no  evil  :  for  thou  /  art 


"VVette,  "  He  quickens  me,"  or  causes 
•  me  to  live.  The  word  soul  here 
means  life,  or  spirit,  and  not  the  soul 
in  the  strict  sense  in  which  the  term 
is  now  used.  It  refers  to  the  spirit 
when  exhausted,  weary,  or  sad ;  and 
the  meaning  is,  that  God  quickens 
or  vivifies  the  spirit  when  thus  ex- 
hausted. The  reference  is  not  to  the 
soul  as  wandering  or  backsliding  from 
God,  but  to  the  life  or  spirit  as  ex- 
hausted, wearied,  troubled,  anxious, 
worn  down  with  care  and  toil.  The 
heart,  thus  exhausted,  he  re-animates. 
He  brings  back  its  vigour.  He  en- 
courages it;  excites  it  to  new  effort; 
fills  it  with  new  joy.  ^f  He  leadeth 
me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness.  In 
right  paths,  or  right  ways.  He  con- 
ducts me  in  the  straight  path  that 
leads  to  himself;  he  does  not  suffer 
me  to  wander  in  ways  that  would 
lead  to  ruin.  In  reference  to  his 
people  it  is  true  («)  that  he  leads 
them  in  the  path  by  which  they 
become  righteous,  or  by  which  they 
are  justified  before  him  ;  and  (b)  that 
he  leads  them  in  the  way  of  upright- 
ness and  truth.  He  guides  them  in 
the  way  to  heaven ;  his  constant  care 
is  evinced  that  they  may  walk  in  that 
path.  %  For  his  name's  sake.  Tor 
his  own  sake;  or,  that  his  name  may 
be  honoured.  It  is  not  primarily  on 
their  account;  it  is  not  solely  that 
they  may  be  saved.  It  is  that  he 
may  be  honoured  (a)  in  their  being 
saved  at  all ;  (Z>)  in  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  done ;  (c)  in  the  influence 
of  their  whole  life,  under  his  guidance, 
as  making  known  his  own  character 
and  perfections.  Comp.  Isa.  xliii.  25; 
xlviii.  9 ;  lxvi.  5 ;  Jer.  xiv.  7.  The 
feeling  expressed  in  this  verse  is  that 
of  confidence  ift  God ;  an  assurance 
that  he  would  always  lead  his  people 
in  the  path  in  which  they  should  go. 
Comp.  Ps.  xxv.  9.  This  he  will  always 
do  if  men  will  follow  the  directions  of 
his  word,  the  teachings  of  nis  Spirit, 
and  the  guidance  of  his  providence. 


with  me ;    thy  rod  and  thy  staff 
they  comfort  me. 

/  Isa.  xliii.  2. 

None  that  thus  submit  to  him  ever  go 
astray. 

4.   Yea,  though  I  tvalk  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadoiv  of  death.     The 

meaning  of  this  in  the  connexion  in 

which  it  occurs  is  this  : — "  God  will 
lead  and  guide  me  in  the  path  of 
righteousness,  even  though  that  path 
lies  through  the  darkest  and  most 
gloomy  vale — through  deep  and  dis- 
mal shades — in  regions  where  there  is 
no  light,  as  if  death  had  cast  his  ' 
dark  and  baleful  shadow  there.  It  is 
still  a  right  path ;  it  is  a  path  of 
safety;  and  it  will  conduct  me  to 
bright  regions  beyond.  In  that  dark 
and  gloomy  valley,  though  I  could 
not  guide  myself,  I  will  not  be 
alarmed ;  I  will  not  be  afraid  of  wan- 
dering or  of  being  lost;  I  will  not 
fear  any  enemies  there, — for  my  Shep- 
herd is  there  to  guide  me  still."  On  ( 
the  word  here  rendered  shadoiv  of 
death — ]Tl?j:?3>  tzalmaveth — see  Notes 
on  Job  iii.  5;  Isa.  ix.  2.  The  word 
occurs  besides  only  in  the  following 
places,  in  all  of  which  it  is  rendered 
shadoiv  of  death  :  Job  x.  21,  22 ;  xii. 
22;  xvi.  16:  xxiv.  17  (twice);  xxviii. 
3 ;  xxxiv.  22 ;  xxxviii.  17 ;  Ps.  xliv. 
19 ;  cvii.  10,  14 ;  Jer.  ii.  6 ;  xiii.  16 ; 
Amos  v.  8.  The  idea  is  that  of  death 
casting  his  gloomy  shadow  over  that 
valley — the  valley  of  the  dead.  Hence 
the  word  is  applicable  to  any  path  of 
gloom  or  sadness;  any  scene  of  trouble 
or  sorrow;  any  dark  and  dangerous 
way.  Thus  understood,  it  is  applicable 
not  merely  to  death  itself — though  it 
embraces  that — but  to  any  or  all  the 
dark,  the  dangerous,  and  the  gloomy 
paths  which  we  tread  in  life  :  to  ways 
of  sadness,  solitude,  and  sorrow.  All 
along  those  paths  God  will  be  a  safe 
and  certain  guide,  %  I  toill  fear  no  . 
evil.  Dark,  cheerless,  dismal  as  it  / 
seems,  I  will  dread  nothing.  The  / 
true  friend  of  God  has  nothing  to  ' 
fear  in  that  dark  valley.  His  great 
Shepherd  will  accompany  him  there, 
and  can  lead    him    safely  through, 


212 


PSALM  XXIII. 


5  Thou  preparest  a  table  before 
me  in  the  presence  of  mine  ene- 


howevcr  dark  it  may  appear.  The 
true  believer  has  nothing  to  fear  in 
the  most  gloomy  scenes  of  life;  he 
has  nothing  to  fear  in  the  valley  of 
death  ;  he  has  nothing  to  fear  in  the 
grave ;  he  has  nothing  to  fear  in  the 
world  beyond.  ^[  For  thou  art  with 
me.  Thou  wilt  be  with  me.  Though 
invisible,  thou  wilt  attend  me.  I 
shall  not  go  alone;  I  shall  not  be 
alone.  The  psalmist  felt  assured  that 
if  God  was  with  him  he  had  nothing 
to  dread  there.  God  would  be  his 
companion,  his  comforter,  his  pro- 
tector, his  guide.  How  applicable  is 
this  to  death  !  The  dying  man  seems 
to  go  into  the  dark  valley  alone.  His 
friends  accompany  him  as  far  as  they 
can,  and  then  they  must  give  him  the 
parting  hand.  They  cheer  him  with 
their  voice  until  he  becomes  deaf  to 
all  sounds ;  they  cheer  him  with  their 
looks  until  his  eye  becomes  dim,  and 
he  can  see  no  more ;  they  cheer  him 
with  the  fond  embrace  until  he  be- 
comes insensible  to  every  expression 
of  earthly  affection,  and  then  he  seems 
to  be  alone.  But  the  dying  believer 
is  not  alone.  His  Saviour  God  is  with 
him  in  that  valley,  and  will  never 
leave  him.  On  his  arm  he  can  lean, 
and  by  his  presence  he  will  be  com- 
forted, until  he  emerges  from  the 
gloom  into  the  bright  world  beyond. 
All  that  is  needful  to  dissipate  the 
terrors  of  the  valley  of  death  is  to  be 
able  to  say,  "  Thou  art  with  me." 
%  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff.  It  may 
not  be  easy  to  mark  the  difference 
between  these  two  words;  but  they 
would  seem  probably  to  refer,  the 
latter  to  the  staff  which  the  shepherd 
used  in  walking,  and  the  former  to 
the  crook  which  a  shepherd  used  for 
.guiding  his  Hock.  The  image  is  that 
of  a  shepherd  in  attendance  on  his 
flock,  with  a  staff  on  which  he  leans 
with  one  hand ;  in  the  other  hand 
the  crook  or  rod  which  was  the 
symbol  of  his  office.  Either  of  these 
also  might  be  used  to  guard  the  flock, 


mies :  thou  1  anointest  my  head 
with  oil ;  my  cup  runneth  over. 

1  makestfai 


or  to  drive  off  the  enemies  of  the 
flock.  The  crook  is  said  (see  Rosen- 
muller,  in  loc.)  to  have  been  used  to 
seize  the  legs  of  the  sheep  or  goats 
when  they  were  disposed  to  run  away, 
and  thus  to  keep  them  with  the 
flock.  "  The  shepherd  invariably  car- 
ries a  rod  or  staff  with  him  when  he 
goes  forth  to  feed  his  flock.  It  is 
often  bent  or  hooked  at  one  end, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  shepherd's 
crook  in  the  hand  of  the  Christian 
bishop.  With  this  staff  he  rules  and 
guides  the  flock  to  their  green  pas- 
tures, and  defends  them  From  their 
enemies.  With  it  also  he  corrects 
them  when  disobedient,  and  brings 
them  back  when  wandering. "  (The 
Land  and  the  Book,  vol.  i.,  p.  305.) 
%  They  comfort  me.  The  sight  of 
them  consoles  me.  Th^y  show  that 
the  Shepherd  is  there.  As  significant 
of  his  presence  and  his  office,  they 
impart  confidence,  showing  that  he 
will  not  leave  me  alone,  and  that  he 
will  defend  me. 

5.  Thou  preparest  a  table.  The 
image  is  now  changed,  though  ex- 
pressing the  general  idea  which  is 
indicated   in  the   first   verse   of  the 

fpsalm,  "  I  shall  not  want."  The  evi- 
dence or  proof  of  this  in  the  previous 
verses  is,  that  God  was  a  shepherd, 
and  would  provide  for  him  as  a  shep- 
herd does  for  his  flock  ;  the  evidence 
here  is  that  God  had  provided  a  table, 
or  a  feast,  for  him  in  the  very  pre- 
sence of  his  enemies,  and  had  filled 

\h,is  cup  with  joy.  The  word  table 
here  is  synonymous  with  feast ;  and 
the  meaning  is,  "  thou  providest  for 
my  wants."  There  may  be  an  allusion 
here  to  some  particular  period  of  the 
life  of  the  psalmist,  when  he  was  in 
want,  and  when  he  perhaps  felt  an 
apprehension  that  he  would  perish, 
and  when  God  had  unexpectedly  pro- 
vided for  his  wants ;  but  it  is  im- 
possible now  to  determine  to  what 
occasion  he  thus  refers.  There  were 
numerous  occasions   in    the    life   of 


PSALM  XXIII. 


213 


6  Surely  goodness  and  mercy 
shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of 


David  which  would  be  well  repre- 
sented by  this  language,  as  if  God 
had  provided  a  meal  for  him  in  the 
very  presence  of  his  foes,  and  in  spite 
of  them.  *f[  Before  me.  For  me. 
It  is  spread  in  my  presence,  and  for 
\me.  %  In  the  presence  of  mine  ene- 
mies. That  is,  in  spite  of  them,  or 
so  that  they  could  not  prevent  it. 
They  were  compelled  to  look  on  and 
see  how  God  provided  for  him.  It 
was  manifest  that  this  was  from  God; 
it  was  a  proof  of  the  Divine  favour; 
it  furnished  an  assurance  that  he 
who  had  done  this  would  never  leave 
him  to  want.  The  friends  of  God  are 
made  to  triumph  in  the  very  presence 
of  their  foes.  Their  enemies  are 
compelled  to  see  how  he  interposes  in 
their  behalf,  how  he  provides  for 
them,  and  how  he  defends  them. 
Their  final  triumph  in  the  day  of 
judgment  will  be  in  the  very  presence 
of  all  their  assembled  enemies,  for  in 
their  very  presence  he  will  pronounce 
the  sentence  which  will  make  their 
{eternal  happiness  sure,  Matt.  xxv.  31 
— 36.  ^[  Thou  anointest  my  head 
fwith  oil.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  makest 
fat.  That  is,  thou  dost  pour  oil  on 
my  head  so  abundantly  that  it  seems 
to  be  made  fat  with  it.  The  expres- 
sion indicates  abundance.  The  al- 
lusion is  to  the  custom  of  anointing 
the  head  on  festival  occasions,  as  an 
indication  of  prosperity  and  rejoicing 
(see  Notes  on  Matt.  vi.  17 ;  Luke 
vii.  46),  and  the  whole  is  indicative 
of  the  Divine  favour,  of  prosperity, 
and  of  joy.  %  My  cup  runneth  over. 
It  is  not  merely  full ;  it  runs  over. 
This,  too,  indicates  abundance ;  and 
from  the  abundance  of  the  favours 
thus  bestowed,  the  psalmist  infers 
that  God  would  always  provide  for 
him,  and  that  he  would  never  leave 
♦  him  to  want. 

6.  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall 

folioio   me.     God  will   bestow    them 

upon  me.     This  is  the  result  of  what 

is  stated  in  the  previous  verses.     The 


my  life ;  and  I  will  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  *  for  ever. 

1  to  length  ofdaijs. 


effect  of  God's  merciful  dealings  with 
him  had  been  to  lead  his  mind  to  the 
assurance  that  God  would  always  be 
his  shepherd  and  friend ;  that  he 
would  never  leave  him  to  want. 
%  All  the  days  of  my  life.  Through 
all  its  changes;  in  every  variety  of 
situation ;  until  I  reach  its  close. 
Life  indeed  would  end,  and  he  does 
not  venture  to  conjecture  when  that 
would  be ;  but  as  long  as  life  should 
continue,  he  felt  confidently  assured 
that  everything  needful  for  him  would 
be  bestowed  upon  him.  The  Ian-  ^ 
guage  is  the  utterance  of  a  heart 
overflowing  with  joy  and  gratitude 
in  the  recollection  of  the  past,  and 
full  of  glad  anticipation  (as  derived 
from  the  experience  of  the  past)  in 
regard  to  the  future.  %  And  I  toill^ 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  LoRD^/br  ever. 
Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  to  length  of  days. 
The  expression,  I  think,  does  not  refer 
to  eternity  or  to  heaven,  but  it  is 
parallel  with  the  former  expression 
"All  the  days  of  my  life;" 'that  is, 
he  would  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  as  long  as  he  lived, — with  the 
idea  added  here,  which  was  not  in  the 
former  member  of  the  sentence,  that 
his  life  would  be  long,  or  that  he 
hoped  and  anticipated  that  he  would 
live  long  on  the  earth.  The  phrase 
here  used,  "  I  will  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord,"  is  one  that  is  several 
times  employed  in  the  Psalms  as  in- 
dicative of  the  wish  of  the  psalmist. 
Thus  in  Psalm  xxvii.  4,  "  One  thing 
have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will 
I  seek  after  ;  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my 
life."  Ps.  xxvi.  8,  "Lord,  I  have 
loved  the  habitation  of  thy  house, 
and  the  place  where  thine  honour 
dwelleth."  Ps.  lxv.  4,  "  Blessed  is 
the  man  whom  thou  choosest,  and 
causest  to  approach  unto  thee,  that 
he  may  dwell  in  thy  courts."  Ps. 
lxxxiv.  4,  "  Blessed  are  they  that 
dwell  in  thy  house."  (Comp.  also 
vers.  1,  3,  and  10  of  Psalm  lxxxiv). 


214 


PSALM  XXIV. 


The  language  here  is  obviously  taken 
from  the  employment  of  those  who 
had  their  habitation  near  the  taber- 
nacle, and  afterwards  the  temple, 
whose  business  it  was  to  attend  con- 
stantly on  the  service  of  God,  and  to 
I  minister  in  his  courts.  We  are  not 
to  suppose  of  David  that  he  antici- 
pated such  a  residence  in  or  near  the 
tabernacle  or  the  house  of  God ;  but 
the  meaning  is,  that  he  anticipated 
and  desired  a  life  as  if  he  dwelt  there, 
and  as  if  he  was  constantly  engaged 
in  holy  occupations.  His  life  would 
be  spent  as  if  in  the  constant  service 
of  God;  his  joy  and  peace  in  reli- 
gion would  be  as  if  he  were  always 
within  the  immediate  dwelling-place 
of  the  Most  High.  This  expresses 
the  desire  of  a  true  child  of  God. 
He  wishes  to  live  as  if  he  were  al- 
ways engaged  in  solemn  acts  of  wor- 
ship, and  occupied  in  holy  things; 
he  desires  peace  and  joy  in  religion 
as  if  he  were  constantly  in  the  place 
where  God  makes  his  abode,  and  al- 
lowed to  partake  of  his  smiles  and 
friendship.  In  a  very  important  sense 
it  is  his  privilege  so  to  live  even  on 
earth ;  it  will  certainly  be  his  privi- 
lege so  to  live  in  heaven :  and,  full  of 
grateful  exultation  and  joy,  every 
child  of  God  may  adopt  this  language 
as  his  own,  and  say  confidently, 
"  Goodness  and  mercy  will  follow  me 
all  the  days  of  my  life  here,  and  I 
shall  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
for  ever," — for  heaven,  where  God 
dwells,  will  be  his  eternal  home. 

PSALM  XXIV. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
title  of  this  psalm,  which  ascribes  it  to 
David,  is  correct.  A  portion  of  the  psalm 
(vers.  3-6)  has  a  strong  resemblance  to 
Psalm  xv.,  and  doubtless  was  composed 
by  the  same  author. 

The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm  was 
composed  is  not  designated ;  but  from 
its  contents  it  was  evidently  on  some 
public  occasion  of  great  solemnhy;  pro- 
bably on  the  removal  of  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  into  its  appointed  place  in 
Jerusalem,  where  it  was  to  abide  perma- 
nently ;  a  solemn  entrance  of  Jehovah, 
as  it  were,  into  the  plate  of  his  perma- 
nent abode,  vers.  7-10.     This  could  not 


have  been  the  temple;  for  (a)  that  was 
not  erected  in  the  time  of  David  ;  and 
(/;)  the  description  (vers.  7-10)  is  rather 
that  of  entering  into  a  city  than  into  a 
temple  or  a  place  of  public  worship,  for 
the  psalmist  calls  on  the  "gates"  to  lift 
up  their  heads, — an  expression  more 
suitable  to  a  city  than  to  the  doors  of  a 
tabernacle  or  a  temple.  According  to 
tins  view,  no  occasion  seems  more  appro-' 
priate  than  that  of  removing  the  ark 
from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  to  "  the 
city  of  David,"  or  to  Jerusalem,  as  de- 
scribed in  2  Sam.  vi.  12-17.  David  in- 
deed placed  the  ark  u  in  the  midst  of  the 
tabernacle  which  he  had  pitched  for  it" 
on  Mount  Zion  (2  Sam.  vi.  17),  but 
the  particular  reference  of  the  psalm 
would  rather  seem  to  be  to  the  entrance 
of  the  ark  into  the  city  tban  into  the 
tabernacle.  It  was  probably  designed  to 
be  sung  as  the  procession  approached  the 
city  where  the  ark  was  destined  to 
remain.  The  occasion  of  thus  taking  up 
the  ark  into  the  holy  hill  where  it  was  to 
abide  seems  to  have  suggested  the  in- 
quiry, who  would  be  fitted  to  ascend  the 
holy  hill  where  God  abides,  and  to  stand 
in  his  presence,  vers.  3-6. 

The  psalm  properly  consists  of  three 
parts : — 

I.  An  ascription  of  praise  to  God  as 
the  Maker  and  Upholder  of  all  firings, 
vers.  1,  2.  He  is  represented  as  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  whole  earth,  and  as  having 
a  right  to  all  that  there  is  in  the  world, 
since  he  has  made  the  earth  and  all  which 
it  contains.  This  universal  claim,  this 
recognition  of  him  as  Lord  of  all,  would 
be  peculiarly  appropriate  in  bringing  up 
the  symbol  of  his  existence  and  his 
power,  and  establishing  his  worship  in 
the  capital  of  the  nation. 

II.  An  inquiry,  who  would  ascend  into 
the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and  stand  in  his 
holy  place ; — who  could  be  regarded  as 
worthy  to  engage  in  his  worship,  and  to 
be  considered  as  his  friend  r  vers.  3-6. 
This  part  of  the  psalm  accords  in  the 
main  with  Ps.  xv.;  and  the  inquiry  and 
the  answer  would  be  peculiarly  appro- 
priate on  an  occasion  such  as  that  on 
which  the  psalm  appears  to  have  been 
composed.  In  asserting  God's  claim  to 
universal  dominion  (vers.  1,  2),  and  in 
introducing  the  symbols  of  his  power  into 
the  place  where  he  was  to  be  recognised 
and  adored  (vers.  7-10),  nothing  could 
be  more  suitable  than  the  question  who 
would  be  regarded  as  qualified  to  worship 
before  him;  that  is,  who  would  be  re- 
garded  as  his  friends.      The   essential 


PSALM  XXIV . 


215 


PSALM  XXIV. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

mHE  earth  is  the  Lord's,  u  and 


thing  here  asserted  to  be  requisite,  as  in 
Ps.  xv.,  is  purity  of  heart  and  life, — 
things  essential  to  the  evidence  of  piety 
under  every  dispensation,  patriarchal, 
Mosaic,  Christian. 

III.  A  responsive  song  on  the  entrance 
of  the  procession  with  the  ark  into  the 
city,  vers.  7-10.  This  consists  of  two 
strophes,  to  be  sung,'  it  would  seem  most 
probable,  by  responsive  choirs  : — 

First  strophe,  vers.  7,  8. 

(a)  The  call  on  the  gates  to  lift  up 

their  heads,  that  the  King   of 
glory  might  come  in. 

(b)  The  response  :  Who  is  this  King  of 

glory  r 

(c)  The  answer  :  Jehovah,  mighty  in 

battle. 
Second  strophe,  vers.  9,  10. 

(a)  The  call  on  the  gates  to  lift  up 

their  heads,  that   the   King  of 
glory  might  come  in. 

(b)  The  response  :  Who  is  this  King  of 

glory  ? 

(c)  The  answer :  Jehovah  of  hosts. 

1.  The  earth  is  the  Loed's.  The 
whole  world  belongs  to  God.  He  is 
the  Creator  of  the  earth,  and  there- 
fore its  proprietor  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
"  the  property  vests  in  him."  It  be- 
longs to  him  in  a  sense  somewhat 
similar  to  our  right  of  property  in 
anything  that  is  the  production  of 
our  hands,  or  of  our  labour  or  skill". 
We  claim  that  as  our  own.  We 
feel  that  we  have  a  right  to  use  it, 
or  to  dispose  of  it,  as  we  choose. 
No  other  man  has  a  right  to  take  it 
from  us,  or  to  dictate  to  us  how  we 
shall  employ  it.  Thus  God,  in  the 
highest  possible  sense,  has  a  right  to 
the  earth,  and  to  all  which  it  pro- 
duces, as  being  all  of  it  the  creation  of 
his  hands,  and  the  fruit  of  his  culture 
and  skill.  He  has  a  right  to  dispose 
of  it  as  he  pleases ; — by  fire,  or  flood, 
or  tempest ; — and  he  has  an  equal 
right  to  direct  man  in  what  way  he 
shall  employ  that  portion  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  earth  which  may  be 
entrusted  to  him.  All  the  right 
which  any  man  has  to  any  portion  of 


the  fulness  thereof;    the  world, 
and  they  that  dwell^therein : 

ff  Ps.  1. 12. 


the  earth's  surface,  or  to  what  is 
treasured  up  in  the  earth,  or  to  what 
it  is  made  to  produce,  is  subordinate 
to  the  claims  of  God,  and  all  should 
be  yielded  up  at  his  bidding,  whether 
he  comes  and  claims  it  to  be  em- 
ployed in  his  service,  or  whether  he 
comes  and  sweeps  it  away  by  fire 
or  flood;  by  the  locust,  or  by  the 
palmer-worm.  ^f  And  the  fulness 
thereof.  All  which  it  contains ;  every- 
thing which  goes  to  fill  up  the  world: 
— animals,  minerals,  vegetables,  men. 
All  belong  to  God,  and  he  has  a  right 
to  claim  them  for  his  service,  and  to 
dispose  of  them  as  he  pleases.  This  very 
language,  so  noble,  so  true,  and  so  fit 
to  be  made  conspicuous  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  I  saw  inscribed  in  a  place  where 
it  seemed  to  be  most  appropriate,  and 
most  adapted  to  arrest  and  direct  the 
thoughts  of  men — on  the  front  of 
the  Royal  Exchange  in  London.  It 
was  well  to  remind  the  great  mer- 
chants of  the  largest  commercial  city 
in  the  world  of  the  truth  which  it 
contains  ;  it  does  much  to  describe  the 
character  of  the  British  nation  that 
it  should  be  inscribed  in  a  place  so 
conspicuous,  and,  as  it  were,  on  the 
wealth  of  that  great  capital.  %  s  The 
ivorld.  The  word  here  used — b'SF), 
tebel — is  a  poetic  word,  referring  to 
the  earth  considered  as  fertile  and  in- 
habited,—  the  habitable  globe;  the 
same  as  the  Greek,  oiKov\x'i.vr].  \  And 
they  that  divell  therein.  All  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  embracing 
men  and  animals  of  all  kinds.  Comp. 
Ps.  1.  10,  11.  God  has  a  claim  on 
men  —  on  their  services,  on  their 
talents,  on  all  that  they  can  acquire 
by  labour  and  skill;  he  has  a  right 
to  all  that  fly  in  the  air,  or  that  walk 
the  earth,  or  that  swim  in  the  sea. 
On  the  occasion  on  which  it  is  sup- 
posed that  this  psalm  was  written, 
in  bringing  up  the  ark  of  God,  and 
placing  it  in  the  tabernacle  provided 
for  it  in  the  capital  of  the  nation,  no 


216 


PSALM    XXIY. 


2  For  lie  hath  founded  it  upon 
the  seas,  and  established  it  upon 
the  floods. 

3  Who  h  shall  ascend  into  the 
hill  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  shall 

h  Ps.  xv. 


sentiment  could  be  more  appropriate 
than  that  which  would  recognise  the 
universal  supremacy  of  God. 

2.  For  he  hath  founded  it  upon  the 
seas.  That  is,  the  earth,  or  the 
habitable  world.  The  ground  of  the 
claim  to  the  earth  and  all  that  it 
contains,  which  is  here  asserted,  is 
the  fact  that  God  had  created  it,  or 
"founded"  it.  The  language  here 
used — "  he  hath  founded  it,"  that  is, 
he  has  laid  the  foundation  of  it, 
"upon  the  seas  "  and  "  the  floods  " — is 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  mode  of 
speaking  of  the  earth  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  laid  upon  a  foundation, — as 
a  house  is  raised  on  a  firm  foundation. 
See  Notes  on  Job  xxxviii.  6.  As  the 
earth  appeared  to  be  surrounded  by 
water,  it  was  natural  to  speak  of  it 
as  founded  also  upon  the  waters. 
There  is  probably  an  allusion  here  to 
the  statement  in  Gen.  i.  9,  10,  where 
the  waters  are  said  to  have  been  so 
gathered  together  that  the  dry  land 
appeared.  Above  all  the  waters  the 
earth  was  established,  so  as  to  become 
the  abode  of  plants,  animals,  and  men. 
%  And  established  it  upon  the  foods. 
The  streams;  the  torrents.  The  earth 
has  been  elevated  above  them,  so  as 
to  be  a  residence  for  animals  and  for 
men.  The  essential  thought  is,  that 
this  earth  has  become  what  it  is  by 
the  fact  that  God  has  founded  it ; — 
and,  therefore,  wrhat  it  produces  be- 
longs of  right  to  him. 

3.  Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill 
of  the  Loed  ?  Mount  Zion ;  called 
the  hill  of  the  Lord,  because  it  was 
the  place  designated  for  his  worship, 
or  the  place  of  his  abode.  See  Xotes 
on  Ps. xv.  1.  The  idea  here  is,  "Who 
shall  ascend  there  with  a  view  of 
abiding  there  ?  who  is  worthy  to  dwell 
there  ?"  The  question  is  equivalent 
to  asking,  What  constitutes  true  reli- 


stand  in  his  holy  place  ? 

4  x  He  that  hath  clean  hands, 
and  a  pure  heart ;  who  hath  not 
lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity, 
nor  sworn  deceitfully. 

1  the  clean  of  hands. 


gion  ?  What  is  required  for  the 
acceptable  worship  of  God  ?  What 
will  prepare  a  man  for  heaven  ?  \  Or 
tvho  shall  stand  in  his  holy  place  ? 
In  the  tabernacle,  or  in  the  place 
where  he  is  worshipped.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Ps.  i.  5.  Who  is  worthy  to  stand 
before  God  ?  Who  has  the  qualifica- 
tions requisite  to  constitute  the  evi- 
dence of  his  friendship  ? 

4.  He  that  hath  clean  hands.  In 
the  parallel  passage  in  Ps.  xv.  2,  the 
answer  to  the  question  is,  "  He 
that  walketh  uprightly,  and  worketh 
righteousness."  The  sentiment  is 
substantially  the  same  there  as  in  the 
passage  before  us.  The  meaning  is, 
that  he  who  would  be  recognised  as 
a  friend  and  worshipper  of  Jehovah 
must  be  an  upright  man  ;  a  man  not 
living  in  the  practice  of  iniquity,  but 
striving  always  to  do  that  which  is 
right.  The  hands  are  the  instruments 
by  which  we  accomplish  anything ; 
and  hence  to  have  clean  hands  is 
equivalent  to  being  upright.  See  Job 
xvii.  9;  Isaiah  i.  15;  lix.  3;  Acts  ii. 
23 ;  Ps.  xxvi.  10.  The  margin  here, 
as  the  Hebrew,  is  the  clean  of  hands. 
%  And  a  pure  heart.  Not  merely  he 
whose  external  conduct  is  upright,  but 
whose  heart  is  pure.  The  great  prin- 
ciple is  here  stated  which  enters  always 
into  true  religion,  that  it  does  not 
consist  in  outward  conformity  to 
law,  or  to  the  mere  performance  of 
rites  and  ceremonies,  or  to  external 
morality,  but  that  it  controls  the  heart, 
and  produces  purity  of  motive  and  of 
thought.  %  Who  hath  not  lifted  up 
his  soul  unto  vanity.  Unto  that 
which  is  vain,  or  which  is  false.  This 
expression  might  refer  to  one  who  had 
not  devoted  himself  to  the  worship  of 
an  idol, — regarded  as  vain,  or  as 
nothing  (1  Cor.  viii.  6 ;  Isa.  xli.  24 ; 
Ps.  cxv.  4-8) ;  or  to  one  who  had  not 


PSALM  XXIV. 


217 


5  He  »  shall  receive  the  bless- 
ing from  the  Lord,  and  right- 
eousness from  the  God  of  his 
salvation. 


embraced  that  which  is  false  and  vain 
in  opinion;  or  to  one  who  had  not 
sworn  falsely,  or  taken  the  name  of 
God  in  vain,  Ex.  xx.  7.  The  probable 
meaning  is,  that  he  has  not  set  his 
heart  on  vain  things,  or  that  which 
is  false.  He  has  sought  after  sub- 
stantial truth,  alike  in  the  object  of 
worship,  in  that  which  he  professes  to 
believe,  and  in  the  statements  and 
promises  which  he  makes  to  others. 
He  aims  to  secure  that  which  is  true 
and  real.  He  is  in  no  sense  "  carried 
away  "  with  that  which  is  unreal  and 
false.  %  Nor  sivorn  deceitfully.  This 
is  one  form  of  that  which  had  been 
just  specified — his  love  of  truth.  The 
idea  here  is,  that  he  has  not  affirmed, 
under  the  solemnities  of  an  oath,  that 
which  was  false ;  and  that  he  has  not, 
under  similar  solemnities,  promised 
what  he  has  not  performed.  He  is  a 
sincere  man ;  a  man  seeking  after  the 
true  and  the  real,  and  not  running 
after  shadows  and  falsehood ;  a  man 
true  to  God  and  to  his  fellow-crea- 
tures ;  a  man  whose  statements  are 
in  accordance  with  facts,  and  whose 
promises  may  be  always  relied  on. 
In  the  parallel  passage,  in  Ps.  xv.  2, 
the  statement  is,  "he  that  speaketh 
the  truth  in  his  heart."  See  Notes 
on  that  passage. 

5.  He  shall  receive  iJie  Messing 
from  the  Lokd.  Literally,  "  He  shall 
bear  away  a  blessing  from  Jehovah." 
The  blessing  here  referred  to  means 
His  favour  and  friendship.  He  shall 
be  recognised  and  treated  as  his.  In 
other  words,  God  bestows  his  favour 
on  those  who  possess  the  character 
here  referred  to.  *ft  And  righteous- 
ness from  the  God  of  his  salvation. 
He  shall  be  regarded  and  treated  as 
righteous.  Or,  he  shall  obtain  the 
Divine  approval  as  a  righteous  man. 
The  idea  of  the  psalmist  would  seem 
to  be,  not  that  he  would  obtain  this 
ns  if  it  were  a  gift,  but  that  he  would 
vol.  i. 


6  This  is  the  generation  oi 
them  that  seek  him,  that  seek 
thy  face,  1  O  Jacob.     Selah. 

i  Tsa.  xxxiii.  15 — 17. 
1  Or,  0  God  of  Jacob. 


obtain  the  Divine  approval  of  his  cha- 
racter as,  righteous;  he  would  be  recog- 
nised and  dealt  with  as  a  righteous 
man.  He  would  come  to  God  with 
"  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart "  (ver. 
4),  and  would  be  welcomed  and  treated 
as  a  friend  of  God.  The  wicked  and 
the  impure  could  not  hope  to  obtain 
this ;  but  he  who  ivas  thus  righteous 
would  be  treated  according  to  his 
real  character,  and  would  meet  with 
the  assurances  of  the  Divine  favour. 
It  is  as  true  now  as  it  was  in  the  days 
of  the  psalmist,  that  it  is  only  the 
man  who  is  in  fact  upright  and  holy 
that  can  obtain  the  evidences  of  the 
Divine  approval.  God  will  not  regard 
one  who  is  living  in  wickedness  as  a 
i-ighteous  man,  nor  will  he  admit  such 
a  man  to  his  favour  here,  or  to  his 
dwelling-place  hereafter. 

6.  This  is  the  generation  of  them 
that  seek  him.  This  describes  the 
race  of  those  who  seek  him ;  or,  this 
is  their  character.  The  word  genera- 
tion here  is  used  evidently  in  the  sense 
of  race,  people,  or  persons.  This  is 
the  character  or  description  of  the 
persons  who  seek  his  favour  ;  or,  this 
is  the  character  of  his  true  friends. 
The  phrase  to  seek  God  is  often  used 
as  descriptive  of  true  piety  :  Ps.  ix.  10  ; 
xiv.  2 ;  lxiii.  1 ;  Prov.  viii.  17;  Matt, 
vi.  33 ;  vii.  7.  It  indicates  an  earnest 
desire  to  know  him  and  to  obtain  his 
favour.  It  denotes  also  humility  of 
mind,  and  a  sense  of  dependence  on 
God.  ^[  That  seek  thy  face,  O  Jacob. 
Marg.,  O  God  of  Jacob.  De  Wette 
understands  this  as  meaning  that  they 
would  seek  the  face  of  God  among  his 
people ;  or  that  they  who  belonged  to 
the  race  of  Jacob,  and  who  were 
sincere,  thus  sought  the  face  of  God. 
There  is  supposed  to  be,  according  to 
this  interpretation,  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  true  and  the  false  Israel; 
between  those  who  professed  to  be  the 
people  of  God  and  those  who  really 


218 


PSALM  XXIV. 


7  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates ;  and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  ever- 
lasting doors ;  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  come  in. 


were  his  people  (comp.  Rom.  ix.  6-8). 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  word  is  not 
used  here  as  it  is  in  the  margin  to 
denote  the  "  God  of  Jacob,"  which 
would  be  a  harsh  and  an  unusual 
construction,  but  that  it  is  in  appo- 
sition with  the  preceding  words,  as 
denoting  what  constituted  the  true 
Jacob,  or  the  true  people  of  God. 
"  This  is  the  generation  of  them  that 
seek  him  ;  this  is  the  true  Jacob,  that 
seek  thy  face,  O  Lord."  That  is,  this 
is  the  characteristic  of  all  who  pro- 
perly belong  to  the  race  of  Jacob,  or 
who  properly  belong  to  God  as  his 
true  people.  The  sense,  however,  is 
not  materially  affected  if  we  adopt 
the  reading  in  the  margin. 

7.  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates. 
Either  the  gates  of  the  city,  or  of  the 
house  erected  for  the  worship  of  God; 
most  probably,  as  has  been  remarked, 
the  former.  This  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  uttered  as  the  procession 
approached  the  city  where  the  ark 
was  to  abide,  as  a  summons  to  admit 
the  King  of  glory  to  a  permanent 
residence  there.  It  would  seem  not 
improbable  that  the  gates  of  the  city 
were  originally  made  in  the  form  of  a 
portcullis,  as  the  gates  of  the  old 
castles  in  the  feudal  ages  were,  not  to 
open,  but  to  be  lifted  up  by  weights 
and  pullies.  In  some  of  the  old  ruins 
of  castles  in  Palestine  there  are  still 
to  be  seen  deep  grooves  in  the  posts 
of  the  gateway,  showing  that  the  door 
did  not  open  and  shut,  but  that  it 
was  drawn  up  or  let  down.  (Land 
and  the  Book,  vol.  i.  p.  376.  One 
such  I  saw  at  Carisbrooke  Castle  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight;  and  they  were 
common  in  the  castles  erected  in  the 
Middle  Ages.)  There  were  some  ad- 
vantages in  this,  as  they  could  be 
suddenly  let  down  on  an  enemy  about 
to  enter,  when  it  would  be  difficult  to 
close  them  if  they  were  made  to  open 
as  doors  and  gates  are  commonly 
made.   Thus  understood,  the  "  heads  " 


8  Who  is  this  King  of  glory  P 
The  Lord  strong  and  mighty, 
the  Lord  mighty  in  battle. 


of  the  gates  would  be  the  top,  perhaps 
ornamented  in  some  such  way  as  to 
suggest  the  idea  of  a  "  head,"  and  the 
command  was  that  these  should  be 
elevated  to  admit  the  ark  of  God  to 
pass.  %  And  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  ever- 
lasting doors.  The  doors  of  a  city  or 
sanctuary  that  was  now  to  be  the 
permanent  place  of  the  worship  of 
God.  The  ark  was  to  be  fixed  and 
settled  there.  ■  It  was  no  longer  to  be 
moved  from  place  to  place.  It  had 
found  a  final  home.  The  idea  in  the 
word  "everlasting"  is  that  of  per- 
manence. The  place  where  the  ark 
was  to  abide  was  to  be  the  enduring 
place  of  worship;  or  was  to  endure 
as  long  as  the  worship  of  God  in  that 
form  should  continue.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  the  author  of  the  psalm 
supposed  that  those  doors  would  be 
literally  eternal,  but  the  language  is 
such  as  we  use  when  we  say  of  any- 
thing that  it  is  permanent  and  abiding. 
%  And  the  King  of  glory  shall  come 
in.  The  glorious  King.  The  allusion 
is  to  God  as  a  King.  On  the  cover 
of  the  ark,  or  the  mercy  seat,  the 
symbol  of  the  Divine  presence — the 
Shekinah — rested;  and  hence  it  was 
natural  to  say  that  God  would  enter 
through  those  gates.  In  other  words, 
the  cover  of  the  ark  was  regarded  as  his 
abode — his  seat — his  throne ;  and,  as 
thus  occupying  the  mercy-seat,  he  was 
about  to  enter  the  place  of  his  perma- 
nent abode.  Comp.  Ex.  xxv.  17,  20,  22. 
8.  Who  is  this  King  of  glory? 
This  is  probably  the  response  of  a 
portion  of  the  choir  of  singers.  The 
answer  is  found  in  the  other  part  of 
the  verse.  ^  The  Loed  strong  and 
mighty.  Jehovah,  strong  and  mighty, 
— describing  him  by  his  most  exalted 
attributes  as  a  God  of  power.  This 
is  in  accordance  with  the  idea  in  vers. 
1,  2,  where  he  is  represented  as  the 
Creator  and  the  Proprietor  of  all  the 
earth.  Perhaps,  also,  there  is  an  allu- 
sion to  the  fact  that  he  is  mighty,  as 


PSALM  XXV. 


219 


9  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates  ;  even  lift  them  up,  ye  ever- 
lasting doors;  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  come  in. 


distinguished  from  idols  which  have 
no  power.  ^  The  Lord  mighty  in 
battle.  Who  displays  his  power  emi- 
nently in  overthrowing  hostile  armies ; 
— perhaps  in  allusion  to  the  victories 
which  had  been  won  when  his  people 
were  animated  in  war  by  the  presence 
of  the  ark  in  the  midst  of  their  armies, 
and  when  the  victory  could  be  pro- 
perly traced  to  the  fact  that  the  ark, 
the  symbol  of  the  Divine  presence, 
was  with  them,  and  when,  therefore, 
the  victory  would  be  properly  ascribed 
to  Jehovah  himself. 

9.  Lift  up  your  heads,  etc.  The 
repetition  here  is  designed  to  give 
force  and  emphasis  to  what  is  uttered. 
The  response  in  ver.  5  is  slightly 
varied  from  the  response  in  ver.  8; 
but  the  same  general  sentiment  is  ex- 
pressed. The  design  is  to  announce 
in  a  solemn  manner  that  the  symbol 
of  the  Divine  presence  and  majesty 
was  about  to  be  introduced  into  the 
place  of  its  permanent  abode,  and  that 
this  was  an  event  worthy  to  be  cele- 
brated;— that  even  the  gates  of  the 
city  should  voluntarily  open  them- 
selves to  admit  the  great  and  glorious 
King  who  was  to  reign  there  for 
ever. 

10.  Who  is  this  King  of  glory  ? 
See  Notes  on  ver.  8.  ^  The  Lord  of 
hosts,  he  is  the  King  of  glory.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  the  Lord  of 
hosts,"  see  Notes  on  lsa.  i.  9.  The 
essential  idea  is,  that  God  rules  over 
the  universe  of  worlds  considered  as 
marshalled  in  order,  or  arrayed  as 
hosts  or  armies  are  for  battle.  All 
are  under  his  command.  The  stars  in 
the  sky,  that  seem  to  be  marshalled 
and  led  forth  in  such  perfect  and 
beautiful  order, — the  inhabitants  of 
heaven  in  their  different  orders  and 
ranks, — all  these  acknowledge  him, 
and  submit  to  him  as  the  supreme 
God.  In  the  close  of  the  psalm, 
therefore,  there  is  an  exact  accord- 
ance with  the  thought  in  the  begin- 


10  Who  is  this  King  of  glory  ? 
The  Lord  of  hosts,  he  is  the 
King  of  glory.     Selah. 


ning,  that  God  is  the  Sovereign  Ruler 
of  the  universe,  and  that  he  should 
everywhere  be  recognised  and  re- 
garded as  such.  The  entrance  of  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  into  the  place 
provided  for  it  as  a  permanent  re- 
sidence was  a  fit  occasion  to  proclaim 
this  thought ;  and  this  is  proclaimed 
in  the  psalm  in  a  manner  befitting  so 
solemn  an  occasion  and  so  sublime  a 
truth. 

PSALM  XXV. 

This  purports  to  be  a  psalm  of  David, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  he 
was  its  author.  There  are  no  indications, 
however,  of  the  occasion  on  which  it  was 
composed,  nor  is  it  possible  now  to  ascer- 
tain that  occasion.  It  is  probably  one  of 
those  which  were  composed  in  his  leisure 
moments,  with  no  outward  existing  cause 
— designed  to  express  the  feelings  of  pietj'- 
in  the  calm  contemplation  of  God  and  his 
perfections. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  psalm  is,  that  it 
is  the  first  of  that  class  of  psalms  which 
are  known  as  alphabetical,  in  which  the 
first  word  of  each  verse  begins  with  one 
of  the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet. 
One  design  of  this  mode  of  composition 
may  have  been  to  assist  the  memory ; 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  pi*e  vailing 
reason  was  that  it  was  regarded  as  a 
poetic  beauty  thus  to  arrange  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  Such  arts  of  poetry  are 
common  in  all  languages.  Occasionally 
in  these  psalms  the  order  of  the  letters  is 
slightly  changed;  in  other  instances, 
some  of  the  letters  are  omitted,  while  the 
general  structure  is  observed.  Speci- 
mens of  this  mode  of  composition  occur 
in  Ps.  xxxiv.,  xxxvii.,  cxi.,  cxii.,  cxix., 
cxlv. ;  in  Proverbs  xxxi.,  from  the  tenth 
verse  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  ;  and  in 
the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  the  whole 
of  which  book  is  composed  on  this  plan, 
except  the  last  chapter.  The  same  mode 
of  composition  is  common  in  Syrian  and 
Persian  poetry.  SeeAssemani  Biblioth. 
Orient.  III.,  Pt.  1,  p  63,  328.  Comp. 
Lowth's  Lectures  on  Heb.  Poetry,  Lect. 
xxii.  ;  and  Grotii  Prolegomm.  ad  Com. 
in  Psalmos,  p.  81. 

In  the  psalm  before  us,  the  general 


220 


PSALM   XXV. 


order  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  is  observed, 
with  the  following  exceptions: — the  two 
first  verses  commence  with  the  letter  N, 
Aleph,  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet ;  while  the  second  letter,  3, 
Beth,  is  omitted.  The  letters  1,  Van,  and 
p,  Koph,  are  also  omitted,  while  two 
verses  begin  with  the  letter  "1,  Resch ; 
and  at  the  close  of  the  psalm,  after  the 
letter  D,  Tau  —  the  last  letter  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet, — another  verse  is 
added,  beginning  with  the  letter  D, 
Plie.  "We  cannot  account  for  these 
variations.  Capellus  supposes  that  it 
arises  from  the  haste  and  want  of  atten- 
tion of  transcribers,  and  suggests  a  plan 
by  which  the  alphabetical  arrangement 
in  this  psalm  could  be  restored  to  proper 
order.  See  Rosenmuller,  Scholia  in  Ps. 
xxv.,  p.  633.  J.  H.  Michaelis  supposes 
that  the  authors  of  the  psalm  allowed  to 
themselves  some  liberty  in  the  arrange- 
ment, and  that  the  proper  letter  of  the 
alphabet  was  sometimes  in  the  middle  of 
the  verse  rather  than  at  the  beginning. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  assign  the  reasons 
which  may  have  existed  for  the  want  of 
perfect  regularity  in  the  composition  of 
the  psalm,  and  the  deviations  from  the 
exact  alphabetical  order  which  occur. 
Those  deviations  are  very  slight,  and  do 
not  affect  the  general  character  of  the 
composition.  Of  course  this  poetic 
beauty  cannot  be  perceived  in  a  trans- 
lation, and  must  be  lost  to  all  except  to 
Hebrew  scholars. 

The  general  plan  of  these  psalms  seems 
to  be,  not  to  follow  out  one  particular 
thought,  or  to  dwell  on  one  subject,  but 
to  bring  together  such  independent  ex- 
pressions of  pious  feeling  as  could  be 
conveniently  arranged  in  this  manner. 
Accordingly  in  the  psalm  before  us  we 
have  a  considerable  variety  of  subjects 
introduced, — all  suggestive,  or  all  in- 
dicating the  kind  of  thoughts  which  will 
pass  through  a  pious  mind  in  moments  of 
relaxation,  and  unbending,  when  the 
thoughts  are  allowed  to  flow  freely  or 
without  restraint  from  the  will.  The 
current  of  thought  in  such  moments  is 
often  a  more  sure  indication  of  the  true 
state  of  the  heart,  and  of  the  real  cha- 
racter, than  what  occurs  in  our  more 
studied  and  laboured  habits  of  flunking ; 
and  a  man  may  often  look  to  these  trains 
of  thought  as  most  certainly  indicating 
the  actual  condition  of  his  heart. 

Among  the  thoughts  thus  suggesting 


themselves  to  the  mind  of  the  psalmist 
in  this  season  of  relaxation,  and  as  in- 
dicating the  real  state  of  his  heart,  the 
following  may  be  noticed  : — 

(1)  Confident  trust  in  God,  and  a 
feeling  that  that  trust  would  not  be 
disappointed,  vers.  1-3. 

(2)  A  desire  to  be  led  in  the  way  of 
truth,  vers.  4,  5. 

(3)  A  desire  that  God,  in  his  treat- 
ment of  him,  would  remember  His  own 
merciful  character,  and  not  the  sins  of 
the  psalmist,  vers.  6,  7. 

(4)  A  belief  that  God  will  guide  those 
who  trust  him,  vers.  8,  9. 

(5)  Confidence  in  God  in  all  his  ways, 
ver.  10. 

(6)  Prayer  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  ver. 

(7)  An  expression  of  belief  that  God 
will  teach  and  guide  those  who  fear  lrim, 
vers.  12,  13. 

(8)  The  assurance  that  the  secret  of 
the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him, 
ver.  14. 

(9)  Prayer  for  deliverance  from  all 
trouble,  vers.  15-21. 

(10)  Prayer  for  the  redemption  of  the 
people  of  God ;  for  their  complete  de- 
liverance from  evil ;  for  the  salvation  of 
the  church,  ver.  22. 

The  psalm  thus  expresses  the  feelings 
of  a  pious  mind  when  running  over  a 
great  variety  of  subjects,  apparently 
with  little  connexion,  or  united  only  by 
a  very  slender  thread  of  association ; 
such  thoughts  as  occur  to  one  when  the 
mind  is  allowed  a  free  range,  and  fol- 
lows out  easy  suggestions  with  no  great 
effort  to  restrain  the  mind  by  the  stricter 
rules  of  thinking,  or  when  the  mind 
allows  itself  to  be  easily  drawn  along 
from  one  subject  to  another,  and  finds, 
in  each  one  that  occurs,  something  to  be 
thankful  for;  or  to  pray  for.;  or  to  re- 
joice over;  or  to  anticipate  with  plea- 
sure ;  or  to  hope  for ;  or  to  be  penitent 
for ;  or  to  contemplate  with  gratitude 
and  love.  The  thoughts  of  wicked  men, 
when  their  minds  are  thus  unbent  and 
unstrung,  recur  to  images  of  pollution 
and  sin ;  they  gloat  over  past  indul- 
gences ;  the)'  recall  the  images  of  sensual 
pleasures ;  they  bring  before  the  fancy 
new  and  untried  scenes  of  pollution ; 
they  revel  in  the  anticipated  pleasures 
of  gaiety  and  sensuality.  Perhaps  there 
is  nothing  that  more  clearly  indicates  the 
real  state  of  a  man's  heart  than  t lie  kind 
of  recollections,  imaginings,  and  anticipa- 
tions into  which  the  mind  falls  in  such 
a  relaxed,  or  whet  some  might  call  an 


PSALM  XXV. 


221 


PSALM  XXV. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

TTNTO  thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  lift 
^    up  my  soul. 
2  O  my  God,  I  trust  in  thee : 

i  Ps.  xxii.  4,  5  ;  Isa.  xlix.  23. 


let  me  not  be  ashamed ;  *  let  not 
mine  enemies  triumph  over  me. 

3  Yea,  let  none  that  wait  on 
thee  be  ashamed :  let  them  be 
ashamed  which  transgress  with- 
out cause. 


idle,  state  of  the  mind ;—  just  as  we 
judge  of  a  stream  when  it  flows  gently 
as  left  to  its  own  course,  not  when  it  is 
dammed  up,  or  forced  into  new  channels, 
or  swelled  by  rains,  or  made  into  arti- 
ficial rills  and  water-falls,  or  employed 
to  turn  mills,  or  diverted,  contrary  to  its 
natural  flow,  even  into  beautiful  gardens. 

1.  Unto  thee,  0  Lord,  do  I  lift  up 
my  soul.  In  meditation;  in  grati- 
tude ;  in  praise.  The  idea  is,  that  the 
thoughts  are  lifted  up  from  earth  and 
earthly  subjects  to  God.  This  is  the 
beginning  of  the  meditation;  this  gives 
character,  pei-haps,  to  the  psalm.  The 
state  of  mind  is  that  of  one  who  turns 
cheerfully  away  from  earthly  themes, 
and  opens  his  mind  to  more  lofty  and 
hallowed  influences.  The  mind  begins 
with  God ;  and,  beginning  with  this, 
the  current  of  thought  is  allowed  to 
flow  on,  gathering  up  such  ideas  as 
would  come  in  under  this  general 
purpose.  Opening  the  mind  to  this 
influence,  thoughts  would  flow  in  upon 
the  soul  embracing  a  wide  range,  and 
perhaps  not  very  closely  connected 
among  themselves,  but  all  of  which 
would  be  fitted  to  raise  the  heart  to 
God  in  meditation,  thankfulness,  and 
praise. 

2.  0  my  God,  I  trust  in  thee.  This 
is  the  first  thought, — a  feeling  that  he 
had  true  confidence  in  God,  and  that 
in  all  the  duties  of  life,  in  all  his 
trials,  and  in  all  his  hopes  for  the 
future,  his  reliance  was  on  God  alone. 
If  Let  me  not  be  ashamed.  That  is, 
let  me  never  be  so  forsaken  by  thee  as 
to  have  occasion  for  shame  that  I  have 
thus  trusted  in  thee.  The  prayer  is 
not  that  he  might  never  be  ashamed 
to  avow  and  confess  his  trust  in  God, 
but  that  he  might  find  God  to  be 
such  a  helper  and  friend  that  he 
might  never  be  ashamed  on  account 
of  the  trust  which  he  had  put  in  him, 


as  if  it  had  been  a  false  reliance  ;  that 
he  might  not  be  disappointed,  and 
made  to  feel  that  he  had  done  a  foolish 
thing  in  confiding  in  one  who  was  not 
able  to  help  him.  See  the  word  ex- 
plained in  the  Notes  on  Job  vi.  20. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxx.  5 ;  Jer.  viii.  9 ;  xiv. 
3,  4.  ^f  Let  not  mine  enemies  triumph 
over  me.  This  explains  what  the 
psalmist  meant  by  his  prayer  that  he 
might  not  be  ashamed,  or  put  to 
shame.  He  prayed  that  he  might 
not  be  vanquished  by  his  foes,  and 
that  it  might  not  appear  that  he  had 
trusted  in  a  Being  who  was  unable  to 
defend  him.  Applied  now  to  us,  the 
prayer  would  imply  a  desire  that  we 
may  not  be  so  overcome  by  our  spiritual 
foes  as  to  bring  dishonour  on  ourselves 
and  on  the  cause  which  we  profess  to 
love ;  that  we  may  not  be  held  up  to 
the  world  as  those  who  are  unable  to 
maintain  the  warfare  of  faith,  and 
exposed  to  scorn  as  those  who  are  un- 
faithful to  their  trust ;  that  we  may 
not  be  so  forsaken,  so  left  to  trial 
without  consolation,  so  given  over  to 
sadness,  melancholy,  or  despair,  as  to 
leave  the  world  to  say  that  reliance 
on  God  is  vain,  and  that  there  is  no 
advantage  in  being  his  friends. 

3.  Yea,  let  none  that  wait  on  thee 
be  ashamed.  To  "  wait  on  the  Lord" 
is  an  expression  denoting  true  piety, 
as  indicating  our  dependence  on  him, 
and  as  implying  that  we  look  to  him 
for  the  command  that  is  to  regulate 
our  conduct  and  for  the  grace  needful 
to  protect  and  save  us.  Comp.  Isa. 
xl.  31.  See  also  Isa.  viii.  17  ;  xxx.  18 ; 
Ps.  xl.  1;  lxix.  3.  This  petition* is 
indicative  of  the  wish  of  the  pious 
heart  that  none  who  profess  to  serve 
God  may  ever  be  put  to  shame  ;  that 
they  may  never  be  overcome  by  sin ; 
that  they  may  never  fall  under  the 
power  of  temptation ;  that  they  may 


222 


PSALM  XXV. 


4  Show  *  me    thy  "ways,    O 
Lord  ;  teach  me  thy  paths. 

5  Lead  me  in  thy  truth,  and 

k  Isa.  ii.  3  j  Jer.  1.  5. 


not  fail  of  eternal  salvation.  %  Let 
them  he  ashamed  ichich  transgress 
without  cause.  This  does  not  imply 
that  any  sinners  transgress  otherwise 
than  without  cause,  or  that  they  have 
any  good  reason  for  sinning ;  but  it 
brings  into  view  a  prominent  thought 
in  regard  to  sin,  that  it  is  without 
cause.  If  the  wicked  had  any  good 
reason  for  their  course  of  life, — if  they 
were  compelled  to  do  wrong, — if  the 
temptations  under  which  they  act 
were  so  powerful  that  they  could  not 
resist  them, — if  they  were  not  volun- 
tary in  their  transgressions, —  then 
true  benevolence  would  demand  of  us 
the  prayer  that  they  might  not  be 
confounded  or  put  to  shame.  But  as 
none  of  these  circumstances  occur  in 
the  case  of  the  sinner,  there  is  no 
want  of  benevolence  in  praying  that 
all  the  workers  of  evil  may  be  put  to 
confusion ;  that  is,  that  they  may 
not  triumph  in  an  evil  course,  but  that 
their  plans  may  be  defeated,  and  that 
they  may  be  arrested  in  their  career. 
There  is  no  benevolence  in  desiring 
the  triumph  of  wickedness ;  there  is 
no  want  of  benevolence  in  praying 
that  all  the  plans  of  wicked  men  may 
be  confounded,  and  all  the  purposes 
of  evil  be  frustrated.  True  benevo- 
lence requires  us  to  pray  that  all 
their  plans  may  be  arrested,  and  that 
the  sinner  may  not  be  successful  in 
his  career.  A  man  may  be  certain 
that  he  is  acting  out  the  principles  of 
benevolence  when  he  endeavours  to 
prevent  the  consummation  of  the 
plans  and  the  desires  of  the  wicked. 

4.  Show  me  thy  ways,  O  Lc-KD. 
The  "  ways  "  of  God  are  his  methods 
of  administering  the  affairs  of  the 
world;  his  dispensations;  the  rules 
which  he  has  prescribed  for  himself  in 
the  execution  of  his  plans ;  the  great 
laws  by  which  he  governs  the  uni- 
verse. Deut.  xxxii.  4,  "  All  his  ways 
are  judgment;  a  God  of  truth  and 
without  iniquity,  just   and   right   is 


teach  me :  for  thou  art  the  God 
of  my  salvation;  on  thee  do  I 
wait  all  the  day. 


he."  The  prayer  of  the  psalmist  is, 
that  he  may  be  able  to  understand 
the  methods  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment; the  principles  on  which  God 
bestows  happiness  and  salvation  ;  the 
rules  which  he  has  been  pleased  to 
prescribe  for  human  conduct ;  the  ar- 
rangements by  which  he  confers  fa- 
vours on  mankind;  the  scheme  by 
which  he  saves  men.  The  idea  evi- 
dently is  that  he  might  understand  so 
much  of  this  as  to  regulate  his  own 
conduct  aright;  that  he  might  not 
lean  to  his  own  understanding,  or 
trust  to  his  own  guidance,  but  that 
he  might  ever  be  under  the  guidance 
and  direction  of  God.  %  Teach  me 
thy  paths.  The  paths  which  thou 
dost  take;  to  wit,  as  before,  in  ad- 
ministering the  affairs  of  the  world. 
The  prayer  is  expressive  of  a  desire 
to  be  wholly  under  the  direction  of 
God. 

5.  Lead  me  in  thy  truth.  In  the 
way  which  thou  regardest  as  truth, 
or  which  thou  seest  to  be  true.  Trutli 
is  eternal  and  unchanging:.  What 
God  sees  and  regards  as  truth  is  true, 
for  he  sees  things  as  they  are ;  and 
when  we  have  the  Divine  estimate  of 
anything,  we  understand  what  the 
thing  is.  It  is  not  that  he  makes  it 
to  be  true,  but  that  he  sees  it  to  be 
true.  Such  is  the  perfection  of  his 
nature  that  we  have  the  utmost  as- 
surance that  what  God  regards  as 
truth  is  truth  ;  what  he  proclaims  to 
be  right  is  right.  It  is  then  His 
truth,  as  he  adopts  it  for  the  rule  of  his* 
own  conduct,  and  makes  it  known  to 
his  creatures  to  guide  them.  %  And 
teach  me.  As  this  would  be  under- 
stood by  the  psalmist,  it  would  be  a 
prayer  that  God  would  teach  him  by 
his  law  as  then  made  known ;  by  his 
Spirit  in  the  heart ;  by  the  dispensa- 
tions of  his  providence.  As  appli- 
cable to  us,  it  is  a  prayer  that  he 
would  instruct  us  by  all  the  truths 
then  made  known,  and  all  that  have 


PSALM  XXV. 


223 


6  Remember,  O  Lord,  thy 
l  tender  mercies  and  thy  loving- 
kindnesses  ;  for  they  have  been 
ever  of  old. 

7  Remember  not  the   sins   of 

1  bowels,  Isa.  lxiii.  15. 


my  l  youth,  nor  my  transgres- 
sions :  according  m  to  thy  mercy 
remember  thou  me,  for  thy  good- 
ness' sake,  O  Loud. 


I  Job  xiii.  26. 
m  Ps.  li.  1. 


since  been  revealed ;  by  his  Spirit  in 
its  influences  on  our  hearts ;  by  tbe 
events  which  are  occurring  around 
us;  by  the  accumulated,  truth  of 
ages ; — the  knowledge  which  by  all 
the  methods  he  employs  he  has  im- 
parted to  men  for  their  guidance  and 
direction.  %  For  thou  art  the  God 
of  my  salvation.  The  word  salvation 
is  not  to  be  understood  here  in  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  now  commonly 
used,  as  denoting  deliverance  from 
sin  and  future  ruin,  but  in  the  more 
general  sense  of  deliverance — deliver- 
ance from  danger  and  death.  The 
phrase  is  synonymous  with  preserva- 
tion, and  the  idea  is  that  the  psalmist 
regarded  God  as  his  preserver;  or 
that  he  owed  his  protection  and  safety 
in  the  time  of  danger  to  Him  alone. 
\  On  thee  do  I  tvait.  That  is,  I  rely 
on  thee ;  or,  I  am  dependent  on  thee. 
He  had  no  other  source  of  reliance  or 
dependence.  %  All  the  day.  Con- 
tinually, always.  He  was  really  de- 
pendent on  him  at  all  times,  and  he 
felt  that  dependence.  It  is  always 
true  that  we  are  dependent  on  God 
for  everything  ;  it  is  not  true  that  we 
always  feel  this.  It  was  a  character- 
istic of  the  piety  of  the  psalmist  that 
he  did  feel  this. 

6.  Remember,  0  Lord.  That  is,  In 
thy  future  treatment  of  me,  bring  to 
remembrance  what  thou  hast  done, 
and  treat  me  in  the  same  manner 
still.  The  language  is  that  of  one 
who  felt  that  God  had  always  been 
kind  and  gracious,  and  who  asked  for 
the  future  a  continuance  of  the  fa- 
vours of  the  past.  If  we  would 
recall  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  past, 
we  should  find  enough  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  prayer  in  reference  to 
that  which  is  to  come.  If  we  saw 
and  understood  fully  all  that  has  hap- 
pened to  us,  we  should  need  to  offer 
no  other  prayer  than  that  God  might 


deal  with  us  in  the  future  as  he  has 
done  in  the  past.     %  Thy  tender  mer- 
cies.    Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  thy  bowels. 
The   Hebrew  word  means  the  inner 
parts,  regarded   by  the  Hebrews  as 
the  seat  of  the  affections.     See  Notes 
on  Isa.  xvi.  11.     ^f  And  thy  loving- 
Jcindnesses.   Thy  tokens  of  favour ;  thy 
acts  of  mercy  and  compassion.    %  For 
they  have   been  ever  of  old.      "  For 
from  eternity  are  they."      The  lan- 
guage is  that  of  a  heart  deeply  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  the  goodness 
of  God.      In  looking  .over  his   own 
life,  the  author  of  the  psalm  saw  that 
the  mercies  of  God  had  been  unceasing 
and   constant  towards  him  from  his 
earliest  years.    In  words  expressive  of 
warm  love  and  gratitude,  therefore, 
he  says  that  those  acts  of  mercy  had 
never  failed — had  been  from  eternity. 
His  thoughts  rise  from  the  acts  of  God 
toward  himself  to  the  character  of 
God,  and  to  His  attributes  of  mercy 
and  love ;  and  his  heart  is  full  of  the 
idea  that  God  is  ahvays  good ;  that  it 
belongs  to  His  very  nature  to  do  good. 
7.  Remember  not   the  sins  of  my 
youth.     In  strong  contrast  with  God, 
the  psalmist  brings  forward  his  own 
conduct  and  life.     He  could  ask  of 
God   (ver.  6)  to  remember  His  own 
acts — what  He  himself  had  done ;  but 
could  not  ask  him  to  remember  his 
conduct — his    past    life.     He    could 
only    pray   that  this   might  be  for- 
gotten.    He  did  not  wish  it  to  come 
into  remembrance  before   God ;    he 
could  not  ask  that  God  would  deal 
with    him    according    to   that.     He 
prays,  therefore,  that  he  might  not  be 
visited  as  he  advanced  in  life  with  the 
fruits  of  his  conduct  in  early  years, 
but  that  all  the  offences  of  that  period 
of  his  life  might  be  forgiven  and  for- 
gotten.    Who  is  there   that   cannot 
with  deep  feeling  join  in  this  prayer  ? 
Who  is  there  that  has  reached  the 


221 


PSALM  XXV. 


8  Good  and  upright  is  the 
Lord  :  therefore  will  he  teach 
sinners  in  the  way. 


9  The  meek  will  he  guide  in 
judgment,  and  the  meek  will  he 
teach  his  way. 


period  of  middle  or  advanced  life,  who 
would  be  willing  to  have  the  follies  of 
his  youth,  the  plans,  and  thoughts, 
and  wishes  of  his  early  years  brought 
again  to  remembrance  ?  "Who  would 
be  willing  to  have  recalled  to  his  own 
mind,  or  made  known  to  his  friends, 
to  society  around  him,  or  to  assembled 
worlds,  the  thoughts,  the  purposes, 
the  wishes,  the  imaginings  of  his 
youthful  days  ?  Who  would  dare  to 
pray  that  he  might  be  treated  in 
advancing  years  as  he  treated  God  in 
his  own  early  life  ?  Nay,  who  would 
venture  to  pray  that  God  would  treat 
him  in  the  day  of  judgment  as  he  had 
treated  the  friends  of  his  childhood, 
even  the  father  that  begat  him,  or 
the  mother  that  bare  him  ?  Our  hope 
in  regard  to  the  favour  of  God  is  that 
he  will  not  summon  up  the  thoughts 
and  the  purposes  of  our  early  years ; 
that  he  will  not  treat  us  as  if  he  re- 
membered them ;  but  that  he  will 
treat  us  as  if  they  were  forgotten. 
r  Nor  my  transgressions.  The  sins  of 
my  early  years.  *^  According  to  thy 
mercy  remember  thou  me.  Deal  with 
me,  not  according  to  strict  justice,  but 
according  to  mercv.  Deal  with  me 
indeed  according  to  thy  nature  and 
character;  but  let  the  attribute  of 
mercy  be  that  which  will  be  the 
guide  rather  than  the  attribute  of 
justice.  ^  For  thy  goodness3  sake. 
In  order  that  thy  goodness  or  bene- 
volence may  be  displayedandhonoured 
— not  primarily  and  mainly  that  I 
may  be  saved,  but  that  thy  character 
may  be  seen  to  be  good  and  merciful. 
8.  Good  and  upright  is  the  Loed. 
His  character  is  benevolent,  and  he  is 
Avorthy  of  confidence.  He  is  not 
merely  good,  but  he  is  equal  and  just 
in  his  dealings  with  men.  This  latter 
attribute  is  no  less  a  reason  for  confi- 
dence in  his  character  than  the  former. 
We  need  a  God  who  is  not  merely 
benevolent  and  kind,  but  who  is  just 
and  faithful ;  whose  administration  is 
based  on  principles  of  truth  and  jus- 


tice, and  in  whose  dealings,  therefore, 
his  creatures  can  repose  unlimited 
confidence.  %  Therefore  v:ill  he 
teach  sinners.  Because  he  is  good 
and  upright,  we  may  approach  him 
with  the  assurance  that  he  will  guide 
us  aright.  His  goodness  may  be 
relied  on  as  furnishing  evidence  that 
he  will  be  disposed  to  do  this ;  his 
uprightness  as  furnishing  the  assur- 
ance that  the  path  in  which  he  will 
lead  us  will  be  the  best  path.  We 
could  not  rely  on  mere  benevolence, 
for  it  might  lack  wisdom  and  firm- 
ness, or  might  lack  power  to  execute 
its  own  purposes ;  we  can  rely  on  it 
when  it  is  connected  with  a  character 
that  is  infinitely  upright,  and  an  arm 
that  is  infinitely  mighty.  ^[  In  the 
icay.  In  the  right  way — the  way  in 
which  they  should  go,  the  path  of 
truth,  of  happiness,  of  salvation. 

9.  The  meeJc  will  he  guide.  The 
humble,  the  teachable,  the  prayerful, 
the  gentle  of  spirit — those  who  are 
willing  to  learn.  A  proud  man  who 
supposes-  that  he  already  knows 
enough  cannot  be  taught ;  a  haughty 
man  who  has  no  respect  for  others, 
cannot  learn  of  them  ;  a  man  who  is 
willing  to  believe  nothing  cannot  be 
instructed.  The  first  requisite,  there- 
fore, in  the  work  of  religion,  as  in  re- 
spect to  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  is  a 
meek  and  docile  spirit.  See  Matt. 
xviii.  3.  %  In  judgment.  In  a  right 
judgment  or  estimate  of  things.  It  is 
not  merely  in  the  administration  of 
justice,  or  in  doing  right,  but  it  is  in 
judging  of  truth;  of  duty;  of  the 
value  of  objects;  of  the  right  way  to 
live  ;  of  all  on  which  the  mind  can 
be  called  to  exercise  judgment,  or  to 
come  to  a  decision.  •"  And  the  meek  will 
he  teach  his  icay.  The  way  in  which 
he  would  have  them  to  go.  The 
methods  by  which  God  does  this  are 
(1)  By  his  word  or  law,  (a)  laying 
down  there  the  principles  which  are 
to  guide  human  conduct,  and  (b)  in 
numerous    cases    furnishing    specific 


PSALM  XXV. 


225 


10  All  the  paths  of  the  Lord 
are  mercy  and  truth  unto  such 
"  as  keep  his  covenant  and  his 
testimonies. 

n  Hos.  xiv.  9. 


rules  for  directing  our  conduct  in  the 
relations  of  life  ;  (2)  by  his  Spirit,  (a) 
disposing  the  mind  to  candour,  (b) 
enlightening  it  to  see  the  truth,  and 
(c)  making  it  honest  and  sincere  in 
its  inquiries;  (3)  by  his  providence, 
— often  indicating,  in  an  unexpected 
manner,  to  those  who  are  sincere  in 
their  inquiries  after  truth  and  duty, 
what  he  would  have;  them  to  do ;  and 
(4)  by  the  advice  and  counsel  of  those 
who  have  experience, — the  aged  and 
the  wise, — those  who  have  themselves 
been  placed  in  similar  circumstances, 
or  who  have  passed  through  the  same 
perplexities  and  embarrassments.  By 
all  these  methods  a  man  who  goes 
to  God  in  humble  prayer,  and  with 
a  proper  sense  of  dependence,  may 
trust  that  he  will  be  guided  aright ; 
and  it  is  not  probable  that  a  case  could 
occur  in  which  one  who  should  honestly 
seek  for  guidance  by  these  helps,  might 
not  feel  assured  that  God  would  lead 
him  aright.  Having  used  these  means, 
a  man  may  feel  assured  that  God  will 
not  leave  him  to  error. 

10.  All  the  paths  of  the  Loed. 
All  the  ways  that  the  Lord  takes ;  all 
that  he  commands ;  all  that  he  does. 
The  "  paths  of  the  Lord  "  denote  the 
course  in  which  he  himself  walks,  or 
his  dealings  with  his  creatures.  In 
the  previous  verse,  the  psalmist  had 
said  that  the  Lord  would  teach  His 
way  to  the  "  meek  ;"  he  now  says  that 
all  His  ways  are  ways  of  mercy  and  of 
truth  ;  or  that  all  will  be  found  to  be 
in  the  direction  of  mercy  and  of 
truth.  %  Are  mercy  and  truth.  In 
all  his  dealings  with  those  who  "  keep 
his  covenant"  he  shows  himself  to 
be  at  the  same  time  merciful  and 
true  : — compassionate  towards  then- 
errors;  faithful  to  his  own  promises. 
1i  To  such  as  keep  his  covenant.  To 
those  who  are  his  friends;  to  those 
who  are  faithful  to  him.  This  ex- 
pression is  often  used  to  denote  those 


11  For  o  thy  name's  sake,  O 
Lord,  pardon  mine  iniquity ;  for 
it  is  p  great. 

o  Ps.  lxxix.  9 ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  22,  32  ;  1  Jolin 
ii.  12.  p  Horn.  v.  15 — 21. 


who  are  the  true  people  of  God, 
Gen.  xvii.  9,  10;  Ex.  xix.  5;  Deut. 
xxix.  9;  Ps.  cxxxii.  12.  The  word 
covenant  here  is  equivalent  to  com- 
mand or  laiv  ;  and  the  idea  is,  that  if 
they  keep  his  laws  they  will  find  him 
to  be  merciful  and  true.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  covenant,  see 
Notes  on  Acts  vii.  8;  Heb.  viii.  8; 
ix.  16,  17.  %  And  his  testimonies. 
The  word  testimony  in  the  Scripture, 
in  this  connexion,  refers  to  that  to 
which  God  bears  witness  as  true ;  or 
that  which  he  has  declared  to  be 
truth.  In  this  sense  the  phrase 
means  here  those  who  maintain  his 
truth  ;  or  who  abide  by  what  he  has 
pronounced  to  be  true.  The  word  is 
very  often  used  in  the  Scriptures  to 
denote  the  truth  of  God  and  the 
commandments  of  God.  In  all  such 
cases  there  is  the  underlying  idea 
that  the  command  or  the  statement 
referred  to  is  that  to  which  God  bears 
witness  as  true  or  right. 

11.  For  thy  name's  sake,  0  Loed. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxiii.  3.  The  idea 
here  is  that  God  would  do  this  on  his 
own  account,  or  for  the  honour  of  his 
own  name.  This  is  a  reason,  and  one 
of  the  main  reasons,  why  God  ever 
pardons  iniquity.  It  is  that  the 
honour  of  his  name  may  be  pro- 
moted; that  his  glorious  character 
may  be  displayed ;  that  he  may  shoio 
himself  to  the  universe  to  be  merciful 
and  gracious.  There  are,  doubtless, 
other  reasons  why  he  pardons  sin — 
reasons  drawn  from  the  bearing  which 
the  act  of  mercy  will  have  on  the 
welfare  of  the  universe ;  but  still  the 
main  reason  is,  that  his  own  honour 
will  thus  be  promoted,  and  his  true 
character  thus  made  known.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  xliii.  25 ;  xlviii.  9. 
Comp.  Ps.  vi.  4 ;  and  verse  7  of  this 
psalm.  %  Pardon  mine  iniquity. 
This  prayer  seems  to  have  been  of- 
fered in  view  of  the  remembered 
L2 


226 


PSALM   XXV. 


12  What  man  is  he  that  fearetk 
the  Lord  ?  him  ?  shall  he  teach 
in  the  way  that  he  shall  choose. 

q  Ps.  xxxii.U;  xxxvii.  23. 


transgressions  of  his  early  years,  ver. 
7.  These  recollected  sins  apparently 
pressed  npon  his  mind  all  through 
the  psalm,  and  were  the  main  reason 
of  the  supplications  which  occur  in 
it.  Comp.  vers.  16—18.  %  For  it 
is  great.  As  this  translation  stands, 
the  fact  that  his  sin  was  great  was  a 
reason  why  God  should  pardon  it. 
This  is  a  reason,  because  (a)  it  would 
be  felt  that  the  sin  was  so  great  that 
it  could  not  be  removed  by  any  one 
but  God,  and  that  unless  forgiven  it 
would  sink  the  soul  down  to  death ; 
and  (b)  because  the  mere  fact  of  its 
magnitude  would  tend  to  illustrate 
the  mercy  of  the  Lord.  Undoubtedly 
these  are  reasons  why  we  may  pray 
for  the  forgiveness  of  sin ;  but  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  this  is  the  exact 
idea  of  the  psalmist,  and  whether  the 
word  although  would  not  better  ex- 
press the  true  sense, — "although  it 
is  great."  It  is  true  that  the  general 
sense  of  the  particle  here  rendered 
"  for  " — s3,  ki — is  because  or  since  ; 
but  it  may  also  mean  although,  as  in 
Ex.  xiii.  17,  "  God  led  them  not  the 
way  through  the  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines, although  —  (^3)  —  that  was 
near,"  i.  e.  that  was  nearest,  or  was 
the  most  direct  way.  So  in  Deut. 
xxix.  19,  "  I  shall  have  peace,  though 
—  OH) — I  walk  in  the  imagination 
of  mine  heart."  Also  Josh.  xvii.  18, 
"  Thou  shalt  drive  out  the  Canaanites, 
though  —  (N3) — they  have  iron  cha- 
riots, and  though  they  be  strong." 
Thus  understood,  the  prayer  of  the 
psalmist  here  is,  that  God  would  par- 
don his  offences  although  they  were 
so  great.  His  mind  is  fixed  on  the 
greatness  of  the  offences ;  on  the  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  pardon ;  on  his 
owti  unworthiness ;  on  the  fact  that 
he  had  no  claim  to  mercy  ;  and  he 
presents  this  strong  and  earnest  plea 
that  God  would  have  mercy  on  him  al- 
though his  sins  were  so  numerous  and 


13  His  soul  shall  l  dwell  at 
ease ;  and  his  seed  shall  inherit 
r  the  earth. 

1  lodge  in  goodness.      r  Ps.  xxxvii.  11,  22. 


so  aggravated.  In  this  prayer  all  can 
join ;  this  is  a  petition  the  force  of 
which  all  true  penitents  deeply  feel. 

12.  What  man  is  he.  Who  is  he. 
The  statement  in  this  verse  is  in- 
tended to  include  every  man ;  or  to 
be  universal.  Wherever  one  is  found 
who  has  the  character  here  referred 
to,  or  whoever  he  may  be,  of  him 
what  is  here  affirmed  will  be  true, 
that  God  will  lead  him  in  the  way 
that  he  shall  choose.  H  That  feareth 
the  Loed.  That  is,  a  true  worshipper 
of  Jehovah,  or  that  is  truly  a  pious 
man  :  Ps.  v.  7.  %  Him  shall  he  teach. 
He  will  guide,  or  instruct  him.  See 
ver.  9.  %  In  the  way  that  he  shall 
choose.  The  way  that  the  man  ought 
to  choose ;  or,  in  other  words,  in  the 
right  way.  It  is  not  the  way  that 
God  shall  choose,  but  the  way  that 
the  pious  inan  ought  to  choose :  God 
will  so  instruct  him  that  he  shall  find 
the  true  path. 

13.  Sis  soul  shall  dwell  at  ease. 
Marg.,  shall  lodge  in  goodness.  So 
the  Hebrew.  The  idea  is  that  of  one 
at  home ;  one  who  finds  a  comfortable 
and  safe  resting-place ;  one  who  is  not 
a  wanderer  or  a  vagrant.  The  word 
rendered  in  the  text  at  ease,  and  in 
the  margin  goodness,  means  good; 
and  the  idea  is  that  of  a  good  or  safe 
condition  as  compared  with  that  of 
one  who  wanders  abroad  without  a 
shelter,  or  of  one  who  has  lost  his 
way,  and  has  no  one  to  guide  him. 
As  contrasted  with  such  an  one,  he 
who  fears  God,  and  who  seeks  his 
guidance  and  direction,  will  be  like  a 
man  in  his  own  comfortable  and  quiet 
home.  The  one  is  a  condition  of 
safety  and  of  ease;  the  other,  a  con- 
dition of  anxiety,  doubt,  trouble. 
Nothing  could  better  describe  the 
calmness,  peace,  and  conscious  se- 
curity of  the  man  who  has  found  the 
truth  and  who  serves  God, — as  com- 
pared with  the  state  of  that  man  who 


PSALM   XXV. 


227 


14  The  secret s  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that  fear  him;  and 
1  he  will  show  them  his  covenant. 

15  Mine  eyes  are  ever  toward 

s  Prow  iii.  32  ;  John  vii.  17  ;  Eph.  i.  9, 18. 

1  Or,  his  covenant  to  make  them  know  it. 

2  bring  forth. 


the  Lord  ;  for  he  shall 2  pluck 
my  feet  out  of  the  '  net. 

16  Turn  «  thee  unto  me,  and 
have  mercy  upon  me ;  for  I  am 
desolate  and  afflicted. 


t  Ps.  cxxiv.  7, 8. 


w  Mic.  vii.  19. 


has  no  religion,  no  fear  of  God,  no 
hope  of  heaven,  ^  And  his  seed. 
His  posterity;  his  family.  %  Shall 
inherit  the  earth.  Originally  this 
promise  referred  to  the  land'  of  Ca- 
naan, as  a  promise  connected  with 
obeying  the  law  of  God :  Ex.  xx.  12. 
It  came  then  to  he  synonymous  with 
outward  worldly  prosperity ;  with 
length  of  days,  and  happiness  in  the 
earth.  See  it  explained  in  the  Notes 
on  Matt.  v.  5. 

14.  The  secret  of  the  Loed.  On 
the  word  here  rendered  secret,  see 
Notes  on  Job  xv.  8.  It  properly 
means  a  couch  or  cushion ;  and  then, 
a  divan  or  circle  of  friends  sitting 
together ;  then,  deliberation  or  con- 
sultation ;  then,  familiar  intercourse, 
intimacy;  and  then,  a  secret, — as  if 
it  were  the  result  of  a  private  con- 
sultation among  friends,  or  something 
which  pertained  to  them,  and  which 
they  did  not  wish  to  have  known.  It 
is  rendered  secret  in  Gen.  xlix.  6  ;  Job 
xv.  8;  xxix.  4;  Ps.  xxv.  14;  Prov. 
iii.  32 ;  xi.  13 ;  xx.  19 ;  xxv.  9  ;  Amos 
iii.  7  ; — counsel  in  Ps.  lv.  14 ;  lxiv.  2; 
lxxxiii.  3  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  18,  22 ; — and 
assembly  in  Ps.  lxxxix.  7 ;  cxi.  1 ;  Jer. 
vi.  11;  xv.  17;  Ezek.  xiii.  9.  The 
word  friendship  would  perhaps  ex- 
press the  meaning  here.  The  sense 
is,  that  those  who  fear  the  Lord  are 
admitted  to  the  intimacy  of  friendship 
with  him ;  are  permitted  to  come  into 
his  presence,  and  to  partake  of  his 
counsels;  are  allowed  free  access  to 
him  ;  or,  as  it  is  more  commonly  ex- 
pressed, have  felloivship  with  him. 
Comp.  1  John  i.  3.  The  language  is 
such  as  would  be  applied  to  the  in- 
timacy of  friends,  or  to  those  who 
take  counsel  together.  The  language 
belongs  to  a  large  class  of  expressions 
denoting  the  close  connexion  between 
God  and  his  people,     ^f   With  them 


that  fear  him.  With  those  who  truly 
and  properly  reverence  him,  or  who 
are  his  true  worshippers :  Ps.  v.  7 ; 
Job  i.  1.  %  And  he  will  show  them 
his  covenant.  Marg.,  And  his  covenant 
to  make  them  know  it.  The  meaning 
is,  that  God  will  impart  to  them  the 
true  knowledge  of  his  covenant;  or, 
in  other  words,  he  will  enable  them  to 
understand  what  there  is  in  that 
covenant,  or  in  its  gracious  provisions, 
that  is  adapted  to  promote  their 
happiness  and  salvation.  The  word 
covenant  here  is  the  same  term  which 
is  commonly  used  to  describe  the 
arrangements  which  God  has-  made 
for  the  salvation  of  men  :  see  ver.  10. 
Whatever  there  is  in  that  arrange- 
ment to  promote  the  happiness  and 
salvation  of  his  people,  he  will  cause 
them  to  understand. 

15.  Mine  eyes  are  ever  toward  the 
Loed.  This  is  an  indication  of  the 
habitual  state  of  mind  of  the  psalmist. 
He  had  said  that  God  would  lead  and 
guide  those  who  were  meek,  gentle, 
teachable,  humble ;  and  he  now  says 
that  this  was  his  habitual  state  of  mind. 
He  constantly  looked  to  God.  He 
sought  his  direction.  In  perplexity, 
in  doubt,  in  difficulty,  in  danger,  in 
view  of  death  and  the  future  world, 
he  looked  to  God  as  his  guide.  In 
other  words,  in  reference  to  himself, 
he  carried  out  the  principles  which 
he  had  stated  as  constituting  true 
religion.  It  was  a  religion  of  depend- 
ence on  God,  for  man's  only  hope  is 
in  him.     %  For  he  shall  pluck  my 

feet  out  of  the  net.  Marg.,  bring 
forth.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  15, 16; 
x.  9.  The  net  here  is  that  which  had 
been  laid  for  him  by  the  wicked.  He 
trusted  in  God  alone  to  deliver  him 
from  it. 

16.  Turn  thee  unto  me.  The  He- 
brew rather  means   look  upon    me. 


£23 


PSALM   XXV. 


17  The  troubles  of  niy  heart 
are  "  enlarged :  0  bring  thou  me 
out  of  my  distresses. 

«  Hab.  iii.  17—19. 


The  idea,  however,  is  that  the  face  of 
God  was,  as  it  were,  turned  in  another 
direction,  or  that  he  was  not  attentive 
to  him ;  and  he  prays  that  he  would 
turn  and  behold  him ;  that  he  would 
see  him  in  his  trouble,  %  And  have 
mercy  upon  me.  The  psalmist  seems 
to  have  felt  that  if  God  would  look 
upon  him  he  would  pity  him.  He 
would  see  his  case  to  be  so  sad  that 
he  would  show  him  compassion, — as, 
when  we  see  an  object  of  distress, 
"the  eye  affects  the  heart."  %  For 
I  am  desolate.  The  word  here  ren- 
dered desolate — *VTVi>ya'hliid — means 
properly  one  alone,  only ;  and  then, 
one  who  is  alone,  or  who  is  solitary, 
forsaken,  wretched.  There  is  no 
deeper  sadness  that  ever  comes  over 
the  mind  than  the  idea  that  we  are 
alone  in  the  world  ;  that  we  have  not 
a  friend ;  that  no  one  cares  for  us ; 
that  no  one  is  concerned  about  any- 
thing that  may  happen  to  us ;  that 
no  one  would  care  if  we  should  die ; 
that  no  one  would  shed  a  tear  over 
our  grave.  %  And  afflicted.  In  what 
way  we  do  not  know.  David,  how- 
ever, was  very  often  in  circumstances 
when  he  could  use  this  language. 
The  other  parts  of  the  psalm  show 
that  the  "  affliction  "  to  which  he  here 
refers  was  that  which  arose  from  the 
recollection  of  the  sins  of  his  early 
life,  and  from  the  designs  and  pur- 
poses of  his  enemies. 

17.  The  troubles  of  my  heart.  The 
sorrows  which  spring  upon  the  heart, 
— particularly  from  the  recollections 
of  sin.  %  Are  enlarged.  Have  be- 
come great.  They  increased  the  more 
he  reflected  on  the  sins  of  his  life. 
%  O  briny  thou  me  out  of  my  dis- 
tresses.  Alike  from  my  sins,  and  from 
the  dangers  which  surround  me. 
These  two  things,  external  trouble 
and  the  inward  consciousness  of  guilt, 
are  not  infrequently  combined.  Out- 
ward trouble  has  a  tendency  to  bring 
up  the  remembrance  of  past  trans- 


18  Look  upon  mine  affliction 
and  my  pain  ;  and  forgive  all  my 
sins. 

19  Consider  mine  enemies;  for 


gressions,  and  to  suggest  the  inquiry 
whether  the  affliction  is  not  a  Divine 
visitation  for  sin.  Any  one  source 
of  sorrow  may  draw  along  numerous 
others  in  its  train.  The  laws  of  asso- 
ciation are  such  that  when  the  mind 
rests  on  one  source  of  joy,  and  is  made 
cheerful  by  that,  numerous  other  bless- 
ings will  be  suggested  to  increase 
the  joy;  and  when  one  great  sorrow 
has  taken  possession  of  the  soul,  all 
the  lesser  sorrows  of  the  past  life 
cluster  around  it,  so  that  we  seem  to 
ourselves  to  be  wholly  abandoned  by 
God  and  by  man. 

18.  Look  upon  mine  affliction  and 
my  pain.  See  ver.  16.  This  is  a 
repetition  of  earnest  pleading — as  if 
God  still  turned  away  from  him,  and 
did  not  deign  to  regard  him.  In 
trouble  and  distress  piety  thus  pleads 
with  God,  and  repeats  the  earnest 
supplication  for  his  help.  Though 
God  seems  not  to  regard  the  prayer, 
faith  does  not  fail,  but  renews  the 
supplication,  confident  that  he  will 
yet  hear  and  save,  *fi  And  forgive 
all  my  sins.  The  mind,  as  above  re- 
marked, connects  trouble  and  sin  to- 
gether. "When  we  are  afflicted,  we 
naturally  inquire  whether  the  afflic- 
tion is  not  on  account  of  some  parti- 
cular transgressions  of  which  we  have 
been  guilty ;  and  even  when  we  can- 
not trace  any  direct  connexion  with 
sin,  affliction  suggests  the  general  fact 
that  we  are  sinners,  and  that  all  our 
troubles  are  originated  by  that  fact. 
One  of  the  benefits  of  affliction, 
therefore,  is  to  call  to  our  remem- 
brance our  sins,  and  to  keep  before 
the  mind  the  fact  that  we  are  viola- 
tors of  the  law  of  God.  This  con- 
nexion between  suffering  and  sin,  in 
the  sense  that  the  one  naturally  sug- 
gests the  other,  was  more  than  once 
illustrated  in  the  miracles  wrought 
by  the  Saviour.     See  Matt.  ix.  2. 

19.    Consider   mine   enemies.      See 
ver.  2.     It  is  evident  that  one  source 


PSALM  XXV. 


220 


they  are  many ;    and  they  hate 
me  with  *  cruel  hatred. 

20  O  keep  my  soul,  and  deliver 
me ;  let  me  not  be  ashamed :  for 
I  put  my  trust  in  thee. 

1  hatred  of  violence. 


of  the  trouble  referred  to  in  the  psalm 
was  the  fact  that  he  had  cruel  foes, 
and  that  he  was  apprehensive  of  their 
designs.  The  train  of  thought  seems 
to  he,  in  accordance  with  the  remarks 
above,  that  enemies  actually  sur- 
rounded him,  and  threatened  him, 
and  that  this  fact  suggested  the  in- 
quiry whether  this  was  not  permitted 
on  account  of  his  sins.  This  had  led 
him  to  think  of  the  sins  of  his  past 
life,  going  back  as  far  as  his  youth 
(ver.  7),  as  if  these  calamities,  even 
in  advanced  life,  were  on  account  of 
those  early  offences,  %  For  they  are 
many.  Who  and  what  they  were,  we 
have  now  no  means  of  ascertaining. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  16.  %  And  they 
hate  me  tvith  cruel  hatred.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  hatred  of  violence.  It 
was  such  hatred  as  tended  to  violence ; 
such  that  they  could  not  restrain  it. 
It  sought  his  destruction,  and  was 
ready  to  break  out  at  any  moment. 

20.  O  keep  my  soul.  My  life ;  or, 
keep  me.  The  allusion  is  to  all  the 
perils  which  encompassed  him, 
whether  arising  from  his  foes  or  his 
sins ;  and  the  prayer  is,  that  the 
Divine  protection  might  be  commen- 
surate with  the  danger ;  that  is,  that 
he  might  not  be  destroyed,  either  by 
his  enemies  or  by  the  sins  which  he 
had  committed.  %  And  deliver  me. 
Save  me ;  rescue  me.  ^[  Let  me  not 
be  ashamed.  See  ver.  2.  %  For  I 
put  my  trust  in  thee.  This  is  urged 
as  a  reason  why  he  should  be  delivered 
and  saved.  The  idea  seems  to  be, 
that  the  honour  of  God  would  be  con- 
cerned in  protecting  one  who  fled  to 
him ;  who  confided  in  him  ;  who  re- 
lied on  him.  Thus,  when  the  helpless 
and  the  oppressed  have  so  much  con- 
fidence in  our  character  and  our 
ability  as  to  fly  to  us  in  the  time  of 
trouble,  it  is  a  proper  reason  for  them 


21  Let  integrity  and  upright- 
ness preserve  me ;  for  I  wait  on 
thee. 

22  Redeem  v  Israel,  O  God, 
out  of  all  his  troubles. 

v  Ps.  cxxx.  8. 


to  ask  our  protection  that  they  do 
confide  in  us.  Our  character  becomes 
involved  in  tbe  matter,  and  they  may 
safely  trust  that  we  shall  feel  our- 
selves under  obligations  to  act  in  con- 
formity with  the  confidence  reposed 
in  us.  It  is  thus  that  the  poor  and 
the  oppressed  confide  in  the  good; 
thus  that  a  sinner  confides  in  God. 

21.  Let  integrity  and  uprightness 
preserve  me.  The  word  here  rendered 
integrity  means  properly  perfection. 
See  it  explained  in  the  Notes  on  Job 
i.  1.  The  language  here  may  refer 
either  (a)  to  God — as  denoting  his 
perfection  and  uprightness,  and  then 
the  psalmist's  prayer  would  be  that 
he,  a  righteous  God,  would  keep  him; 
or  (J)  to  his  own  integrity  and  up- 
rightness of  character,  and  then  the 
prayer  would  be  that  that  might  be 
the  means  of  keeping  him,  as  the 
ground  of  his  safety,  under  tbe  go- 
vernment of  a  righteous  God;  or,  (c) 
which  I  think  the  more  probable 
meaning,  it  may  be  the  utterance  of 
a  prayer  that  God  would  show  him- 
self upright  and  perfect  in  protecting 
one  who  put  his  trust  in  him;  one 
who  was  wronged  and  injured  by 
his  fellow-men ;  one  who  fled  to  God 
for  refuge  in  time  of  persecution  and 
trouble.  It  was  not  exactly  the 
Divine  perfections,  as  such,  on  which 
he  relied;  nor  was  it  the  integrity 
and  purity  of  his  own  life ;  but  it 
was  the  government  of  God,  con- 
sidered as  just  and  equal,  as  bearing 
on  himself  and  those  who  had  wronged 
him.  ^  For  I  ivait  on  thee.  That 
is,  I  depend  on  thee,  or  I  rely  on  thee. 
This  is  a  reason  why  he  pleaded  that 
God  would  preserve  him.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  20. 

22.  Redeem  Israel.  Redeem  or 
save  thy  people,  —  the  word  Israel 
here  being  u£ed,as  elsewhere,  to  denote 


230 


PSALM  XXVI. 


the  people?  of  God.  *[  Out  of  all  his 
troubles.  Save  thy  people  from  per- 
secution, and  from  trial  of  all  kinds. 
The  prayer  of  the  psalmist  had,  he- 
fore  this,  related  mainly  to  himself. 
He  had  made  mention  of  his  own 
troubles  and  sorrows,  and  had  earn- 
estly sought  relief.  The  psalm,  how- 
ever, closes  appropriately  with  a  re- 
ference to  others;  to  all  the  people 
of  God  who  might  he  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances. Religion  is  not  selfish. 
The  mind  under  the  influence  of  true 
piety,  however  intensely  it  may  feel 
its  own  trouble,  and  however  earnestly 
it  may  pray  for  deliverance,  is  not 
forgetful  of  the  troubles. of  others; 
and  prayers  for  their  comfort  and 
deliverance  are  freely  mingled  with 
those  which  the  afflicted  children  of 
God  offer  for  themselves.  This  verse 
may  be,  therefore,  taken  as  an  illus- 
tration of  the  nature  of  true  piety : 
— piety  that  seeks  the  welfare  of  all; 
piety  that  does  not  terminate  in  it- 
self alone ;  piety  that  desires  the  hap- 
piness of  all  men,  especially  the  de- 
liverance of  the  suffering  and  the  sad. 
It  should,  however,  be  added  that  this 
verse  is  no  part  of  the  alphabetical 
series  in  the  psalm, — that  having  been 
ended,  in  ver.  21,  with  the  last  letter 
of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  This  verse* 
commences  with  the  Hebrew  letter  D, 
P.  Some  have  supposed  that  it 
was  added  to  the  psalm  when  it  was 
prepared  for  public  use,  in  order  to 
make  what  was  at  first  applicable  to 
an  individual  appropriate  as  a  part  of 
public  worship, — or  because  the  sen- 
timents in  the  psalm,  originally  having 
reference  to  one  individual,  were 
as  applicable  to  the  people  of  God 
generally  as  to  the  author  of  the 
psalm.  There  is  some  plausibility  in 
this  conjecture. 

PSALM  XXYL 

The  title  affirms  this  to  be  a  psalm  of 
David,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
the  correctness  of  the  superscription ; 
but  there  are  no  indications  by  which 
we  can  determine  on  what  occasion  it 
was  written. 

It  is  not  difficult,  howeve*,  to  ascertain 


from  its  contents  the  state  of  mind  in 
which   it  was  composed ;  and   as   that 
state  of  mind  is  not  uncommon  among 
those  who  are  the  professed  people  of 
God,  the  psalm  will  be  useful  in  all  ages 
of  the  world.     The  state  of  mind  is  that 
in  which  there  is  deep  solicitude  in  re- 
gard to  personal  piety,  or  on  the  question 
whether  the  evidences  of  our  piety  are 
genuine,  and  are  such  as  Ave  may  rely  on 
as  warranting  our  hope  of  salvation.    In 
this  state  of  mind,  and  under  this  deep 
solicitude,  the  psalmist  appeals  to  God  to 
search  him,  or  to  judge  in  his  case;  he 
then  recounts  the  evidences  on  which  he 
relied  as  a  gi-ound  for  concluding  that  he 
was  trulj-  a  friend  of  God ;  and  then 
expresses  the  earnest  desire  of  his  heart 
to  be  found  among  the  friends  of  God, 
and  not  to  be  united  in  character  or  in 
destiny  with  the  wicked. 

The  psalm,  therefore,  properly  consists 
of  three  parts  :  — 

I.  A  solemn  appeal  to  God,  or  an 
earnest  prayer  that  He  would  examine 
and  judge  of  the  evidences  of  piety  on 
which  the  psalmist  was  accustomed  to 
rely,  vers.  1,  2.  He  was  conscious  of 
integrity  or  uprightness  of  intention,  but 
he  still  'felt  that  there  was  a  possibility 
that  he  might  deceive  himself,  and  he 
therefore  prays  that  God  would  search  his 
heart  and  try  his  reins, — that  He  would 
examine  the  evidences  of  his  personal 
piety,  and  save  him  from  delusion. 

IL  A  statement  of  the  evidences  on 
which  he  relied,  vers.  3-8. 

These  evidences  were  the  following  : 

(1)  That  God's  loving-kindness  was 
before  his  eyes,  and  that  he  had  walked 
in  his  truth,  ver.  3. 

(2)  That  he  had  not  been  the  com- 
panion of  the  wicked,  nor  had  he  de- 
lighted to  associate  Avith  them,  vers.  4,  5. 

(3)  The  desire  of  his  heart  to  approach 
the  altar  of  God  with  purity,  and  to 
celebrate  the  praises  of  God; — or  his 
delight  in  public  worship,  vers.  6,  7. 

(4)  That  he  had  loved  the  place  where 
God  dwelt,  or  the  habitation  of  his  house, 
ver.  8. 

III.  His  earnest  wish  to  be  found 
among  the  friends  of  God,  or  to  have  his 
portion  with  them,  vei-s.  9-12. 

(1)  His  prayer  that  this  might  be 
his  lot,  vers.  9,  10. 

(2)  His  purpose  to  walk  with  the 
just  and  the  holy,  or  to  be  found  among 
the  friends  of  God,  vers.  11,  12. 

In  reference  to  all  this,  he  asks  the 
guidance  and  direction  of  God ;  he  prays 
for  the  searching  of  his  eye ;  he  pleads 


PSALM  XXVI. 


231 


PSALM  XXVI. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

JUDGE  me,  0  Lord  ;  for  I  have 
"  walked  in  mine  integrity  :  I 
have  trusted  also  in  the  Lord  ; 


therefore  I  shall  not  slide. 

2  Examine  w  me,  O  Lord,  and 
prove  me  ;  try  *  my  reins  and  my 
heart. 

w  Ps.  cxxxix.  23.  x  Zech.  xiii.  9. 


that  God  would  enable  him  sincerely  to 
carry  out  these  desires  and  purposes  of 
his  soul.  The  psalm  is  a  beautiful  illus- 
tration of  the  nature  of  true  religion,  and 
of  the  desire  of  a  truly  pious  man  that 
all  the  evidences  of  his  piety — all  which 
is  his  ground  of  reliance — may  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  searching  eye  of  God. 

1.  Judge  me,  O  Lord.  That  is,  de- 
termine in  regard  to  my  case  whether 
I  am  truly  thy  friend,  or  whether  the 
evidences  of  my  piety  are  genuine. 
The  psalmist  asks  an  examination  of 
his  own  case ;  he  brings  the  matter 
before  God  for  Him  to  decide ;  he 
submits  the  facts  in  regard  to  himself 
to  God,  that  He  may  pronounce  upon 
them  whether  they  constitute  evidence 
of  real  piety.  ^[  For  I  have  walked 
in  mine  integrity.  On  the  word  walk, 
see  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1.  The  word  in- 
tegrity here  is  the  same  which  is  else- 
where rendered  perfection.  See  Notes 
on  Job  i.  1.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxvii.  37. 
See  also  Ps.  vii.  8 ;  xxv.  21 ;  where 
the  word  is  rendered,  as  here,  integrity. 
It  means  here  uprightness,  sincerity. 
This  is  the  first  thing  which  he  brings 
before  God  for  him  to  examine — the 
consciousness  that  he  had  endeavoured 
to  live  an  upright  life ;  and  yet  it  is 
referred  to  as  if  he  was  sensible  that 
he  might  have  deceived  himself,  and 
therefore  he  prays  that  God  would 
determine  whether  his  life  had  been 
really  upright.  %  I  have  trusted  also 
in  the  Lord.  Of  this,  likewise,  he 
felt  conscious ;  but  tnis  too  he  desired 
to  submit  to  God.  Trust  in  Jehovah, 
and  an  upright  life,  constituted  the 
evidence  of  piety,  or  were  the  con- 
stituents of  true  religion  according  to 
the  views  of  the  Hebrews,  as  they 
are  the  constituents  of  true  religion 
everywhere ;  aud  the  purpose  of  the 
psalmist  was  to  ascertain  whether  his 
piety  was  really  of  that  character. 
TT  Therefore  i"  shall  not  slide.      If 


these  are  really  traits  of  my  character, 
if  I  really  possess  these,  I  shall  not  be 
moved.  My  feet  will  be  firm,  and  I 
shall  be  secure.  Or  this  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  further  declaration  in 
regard  to  himself,  as  indicating  firm 
confidence  in  God,  and  as  meaning 
that  he  was  conscious  that  he  would 
not  be  moved,  or  would  not  swerve  in 
this  purpose  of  life.  And  yet  the 
next  verse  shows  that,  with  all  this 
confidence  as  to  his  own  character,  he 
felt  that  there  was  a  possibility  of  his 
having  deceived  himself;  and,  there- 
fore, he  pleaded  that  God  would  search 
and  try  him. 

2.  Examine  me,  O  Lord.  The 
meaning  of  this  verse  is,  that  he 
asked  of  God  a  strict  and  rigid  ex- 
amination of  his  case.  To  express 
this,  the  psalmist  uses  three  words — 
examine;  prove;  try.  These  words 
are  designed  to  include  the  modes  in 
which  the  reality  of  anything  is 
tested,  and  they  imply  together  that 
he  wished  the  most  thorough  investi- 
gation to  be  made ;  he  did  not  shrink 
from  any  test.  He  evidently  felt  that 
it  was  essential  to  his  welfare  that 
the  most  rigid  examination  should  be 
made;  that  the  exact  truth  should  be 
known ;  that  if  he  was  deceived,  it 
was  best  for  himself  that  he  should 
not  be  left  under  the  delusion,  but 
that,  understanding  his  own  case,  he 
might  be  led  to  secure  his  salvation. 
The  word  rendered  examine  means, 
to  try,  to  prove,  and  is  applicable  es- 
pecially to  metals:  Jer.  ix.  7;  Zech. 
xiii.  9.  It  means  hei*e,  "  Apply  to  me 
such  tests  as  are  applied  to  metals  in 
order  to  determine  their  genuineness 
and  their  value."  %  And  prove  me. 
A  word  of  similar  import.  In  the 
original  meaning  of  the  word  there  is 
a  reference  to  smell;  to  try  by  the 
smell ;  to  ascertain  the  qualities  of  an 
object  by  the  smell.     Hence  it  comes 


232 


PSALM  XXVI. 


3  For  thy  loving-kindness  is 
before  mine  eyes ;  and  I  have 
walked  in  thy  truth. 


to  be  used  in  a  more  general  sense  to 
denote  any  way  of  ascertaining  the 
quality  of  an  object.  %  Try  my  reins. 
The  word  here  rendered  try  is  one 
that  is  most  commonly  applied  to 
metals ;  and  the  three  words  together 
express  the  earnest  desire  of  the 
psalmist  that  God  would  examine  into 
the  evidences  of  his  piety — those  evi- 
dences to  which  he  immediately  refers 
— and  apply  the  proper  kind  of  tests 
to  determine  whether  that  piety  was 
genuine.  The  word  rendered  reins 
means  properly  the  kidneys,  and  hence 
it  is  used  to  denote  the  inward  part, 
the  mind,  the  soul — the  seat  of  the 
desires  and  the  affections.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  vii.  9 ;  xvi.  7.  We  speak  now 
of  the  heart  as  the  seat  of  the  affections 
or  of  love.  The  Hebrews  more  com- 
monly spoke  of  the  heart  as  the  seat 
of  intelligence  or  knowledge,  and  the 
reins  or  the  "  bowels "  as  the  seat  of 
the  affections.  In  itself  there  was  no 
more  impropriety  in  their  speaking  of 
the  reins  or  kidneys  as  the  seat  of  the 
affections  than  there  is  of  our  speak- 
ing of  the  heart  in  that  manner. 
Neither  of  them  is  strictly  correct ; 
and  both  modes  of  speech  are  founded 
on  popular  usage. 

3.  For  thy  loving -kindness  is  before 
mine  eyes.  Thy  favour  or  friendship 
is  constantly  before  me,  in  the  sense 
that  it  is  the  object  of  my  desire.  I 
wish  to  secure  it ;  I  long  to  know 
whether  I  have  sufficient  evidence 
that  it  is  mine.  This  is  a  reason  why 
he  desires  that  God  would  search  him. 
The  favour  or  the  friendship  of  God 
was  an  object  of  intense  desire  with 
him.  He  had  evidence  on  which  he 
relied,  and  which  seemed  to  him  to 
be  satisfactory,  that  God  was  his 
friend.  But  the  object  was  so  great, 
the  matter  was  so  important,  the 
danger  of  self-deception  was  so  im- 
minent, that  he  did  not  dare  to  trust 
his  own  judgment,  and  he  prayed 
that  God  would   search  him.      The 


4  I  y  have  not  sat  with  vain 
persons,  neither  will  I  go  in  with 
dissemblers. 

y  Ps.  i.  1. 


thought  here  is,  that  it  was  a  steady 
purpose  of  his  life  to  secure  the  favour 
of  God.  His  eye  was  never  turned 
from  this.  It  was  always  before  him. 
Tf  And  I  have  xvalked  in  thy  truth. 
I  have  embraced  the  truth  ;  I  have 
regulated  my  life  by  the  truth.  This 
is  the  first  thing  to  which  he  refers. 
He  was  certain  that  this  had  been 
his  aim.  Comp.  Notes  on  3  John  4. 
See  also  2  Kings  xx.  3.  One  of  the 
first  characteristics  of  piety  is  a  desire 
to  know  what  is  true,  and  to  live 
in  accordance  with  the  truth.  The 
psalmist  was  conscious  that  he  had 
arrived  at  this,  and  that  he  had  en- 
deavoured to  make  it  a  ruling  prin- 
ciple in  his  conduct.  Whether  he  had 
done  this,  or  whether  he  had  deceived 
himself  in  the  matter,  was  what  he 
now  wished  to  submit  to  the  all- 
searching  eye  of  God. 

4.  1  have  not  sat  with  vain  persons. 
That  is,  I  have  not  been  found  among 
them;  I  have  not  made  them  my 
companions.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1. 
The  word  "  vain  "  here  is  in  contrast 
with  those  who  are  sincere  and  true. 
The  expression  would  be  applied  to 
men  who  are  false  and  hollow ;  to 
those  who  have  no  sincerity  or  solidity 
of  character ;  to  those  who  are  hypo- 
crites and  pretenders.  The  psalmist 
urges  it  as  one  evidence  of  his  attach- 
ment to  God  that  he  had  not  been 
found  among  that  class  of  persons, 
either  as  making  them  his  companions, 
or  as  taking  part  with  them  in  their 
counsels.  "j[  Neither  ivill  I  go  in  icith 
dissemblers.  Neither  will  1  walk  with 
them ;  neither  will  I  be  found  in  their 
company.  The  word  here  rendered 
dissemblers  means  properly  those  who 
are  hidden  or  concealed  ;  then,  those 
who  hide  their  purposes  or  designs 
from  others,  or  who  conceal  their  real 
character  and  intentions.  Thus  used, 
the  word  denotes  hypocrites,  whose 
real  character  is  concealed  or  hidden 
from  the  world.     The  psalmist  says 


PSALM  XXVI. 


233 


5  I  Leave  hated  the  congrega- 
tion of  evil-doers ;  and  will  not 
sit  with  the  wicked. 

z  Ex.  xxx.  19,  20. 


that  he  had  not  associated  with  such 
men,  but  that  his  companionship  had 
been  with  the  open,  the  frank,  the 
sincere.  On  this  he  relied  as  one 
evidence  of  his  piety;  and  this  is 
always  an  evidence  of  true  religion. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1. 

5.  .1  have  hated.  We  have  here  the 
same  evidence  of  his  piety  repeated 
in  another- and  a  stronger  form.  In 
the  previous  verse  he  had  merely 
stated  that  he  had  not  been  found 
among  that  class  of  persons,  or  that 
he  had  not  made  them  his  companions. 
He  here  says  positively  that  he  dis- 
approved of  their  principles ;  that  he 
hated  the  purpose  for  which  they 
gathered  themselves  together;  that 
he  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with 
them.  %  The  congregation  of  evil- 
doers. All  such  assemblages  as  were 
gathered  together  for  Avicked  pur- 
poses ;  for  sin  and  revelry ;  to  plot 
wickedness ;  to  injure  men ;  to  oppose 
God.  ^[  And  to  ill  not  sit  with  the 
wicked.  That  is,  I  will  not  be  asso- 
ciated with  them.  This  was  the  fixed 
purpose  of  his  soul;  and  this  was 
then,  as  it  is  now,  an  evidence  of  true 
piety.  This,  moreover,  is  an  indis- 
pensable evidence  of  piety.  He  who 
does  thus  sit  with  the  wicked ;  who 
makes  them  his  companions  and 
friends;  who  unites  with  them  in 
their  plans  and  purposes;  who  par- 
takes with  them  in  their  peculiar 
amusements  and  pursuits,  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  a  pious  man.  If  he  mingles 
with  such  men  at  all,  it  must  be  only 
as  demanded  by  the  necessities  of 
social  or  civil  life  ;  or  in  the  trans- 
actions of  business ;  or  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  them  good.  If  it  is  for 
other  purposes,  if  he  makes  them  his 
chosen  companions  and  friends,  he 
gives  the  clearest  evidence  that  his 
heart  is  with  them,  and  that  it  is  not 
with  God. 

6.  I  will  wash  mine  hands  in  inno- 
cency.     The  psalmist  here  refers,  as 


6  I  will  wash  3  mine  hands  in 
innocency :  so  will  I  compass 
thine  altar,  O  Lord  : 

7  That  I  may  publish  with  the 


another  evidence  of  his  piety,  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  a  ruling  purpose  of 
his  life  to  be  pure,  to  worship  and 
serve  his  Maker  in  purity.  He  had 
stated  that  he  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  wicked,  and  that  he  did  not  make 
them  his  companions ;  he  now  states 
what  his  preferences  were,  and  where 
his  heart  was  to  be  found.  He  had 
loved,  and  he  still  loved  the  worship 
of  God ;  he  delighted  in  the  pure 
service  of  the  Most  High.  Washing 
the  hands  is  an  emblem  of  purity.  So 
Pilate  (Matt,  xxvii.  24)  "  took  water, 
and  washed  his  hands  before  the  mul- 
titude, saying,  I  am  innocent  of  the 
blood  of  this  just  person."  Comp. 
Deut.  xxi.  6,  7.  The  word  rendered 
innocency  means  properly  cleanness, 
purity ;  and  perhaps  the  allusion  here 
is  to  water  that  is  perfectly  pure. 
The  sense  of  the  passage  is,  that  he 
would  endeavour  to  make  himself 
pure,  and  would  thus  worship  God. 
He  would  not  come,  practising  iniquity, 
or  cherishing  sin  in  his  heart.  He 
would  banish  all  from  his  mind  and 
heart  and  life  that  was  wrong,  and 
would  come  with  true  love  to  God, 
and  with  the  spirit  of  a  sincere  wor- 
shipper. %  So  will  I  compass  thine 
altar,  O  Loed.  In  this  manner,  and 
with  this  spirit,  I  will  worship  thee. 
The  word  compass  may  either  mean 
that  he  would  embrace  it  by  throwing 
his  arms  around  it,  or  that  he  would 
go  round  it  with  others  in  a  solemn 
procession  in  worship.  The  idea  is, 
that  he  would  come  to  the  altar  of 
God  with  his  offering  in  sincerity  and 
truth.  It  was  to  himself  one  evidence 
of  sincere  piety  that  he  so  purposed 
in  his  heart,  or  that  he  was  conscious 
of  a  desire  to  worship  God  in  purity 
and  truth.  This  desire  is  always  an 
indication  of  true  piety. 

7.  That  I  may  publish  with  the 
voice  of  thank  s giving .  Literally,  "that 
I  may  cause  to  be  heard;"  that  is,  that 
I  may  make  known  to  others.     The 


234 


PSALM  XXVI. 


voice  of  thanksgiving,  and  tell  of 
all  the  wondrous  works. 

8   Lord,   I  have  loved  «   the 
habitation  of  thy  house,  and  the 

a  Ps.  xxvii.  4  ;  Ixxxiv.  1,  2. 

1  of  the  tabernacle  of  thine  honour. 


idea  is,  that  he  would  make  known  to 
others  what  he  had  learned  of  God ; 
or  that  he  would  make  known  to  them 
the  delights  of  his  service,  and  seek  to 
win  them  to  his  worship.  This  he 
would  do  with  a  thankful  remem- 
brance of  the  favours  which  he  had 
himself  enjoyed,  or  as  an  expression  of 
his  gratitude  for  the  mercies  which 
had  been  conferred  on  him.  As  ex- 
pressive of  his  gratitude  to  God,  he 
would  endeavour  to  win  others  also  to 
his  service.  ^  And  tell  of  all  thy 
tcondrons  ivorks.  The  wonderful 
things  which  thou  hast  done, — thy 
works  of  creation,  providence,  and  sal- 
vation. His  own  mind  was  deeply 
impressed  with  the  greatness  of  God's 
works,  and  he  would  desire  to  make 
the  Divine  doings  known  as  far  as 
possible  in  the  world.  Comp.  Ps.  xxii. 
22;  lxvi.  16;  cxlv.  5,  6.  This  is 
always  one  of  the  evidences  of  true 
piety.  They  who  have  been  im- 
pressed properly  with  a  sense  of  the 
greatness  and  goodness  of  God ;  they 
who  have  experienced  his  pardoning 
mercy  and  forgiving  grace,  desire 
always  to  make  these  things  known 
to  others,  and  to  invite  them  also  to 
partake  of  the  mercies  connected  with 
the  Divine  favour.  Comp.  John  i.  45. 
8.  Lord,  I  have  loved  the  habitation 
of  thy  house.  I  have  loved  to  dwell 
in  thy  house.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxiii. 
6.  The  psalmist  often  refers  to  his 
delight  in  the  house  of  God, — the 
place  of  public  worship ;  his  love  to  be 
there  united  with  the  people  of  God 
in  the  solemn  services  of  religion. 
Comp.  Ps.  ixxxiv.  1,  2,  4, 10 ;  xxvii.  4. 
%  And  the  place  tvhere  thine  honour 
divelleth.  Marg.,  the  tabernacle  of 
thine  honour.  This  might  indeed  refer 
to  the  tabernacle ;  and  the  idea  might 
be  that  he  loved  the  place  where  that 
rested  in  its  wanderings.  But  the 
more  correct  meaning  is,  that  he  loved 


place  where  l  thine  honour  dwell  - 
eth. 

9  2  Gather  not  my  soul  with 
sinners,  nor  my  life  with  3  bloody 
men ; 

2  Or,  take  not  aicay.  3  men  of  blood. 


the  place  where  the  "glory"  of  God — 
the  Shekinah — the  symbol  of  his  pre- 
sence— rested ;  that  is,  the  place  where 
God  was  pleased  to  manifest  himself, 
and  where  he  dwelt.  Wherever  that 
was,  he  found  pleasure  in  being  there ; 
and  that  he  did  thus  love  the  place 
where  God  manifested  himself,  was  to 
his  own  mind  an  evidence  of  true 
piety.  It  is  always  an  evidence  of 
piety,  for  there  can  be  no  true  religion 
where  the  soul  does  not  find  pleasure 
in  the  worship  of  God.  A  man  who 
does  not  delight  in  such  a  service  here, 
is  not  prepared  for  heaven,  where  God 
eternally  dwells. 

9.  Gather  not  my  soul  icith  sinners. 
Marg.,  take  not  away.  The  word 
rendered  gather,  means  properly  to 
collect ;  to  gather, — as  fruits,  Exod. 
xxiii.  10;  ears  of  grain,  Ruth  ii.  7; 
money,  2  Kings  xxii.  4.  There  is  the 
idea  of  assembling  together,  or  collect- 
ing ;  and  the  meaning  here  is,  that  he 
desired  not  to  be  united  with  wicked 
men,  or  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  their 
number.  It  does  not  refer  particularly, 
as  I  apprehend,  to  death,  as  if  he 
prayed  that  he  might  not  be  cut 
down  with  wicked  men ;  but  it  has  a 
more  general  meaning, — that  he  did 
not  wish  either  in  this  life,  in  death, 
or  in  the  future  world,  to  be  united 
with  the  wicked.  He  desired  that  his 
lot  might  be  with  those  who  feared 
God,  and  not  with  those  who  were  his 
foes.  He  was  united  with  those  who 
feared  God  now ;  he  desired  that  he 
might  be  united  with  them  for  ever. 
This  is  expressive  of  true  religion ; 
and  this  prayer  must  go  forth  really 
from  every  pious  heart.  They  who 
truly  love  God  must  desire  that  their 
lot  should  be  with  his  friends,  alike  in 
this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come, 
however  poor,  and  humble,  and  de- 
spised they  may  be; — not  with  sinners, 
however  prosperous,  or  honoured,  or 


PSALM  XXVI. 


235 


10  In  whose  hands  is  mischief, 
and  their  right  hand  is  l  full  of 
bribes. 

11  But  as  for  me,  I  will  walk 

1  filed  with.  b  Ps.  xl.  2. 


in  mine  integrity :    redeem   me, 
and  be  merciful  unto  me. 

12  My  foot  b  standeth  in  an 
even  place  :  in  the  congregations 
will  I  bless  the  Lord. 


gay,  or  rich,  they  may  be.  The  word 
my  soul  here  is  synonymous  with  me; 
and  the  meaning  is,  he  desired  that 
he  himself  should  not  thus  be  gathered 
with  sinners.  It  is  the  same  word 
which  is  commonly  rendered  life. 
Tf  Nor  my  life.  This  word  properly 
means  life ;  and  the  prayer  is,  that 
his  life  might  not  be  taken  away  or 
destroyed  with  that  class  of  men.  He 
did  not  wish  to  be  associated  with 
them  when  he  died  or  was  dead.  He 
had  preferred  the  society  of  the  righ- 
teous ;  and  he  prayed  that  he  might 
die  as  he  had  lived,  united  in  feeling 
and  in  destiny  with  those  who  feared 
and  loved  God.  \  With  bloody  men. 
Marg.,  men  of  blood.  Men  who  shed 
blood — robbers,  murderers, — a  term 
used  to  denote  the  wicked.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  v.  6. 

10.  In  whose  hands  is  mischief '.  The 
word  here  rendered  mischief  means 
properly  purpose,  counsel,  plan ;  then, 
an  evil  purpose,  mischief,  icickedness, 
crime.  The  idea  is,  either  that  they 
intended  to  do  mischief,  and  that  they 
employed  their  hands  to  accomplish 
it,  or  that  the  fruit  or  result  of  their 
wicked  plans  was  in  their  hands; 
that  is,  they  had  in  their  possession 
what  they  had  secured  by  robbery,  or 
plunder,  or  dishonesty.  ^  And  their 
right  hand  is  full  of  bribes.     Marg., 

filled  with.  The  word  here  rendered 
bribes  means  properly  a  gift,  or  pre- 
sent ,•  and  then,  a  gift  offered  to  a 
judge  to  procure  an  unjust  sentence, 
2  Kings  xvi.  8;  Prov.  vi.  35;  Exod. 
xxiii.  8;  Deut.  x.  17.  The  general 
meaning  is  that  he  did  not  desire  to 
be  associated  either  with  men  who 
openly  committed  crime,  or  with  those 
who  could  be  corrupted  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice. 

11.  But  as  for  me.  The  Hebrew 
is,  "  and  I."  But  there  is  evidently 
a  contrast  between  what  he  purposed 


to  do,  and  the  course  of  life  pursued 
by  those  to  whom  he  had  just  referred; 
and  this  is  correctly  expressed  in  our 
translation,  "  But  as  for  me."  It  is 
a  statement  of  his  profession  of  piety, 
and  of  his  purpose  to  lead  a  religious 
life.  He  meant — he  solemnly  purposed 
— to  lead  a  holy  life.  ^[  I  icill  xvalk. 
I  will  live  a  life  of  integrity.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1.  ff  In  mine  integ- 
rity. Heb.,  in  my  perfection.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  8;  Job  i.  1.  The 
idea  is  that  he  intended  to  live  a  life 
of  uprightness,  "fi  Redeem  me.  From 
sin  ;  from  trouble ;  from  death.  The 
word  redeem  here  implies  that  he  did 
not  claim  to  be  perfect  in  the  most 
absolute  sense,  even  when  he  ex- 
pressed his  purpose  to  lead  a  life  of 
integrity.  He  felt  still  that  he  was  a 
sinner,  and  that  he  was  dependent  on 
redeeming  mercy  for  salvation.  On 
the  word  redeem,  see  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxv.  22;  Isa.  xxix.  22.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Isa.  xliii.  3.  %  And  be  merciful  to 
me.  In  connexion  with  redemption. 
The  prayer  for  mercy  is  always  an 
acknowledgment  of  guilt,  and  the 
plea  here  shows  that  with  all  his  pur- 
poses of  holy  living,  and  notwith- 
standing all  that  he  had  referred  to 
in  the  psalm  as  evidence  of  upright- 
ness of  intention  and  integrity  of  life, 
he  still  felt  that  he  was  a  sinner,  and 
that  his  only  hope  was  in  the  mercy 
of  God. 

12.  My  foot  standeth  in  an  even 
place.  The  word  rendered  even  place 
— *Yfl2h23,  mishor — means  properly 
righteousness,  or  justice ;  then,  even- 
ness, a  level  region,  a  plain  :  Isa.  xl. 
4;  xlii.  16.  De  Wette  renders  it, 
"  in  a  right  path."  The  idea  is, 
either  that  he  was  standing  now  on 
smooth  and  level  ground;  or  that  he 
was  walking  in  a  straight  path,  in 
contradistinction  from  the  crooked 
and  perverse   ways  of  the  wicked; 


236 


PSALM  XXVII. 


that  is,  he  had  found  now  a  level  road 
where  he  might  walk  securely.  The 
latter  is  prohahly  the  true  meaning. 
He  had  heen  anxious  about  his  con- 
dition. He  had  been  examining  the 
evidences  of  his  piety.  He  had  had 
doubts  and  fears.  He  had  seen  much 
to  apprehend,  and  he  had  appealed  to 
God  to  determine  the  question  on 
which  he  was  so  anxious, — whether 
his  hope  was  built  on  a  solid  founda- 
tion. His  path  in  these  inquiries,  and 
while  his  mind  was  thus  troubled,  was 
like  a  journey  over  a  rough  and  dan- 
gerous road — a  road  of  hills  and  val- 
lies — of  rocks  and  ravines.  Now  he 
had  found  a  smooth  and  safe  path. 
The  way  was  level.  He  felt  secure; 
and  he  walked  calmly  and  safely  along, 
as  a  traveller  does  who  has  got  over 
dangerous  passes  and  who  feels  that 
he  is  on  level  ground.  The  idea  is, 
that  his  doubts  had  been  dissipated, 
and  he  now  felt  that  his  evidences  of 
piety  were  well  founded,  and  that  he 
was  truly  a  child  of  God.  %  In  the 
congregations  will  I  bless  the  Lord. 
In  the  assemblies  of  his  people  will  I 
praise  him.  Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  22.  The 
meaning  is,  that  in  the  great  assembly 
he  would  offer  special  praise  that  God 
had  resolved  his  doubts,  and  had  given 
him  so  clear  evidence  that  he  was 
truly  his  friend.  He  would  go  to  the 
house  of  God,  and  there  render  him 
public  praise  that  he  had  been  able  to 
find  the  evidence  which  he  desired. 
No  act  could  be  more  appropriate 
than  such  an  act  of  praise,  for  there 
is  nothing  for  which  we  should  render 
more  hearty  thanks  than  for  any 
evidence  that  we  are  truly  the  friends 
of  God,  and  have  a  well-founded  hope 
of  heaven.  The  whole  psalm  should 
lead  us  carefully  to  examine  the  evi- 
dences of  our  piety;  to  bring  before 
God  all  that  we  rely  on  as  proof  that 
we  are  his  friends ;  and  to  pray  that 
he  will  enable  us  to  examine  it  aright ; 
and,  when  the  result  is,  as  it  was  in 
the  case  of  the  psalmist, — when  we 
can  feel  that  we  have  reached  a  level 
place  and  found  a  smooth  path,  then 
we  should  go,  as  he  did,  and  offer 
hearty  thanks  to  God  that  we  have 


reason  to  believe  we  are  his  children 
and  are  heirs  of  salvation. 

PSALM  xxvn. 

This  purports  to  be  "A  Psalm  of 
David,"  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  the  inscription  is  not  correct.  But 
the  occasion  on  which  it  was  composed  is 
wholly  unknown.  There  is  no  intima- 
tion of  this  in  the  title,  and  there  are  no 
historical  marks  in  the  psalm  which 
would  enable  us  to  determine  this. 
There  were  not  a  few  occasions  in  the 
life  of  David  when  all  that  is  expressed 
in  the  psalm  might  have  been  said  by 
him, — as  there  are  many  occasions,  in  the 
lives  of  all,  to  which  the  sentiments  of 
the  psalm  would  be  appropriate.  The 
Septuagint  version  has  the  title,  "A 
Psalm  of  David  before  his  anointing," 

—  irpb  tov  \pL<jQr)va.i.        Gl'OtillS    supposes 

the  occasion  to  have  been  the  anointing 
in  Hebron,  when  he  was  first  inaugu- 
rated as  Icing,  2  Sam.  ii.  4.  Kosen- 
miiller  refers  it  to  the  last  anointing, 
2  Sam.  v.  3.  Many  of  the  Jewish  ex- 
positors refer  the  psalm  to  the  last  days 
of  David,  when  he  was  delivered  from 
death  by  the  intervention  of  Abishai, 
2  Sam.  xxi.  16,  17.  But  there  is  no 
internal  evidence  that  the  psalm  was 
composed  on  either  of  these  occasions, 
and  it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain 
the  time  or  the  circumstances  of  its 
composition. 

The  general  object  of  the  psalm  is  to 
excite  in  others  confidence  in  God  from 
the  experience  which  the  psalmist  had 
of  His  merciful  interposition  in  times  of 
trouble  arid  danger,  ver.  14.  The  author 
of  the  psalm  had  had  some  marked  evi- 
dence of  the  Divine  favour  and  protection 
in  seasons  of  peril  and  sorrow  (ver.  1) ; 
and  he  makes  use  of  this  as  an  argument 
running  through  the  psalm  to  lead  others 
to  repose  on  God  in  similar  circum- 
stances. It  may  have  been  that  at  the 
time  of  composing  the  psalm  he  was  still 
surrounded  by  enemies,  and  exposed  to 
danger ;  but  if  so,  he  expresses  the  utmost 
confidence  in  God,  and  gratefully  refers 
to  His  past  interposition  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances as  full  proof  that  all  his 
interests  would  be  secure. 

The  contents  of  the  psalm  are, — 
I.  An  expression  of  confidence  in  God 
as  derived  from  his  own  experience  of 
His  merciful  interposition  in  times  of 
danger,  vers.  1-3.  He  had  been  in  peril 
at  some  time  which  is  not  specified,  and 
had  been  rescued ;  and  from,  this  gracious 


PSALM  XXVII, 


237 


PSALM  XXVII. 

A  Psalm  of  Davul. 

rpHE  Lord  c  is  ruy  light  and  my 
■*  salvation  ;  whom  shall  I  fear  ? 
the  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my 

c  Mic.  vii.  7,  8. 


life ;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ? 
2  When  the  wicked,  even  mine 
enemies    and    my  foes,    l   came 
upon  me  to  eat  up  my  flesh,  they 
stumbled  and  fell. 

1  approached  against. 


interposition  he  argues  that  it  would  be 
safe  always  to  trust  in  God. 

II.  The  expression  of  a  desire  to  dwell 
always  where  God  is ;  to  see  his  beauty 
there ;  to  inquire  further  after  him ;  to 
offer  sacrifices ;  and  to  praise  him,  vers. 
4-6.  The  psalmist  had  seen  so  much  of 
God  that  he  desired  to  see  yet  more  ;  he 
had  had  such  experience  of  his  favour 
that  he  wished  always  to  be  with  him  ; 
he  had  found  so  much  happiness  in  God 
that  he  believed  that  all  his  happiness 
was  to  be  found  in  His  presence,  and  in 
His  service. 

III.  An  earnest  prayer  that  God  would 
hear  him ;  that  he  would  grant  his  re- 
quests ;  that  he  would  save  him  from  all 
his  enemies ;  that  he  would  lead  him 
in  a  plain  path,  vers.  7-12.  This  is 
founded  partly  on  his  own  past  expe- 
rience, that  when  God  had  commanded 
him  to  seek  his  face  he  had  obeyed  (ver. 
8),  and  it  is  connected  with  the  fullest 
assurance  that  God  would  protect  him, 
even  should  he  be  forsaken  by  father  and 
mother  (ver.  10). 

IV.  The  conclusion— the  exhortation 
to  wait  on  the  Lord,  vers.  13,  14.  This 
exhortation  is  derived  from  his  own 
experience.  He  says  that  he  himself 
would  have  fainted  if  he  had  not  con- 
fided in  God  and  hoped  in  His  mercy, 
when  there  was  no  other  hope  (ver.  13) ; 
and,  in  view  of  that  experience,  he  en- 
courages all  others  to  put  their  trust  in 
Him  (ver.  14). 

1.  The  Loed  is  my  liglit.  He  is  to 
me  the  source  of  light.  That  is,  he 
guides  and  leads  me.  Darkness  is 
the  emblem  of  distress,  trouble,  per- 
plexity, and  sorrow;  light  is  the  em- 
blem of  the  opposite  of  these.  -God 
furnished  him  such  light  that  these 
troubles  disappeared,  and  his  way  was 
bright  and  happy.  ^f  And  my  salva- 
tion. That  is,  he  saves  or  delivers 
me.  %  Whom  shall  I  fear  ?  Comp. 
Rom.  viii.  31.  If  God  is  on  our  side, 
or  is  for  us,  we  can  have  no  appre- 
hension of  danger.  He  is  abundantly 
able  to  protect  us,  and  we  may  confi- 


dently trust  in  him.  No  one  needs 
any  better  security  against  the  objects 
of  fear  or  dread  than  the  conviction 
that  God  is  his  friend,  ^f  The  Loed 
is  the  strength  of  my  life.  The  sup- 
port of  my  life.  Or,  in  other  words, 
he  keeps  me  alive.  In  itself  life  is 
feeble,  and  is  easily  crushed  out  by 
trouble  and  sorrow ;  but  as  long  as 
God  is  its  strength,  there  is  nothing 
to  fear.  %  Of  whom  shall  I  be 
afraid  ?  No  one  has  power  to  take 
life  away  while  he  defends  me.  God 
is  to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him 
a  stronghold  or  fortress,  and  they  are 
safe. 

2.  When  the  wicked,  even  mine 
enemies  and  my  foes,  came  upon  me. 
This  refers,  doubtless,  to  some  par- 
ticular period  of  his  past  life  when  he 
was  in  very  great  danger,  and  when 
God  interposed  to  save  him.  The 
margin  here  is,  approached  against 
me.  The  ttteral  rendering  would  be, 
"in  the  drawing  near  against  me  of 
the  wicked  to  eat  up  my  flesh."  The 
reference  is  to  some  period  when  they 
purposed  an  attack  on  him,  and  when 
he  was  in  imminent  danger  from  such 
a  threatened  attack.  ^[  To  eat  up 
my  flesh.  As  if  they  would  eat  me 
up.  That  is,  they  came  upon  me  like 
ravening  wolves,  or  hungry  lions. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  they 
literally  purposed  to  eat  up  his  flesh, 
or  that  they  were  cannibals  ;  but  the 
comparison  is  one  that  is  drawn  from 
the  fierceness  of  wild  beasts  rushing 
on  their  prey.  Comp.  Ps.  xiv.  4. 
%  They  stumbled  and  fell.  They 
were  overthrown.  They  failed  in 
their  purpose.  Either  they  were 
thrown  into  a  panic  by  a  false  fear, 
or  they  were  overthrown  in  battle. 
The  language  would  be  rather  appli- 
cable to  the  former,  as  if  by  some 
alarm  they  were  throwrn  into  con- 
sternation.      Either     they     differed 


238 


PSALM  XXVII. 


3  Though  an  host  should  en- 
camp against  me,  my  heart  shall 
not  fear  ;  though  war  should  rise 
against  me,  in  this  will  I  be  con- 
fident. 

4  One  thing  have  I  desired  of 


d  Ps.  lxv.  4. 


e  Ps.  lxiii.  2. 


the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after  ; 
that  I  may  dwell  d  m  the  house 
of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my 
life,  to  behold  c  the  l  beauty  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  enquire  in  his 
temple. 

i  Or,  delight. 


among  themselves  and  became  con- 
fused, or  God  threw  obstacles  in  tbeir 
way  and  they  were  driven  back.  The 
general  idea  is,  that  God  had  inter- 
posed in  some  way  to  prevent  the  ex- 
ecution of  tbeir  purposes. 

3.  Though  an  host.  Though  an 
army ;  that  is,  any  army,  or  any 
number  of  men  in  battle  array.  The 
past  interposition  of  God  in  similar 
times  of  trouble  and  danger  was  to 
him  a  sufficient  security  that  he  had 
nothing  to  fear,  ^f  Should  encamp 
against  me.  In  battle  array,  or  pre- 
pared for  battle.  TT  My  heart  shall 
not  fear.  He  would  not  tremble ;  he 
would  not  feel  that  there  was  any- 
thing of  which  to  be  afraid.  God  had 
shown  himself  superior  to  the  power 
of  hostile  armies,  and  the  psalmist 
felt  assured  that  he  might  confide  in 
him.  °~  Though  tear  should  rise 
against  me.  Though  it  should  be 
proclaimed,  and  though  all  prepara- 
tion should  be  made  for  it,  I  will  not 
be  afraid.  %  In  this  will  I  be  confi- 
dent. In  such  a  case,  in  such  an  ex- 
tremity or  emergency,  I  would  calmly 
trust  in  God.  He  would  apprehend 
no  danger,  for  he  had  seen  that  the 
Lord  could  deliver  him. 

4.  One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the 
Loed.  One  main  object ;  one  thing 
that  I  have  specially  desired;  one 
thing  which  has  been  the  object  of 
my  constant  wish.  This  ruling  de- 
sire of  his  heart  the  psalmist  has  more 
than  once  adverted  to  in  the  previous 
psalms  (comp.  Ps.  xxiii.  6 ;  xxvi.  8) ; 
and  he  frequently  refers  to  it  in  the 
subsequent  psalms.  ^[  That  will  I 
seek  after.  As  the  leading  object  of 
my  life  ;  as  the  thing  which  I  most 
earnestly  desire.  If  That  I  may  dwell 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xxiii.  6.      %  All  the  days  of 


my  life.  Constantly ;  to  the  end. 
Though  engaged  in  other  things,  and 
though  there  were  other  objects  of  in- 
terest in  the  world,  yet  he  felt  that  it 
would  be  supreme  felicity  on  earth  to 
dwell  always  in  the  temple  of  God, 
and  to  be  employed  in  its  sacred  ser- 
vices, preparatory  to  an  eternal  resi- 
dence in  the  temple  above.  To  him 
the  service  of  God  on  earth  was  not 
burdensome,  nor  did  he  anticipate 
that  he  would  ever  become  weary  of 
praising  his  Maker.  How  can  a  man 
be  prepared  for  an  eternal  heaven  who 
finds  the  worship  of  God  on  earth 
irksome  and  tedious?  %  To  behold 
the  beauty  of  the  Lord.  Marg.,  the 
delight.  The  word  rendered  beauty 
here  — Q^'5,  noam  —  means  prcperly 
pleasantness ;  then,  beauty,  splendour ; 
then,  grace,  favour.  The  reference 
here  is  to  the  beauty  or  loveliness  of 
the  Divine  character  as  it  was  par- 
ticularly manifested  in  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God,  or  by  those  symbols 
which  in  the  ancient  worship  were 
designed  to  make  that  character 
known.  In  the  tabernacle  and  in  the 
temple  there  was  a  manifestation  of 
the  character  of  God  not  seen  else- 
where. The  whole  worship  was 
adapted  to  set  forth  his  greatness,  his 
glory,  and  his  grace.  Great  truths 
were  brought  before  the  mind,  fitted 
to  elevate,  to  comfort,  and  to  sanctify 
the  soul ;  and  it  was  in  the  contem- 
plation of  those  truths  that  the  psalm- 
ist sought  to  elevate  and  purify  his 
own  mind,  and  to  sustain  himself  in 
the  troubles  and  perplexities  of  life. 
Comp.  Ps.  lxxiii.  15 — 17.  %  And  to 
inquire  in  his  temple.  Or  tabernacle. 
The  word  here  used  would  be  appli- 
cable to  either,  considered  as  the  pa- 
lace or  the  residence  of  Jehovah.  As 
the  temple  was  not,  however,  built  at 


PSALM  XXVII. 


239 


5  For  /  in  tli  e  time  of  trouble 
he  shall  hide  me  in  his  pavilion  : 
in  the  secret  of  his  tabernacle 
shall  he  hide  me :  he  shall  set 
me  up  upon  a  rock. 

/  Isa.  iv.  5,  6.  J  shouting. 


this  time,  the  word  must  here  be  un- 
derstood to  refer  to  the  tabernacle. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  7.  The  meaning 
of  the  passage  is,  that  he  would  wish 
to  seek  instruction,  or  to  obtain  light 
on  the  great  questions  pertaining  to 
God,  and  that  he  looked  for  this  light 
in  the  place  where  God  was  wor- 
shipped, and  by  means  of  the  views 
which  that  worship  was  adapted  to 
convey  to  the  mind.  In  a  man- 
ner still  more  direct  and  full  may  we 
now  hope  to  obtain  just  views  of  God 
by  attendance  on  his  worship.  The 
Christian  sanctuary  —  the  place  of 
public  worship — is  the  place  where, 
if  anywhere  on  earth,  we  may  hope 
to  have  our  minds  enlightened ;  our 
perplexities  removed ;  our  hearts 
comforted  and  sanctified,  by  right 
views  of  God. 

5.  For  in  the  time  of  trouble. 
When  I  am  surrounded  by  dangers, 
or  when  affliction  comes  upon  me. 
%  He  shall  hide  me.  The  word  here 
used  means  to  hide  ;  to  secrete ;  and 
then,  to  defend  or  protect.  It  would 
properly  be  applied  to  one  who  had 
fled  from  oppression,  or  from  any  im- 
pending evil,  and  who  should  be 
secreted  in  a  house  or  cavern,  and 
thus  rendered  safe  from  pursuers,  or 
from  the  threatening  evil.  ^f  In  his 
pavilion.  The  word  pavilion  means 
tent  or  tabernacle.  The  Hebrew  word 
— i"T3D»  sukkah — means  properly  a 
booth,   hut,  or  cot  formed  of  green 

.  branches  interwoven :  Jonah  iv.  5  ; 
Job  xxvii.  18  ;  see  Notes  on  Isa.  iv.  6. 

'  Then  it  is  applied  to  tents  made  of 
skins :  Lev.  xxiii.  43 ;  2  Sam.  xi.  11. 
It  thus  is  used  to  denote  the  taber- 
nacle, considered  as  the  dwelling- 
place  of  God  on  earth,  and  the  mean- 
ing here  is,  that  God  would  hide  him 
as  it  were  in  his  own  dwelling ;  he 
would  admit  him  near  to  himself;  he 


6  And  now  shall  mine  head  be 
lifted  up  above  mine  enemies 
round  about  me  :  therefore  will  I 
offer  in  his  tabernacle  sacrifices 
of !  joy ;  I  will  sing,  yea,  I  will 
sing  praises  unto  the  Lord. 


would  take  care  that  he  should  be 
protected  as  if  he  were  one  of  his  own 
family ; — as  a  man  protects  those 
whom  he  admits  to  his  own  abode. 
%  In  the  secret  of  his  tabernacle.  In 
the  most  retired  and  private  part  of 
his  dwelling.  He  would  not  merely 
admit  him  to  his  premises ;  not  only 
to  the  vestibule  of  his  house  ;  not 
only  to  the  open  court,  or  to  the  parts 
of  his  house  frequented  by  the  rest  of 
his  family  ;  but  he  would  admit  him 
to  the  private  apartments — the  place 
to  which  he  himself  withdrew  to  be 
alone,  and  where  no  stranger,  and 
not  even  one  of  the  family,  would 
venture  to  intrude.  Nothing  could 
more  certainly  denote  friendship; 
nothing  could  more  certainly  make 
protection  sure,  than  thus  to  be  taken 
into  the  private  apartment  where  the 
master  of  a  family  was  accustomed 
himself  to  withdraw,  that  he  might 
be  alone  ;  and  nothing,  therefore,  can 
more  beautifully  describe  the  protec- 
tion which  God  will  give  to  his  friends 
than  the  idea  of  thus  admitting  them 
to  the  secret  apartments  of  his  own 
dwelling-place.  %  He  shall  set  me  up 
upon  a  rock.  A  place  where  I  shall 
be  secure ;  a  place  inaccessible  to  my 
enemies.  Comp.  Ps.  xviii.  1,  2 ;  xix. 
14  (margin)  ;  lxi.  2 ;  lxxi.  3.  The 
meaning  is,  that  he  would  be  safe 
from  all  his  enemies. 

6.  And  now  shall  mine  head,  etc. 
Now  shall  I  be  exalted.  So  we  say 
that  in  affliction  a  man  bows  down  his 
head;  in  prosperity  he  lifts  it  up. 
This  verse  expresses  the  confident  ex- 
pectation that  he  would  be  enabled  to 
triumph  over  all  his  foes,  and  a  firm* 
purpose  on  his  part,  as  the  result  of 
this,  to  offer  sacrifices  of  praise  to  his 
great  deliverer.  ^[  Above  mine  enemies 
round  about  me.  All  my  enemies, 
though  they  seem  even  to  encompass 


240 


PSALM  XXVII. 


7  Hear,  O  Lord,  wlien  I  cry 
■with  my  voice  :  have  rnercy  also 
upon  me.  and  answer  me. 

8  !  When  thou  saidst,  Seek  ye 
my  face ;    my  heart    said   unto 

1  Or,  My  heart  said  unto  thee,  Let  my  face 
seek  thy  face. 


me  on  every  side.  ^  Therefore  will  I 
offer  in  his  tabernacle.  In  his  tent, 
his  dwelling-place :  referring  here, 
undoubtedly,  to  the  tabernacle  as  a 
place  where  God  was  worshipped. 
%  Sacrifices  of  joy.  Marg.,  as  in 
the  Hebrew,  of  shouting.  That  is,  he 
would  offer  sacrifices  accompanied 
with  loud  sounds  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving. There  is  nothing  wrong  in 
shouting  for  joy  when  a  man  is  deli- 
vered from  imminent  danger,  nothing 
wrong  in  doing  so  when  he  feels  that 
he  is  rescued  from  the  peril  of  eternal 
ruin.  \  I  will  sing,  yea,  I  ivill  sing 
praises  unto  the  Loed.  This  language 
is  that  which  comes  from  a  full  heart. 
He  is  not  contented  with  saying  merely 
that  he  would  sing.  He  repeats  the 
idea ;  he  dwells  upon  it.  With  a 
heart  overflowing  with  gratitude  he 
would  go  and  give  utterance  to  his 
joy.  He  would  repeat,  and  dwell 
upon,  the  language  of  thanksgiving. 

7.  Sear,  O  Loed,  when  I  cry  with 
my  voice.  This  earnest  prayer  seems 
to  have  been  prompted  by  a  returning 
sense  of  danger.  He  had  had  assur- 
ance of  the  Divine  favour.  He  had 
found  God  ready  to  help  him.  He 
did  not  doubt  but  that  he  would  aid 
him  ;  yet  all  this  did  not  prevent  his 
calling  upon  him  for  the  aid  which  he 
needed,  but  rather  stimulated  him  to 
do  it.  With  all  the  deep-felt  convic- 
tion of  his  heart  that  God  was  ready 
and  willing  to  assist  him,  he  still  felt 
that  he  had  no  reason  to  hope  for  his 
aid  unless  he  called  upon  him.  The 
phrase  "  when  I  cry  with  my  voice  " 
refers  to  the  fact  that  he  prayed 
audibly  or  aloud.  It  was  not  mental 
prayer,  but  that  which  found  expres- 
sion in  the  language  of  earnest  en- 
treaty. 

8.  When  thou  saidst,  Seek  ye  my 
faeet  etc.    Marg.,  My  Iwart  said  unto 


thee,    Thy  face,    Loed,    will  I 
seek. 

9  Hide  not  *thy  face  far  from 
me;  put  not  thy  servant  away 
in  anger :  thou  hast  been  my 
help  ;  leave  me  not,  neither  for- 
sake me,  O  God  of  my  salvation. 


thee,  Let  my  face  seek  thy  face.  The 
literal  translation  would  be, "  To  Thee 
hath  said  my  heart,  Seek  ye  my  face  ; 
thy  face,  0  Lord,  will  I  seek."  De 
Wette  thus  expresses  the  idea,  "  Of 
thee  my  heart  thinks  (in  regard  to 
the  command  to  seek  thy  face),  thy 
face,  Lord,  I  will  seek."  Our  trans- 
lators have  given  the  correct  mean- 
ing, though  the  original  is  quite 
obscure.  The  passage  is  designed  to 
denote  the  state  of  the  mind,  or  the 
disposition,  in  regard  to  the  commands 
of  God.  The  command  or  precept 
was  to  seek  God.  The  prompt  pur- 
pose of  the  mind  or  heart  of  the 
psalmist  was,  that  he  would  do  it. 
He  immediately  complied  with  that 
command,  as  it  was  a  principle  of  his 
life — one  of  the  steady  promptings 
of  his  heart — that  he  would  do  this. 
The  heart  asked  no  excuse;  pleaded 
for  no  delay ;  desired  no  reason  for 
not  complying  with  the  command, 
but  at  once  assented  to  the  propriety 
of  the  law,  and  resolved  to  obey.  This 
related  undoubtedly  at  first  to  prayer, 
but  the  principle  is  applicable  to  all 
the  commands  of  God.  It  is  the 
prompting  of  a  pious  heart  imme- 
diately and  always  to  obey  the  voice 
of  God,  no  matter  what  his  command 
is,  and  no  matter  what  sacrifice  may 
be  required  in  obeying  it. 

9.  Hide  not  thy  face  far  from  me. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  iv.  6.  To  "  hide 
the  face "  is  to  turn  it  away  with 
displeasure,  as  if  we  would  not  look  on 
one  who  has  offended  us.  The  favour 
of  God  is  often  expressed  by  "  lifting 
the  light  of  his  countenance"  upon 
any  one, — looking  complacently  or 
pleasedly  upou  him.  The  reverse  of 
this  is  expressed  by  hiding  the  face, 
or  by  turning  it  away.  The  word 
"far "  introduced  by  the  translators 
does  not  aid  the  sense  of  the  passage. 


PSALM  XXVII. 


211 


10  When  my  father  and  my 
mother  forsake  me,  then  the 
Lord  will  l  take  me  up. 

11  Teach  me  thy  way,  O  Lord, 
and  lead  me  in  a2  plain  path, 
because  of 3  mine  enemies. 

1  gather  me,   Isa.  xl.  11. 


^[  Put  not  thy  servant  away  in  anger. 
Do  not  turn  me  off,  or  put  me  away 
in  displeasure.  We  turn  one  awa}', 
or  do  not  admit  him  into  our  presence, 
with  whom  we  are  displeased.  The 
psalmist  prayed  that  he  might  have 
free  access  to  God  as  a  friend.  %  Thou 
hast  been  my  help.  In  days  that  are 
past.  This  he  urges  as  a  reason  why 
God  should  still  befriend  him.  The 
fact  that  he  had  shown  mercy  to  him, 
that  he  had  treated  him  as  a  friend,  is 
urged  as  a  reason  why  he  should  now 
hear  his  prayers,  and  show  him  mercy. 
^[  Leave  me  not.  Do  not  abandon 
me.  This  is  still  a  proper  ground  of 
pleading  with  God.  We  may  refer 
to  all  his  former  mercies  towards  us ; 
we  may  make  mention  of  those  mer- 
cies as  a  reason  why  he  should  now 
interpose  and  save  us.  We  may,  so 
to  speak,  remind  him  of  his  former 
favours  and  friendship,  and  may  plead 
with  him  that  he  will  complete  what 
he  has  begun,  and  that,  having  once 
admitted  us  to  his  favour,  he  will 
never  leave  or  forsake  us. 

10.  When  my  father  and  my  mother 
forsake  me.  If  they  should  do  it. 
The  psalmist  supposes  it  possible  that 
this  might  occur.  It  does  occur, 
though  very  rarely  ;  hut  the  psalmist 
meaus  to  say  that  the  love  of  God  is 
stronger  and  more  certain  than  even 
that  of  a  father  or  mother,  since  he 
will  never  forsake  his  people.  Though 
every  other  tie  that  binds  heart  to 
heart  should  dissolve,  this  will  remain  ; 
though  a  case  might  occur  in  which 
we  could  not  be  sure  of  the  love  that 
naturally  springs  out  of  the  most 
tender  earthly  relationships,  yet  we 
can  always  confide  in  his  love.  See 
Xotes  on  Isa.  xlix.  15.  If  Then  the 
Lord  will  take  me  up.  Marg.,  will 
gather  me.     The  margin  expresses  the 

VOL.    I. 


12  Deliver  me  not  over  unto 
the  will  of  mine  enemies ;  for 
false  witnesses  are  risen  up 
against  me,  and  such  as  breathe 
out  cruelty. 

3  way  of  plainness,  Ps.  xxvi.  12. 
3  those  which  observe  me,  Ps.  v.  8. 


usual  meaning  of  the  word.  It  is  some- 
times used  as  referring  to  the  hospitable 
reception  of  strangers  cr  wanderers 
into  one's  house  :  Judges  xix.  15,  18 ; 
Joshua  xx.  4.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  if  he  should  be  forsaken  by  his 
nearest  earthly  friends,  and  he  an  out- 
cast and  a  wanderer,  so  that  no  one 
on  earth  would  take  him  in,  the  Lord 
would  then  receive  him. 

11.  Teach  me  thy  ivay,  O  Lord. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxv.  4,  5.  T[  And 
lead  me  in  a  plain  path.  Marg.,  a 
ivay  of  plainness.  That  is,  a  straight 
or  smooth  path.  In  other  words,  he 
prayed  that  he  might  be  enahled  to 
act  wisely  and  right ;  he  desired  that 
God  would  teach  him  what  he  should 
do.  T[  Because  of  mine  enemies. 
Marg.,  those  ivhich  observe  me.  The 
translation  in  the  text  expresses  the 
true  sense.  The  word  which  is  used 
is  derived  from  a  verb  that  signifies 
to  twist ;  to  twist  together ;  and  then, 
to  oppress ;  to  treat  as  an  enemy. 
Here  it  refers  to  those  who  would 
treat  him  harshly  or  cruelly ;  and  he 
prays  that  God  would  show  him  how 
to  act  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
surrounded  hy  such  foes.  They  were 
harsh  and  cruel ;  they  sought  to  over- 
come him  j  they  laid  snares  for  him. 
He  knew  not  how  to  act  so  as  to 
escape  from  them,  and  he  therefore 
pleads  that  God  would  instruct  and 
guide  him. 

12.  Deliver  me  not  over  unto  the 
ivill  of  mine  enemies.  Let  them  not 
accomplish  their  desires  in  regard  to 
me ;  let  them  not  be  able  to  carry  out 
their  purposes.  The  word  here  ren- 
dered will  means  properly  soul,  but 
it  is  here  used  evidently  to  denote 
ivish  or  desire.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  25. 
Tf  For  false  ivitnesses  are  risen  up 
against  me.   Men  who  would  lay  false 

M 


212 


PSALM  XXVIII. 


13  I  had  fainted,  -unless  I  had 
believed  to  9  see  the  goodness  of 
the  Lord  in  the  land  of    the 


living. 


g  Ps.  cxviii.  17,  18. 


charges  against  him,  or  who  would 
wrongfully  accuse  him.  They  charged 
him  with  crimes  which  he  never  com- 
mitted, and  they  persecuted  him  as  if 
he  were  guilty  of  what  they  alleged 
against  him.  %  And  such  as  breathe 
out  cruelty.  That  is,  they  meditate 
violence  or  cruel  treatment.  They  are 
intent  on  this ;  they  pant  for  it.  Saul 
of  Tarsus  thus  "breathed  out  threaten  - 
ings  and  slaughter  against  the  dis- 
ciples of  the  Lord."  See  Notes  on 
Acts  ix.  1. 

13.  I  had  fainted,  unless  I  had  be- 
lieved. The  words  "  I  had  fainted  " 
are  supplied  by  the  translators,  but 
they  undoubtedly  express  the  true 
sense  of  the  passage.  The  psalmist 
refers  to  the  state  of  mind  produced 
by  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  to  destroy 
him,  as  mentioned  in  ver.  12.  So 
numerous,  mighty,  and  formidable 
were  they,  that  he  says  his  only  sup- 
port was  his  faith  in  God ;  his  belief 
that  he  would  yet  be  permitted  to 
see  the  goodness  of  God  upon  the 
earth.  In  this  time  of  perplexity  and 
trial  he  had  confidence  in  God,  and 
believed  that  He  would  uphold  him, 
and  would  permit  him  to  see  the 
evidences  of  His  goodness  and  mercy 
while  yet  on  the  earth.  What  was 
the  ground  of  this  confidence  he  does 
not  say,  but  he  had  the  fullest  belief 
that  this  would  be  so.  He  may  have 
had  some  special  assurance  of  it,  or 
he  may  have  had  a  deep  internal  con- 
viction of  it,  sufficient  to  calm  his 
mind ;  but  whatever  was  the  source 
of  this  confidence  it  was  that  which 
sustained  him.  A  similar  state  of 
feeling  is  indicated  in  the  remarkable 
passage  in  Job,  ch.  xix.  25-27.  See 
Notes  on  that  passage.  *&  To  see  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of 
the  living.  That  is,  that  I  should  live, 
and  yet  see  and  enjoy  the  tokens  of 
the  Divine  favour  here  upon  the  earth. 

14.  Wait  on  the  Lobd.     This  is  the 


14  Wait  on  the  Lord  ;  be  of 
good  courage,  and  he  shall 
strengthen  thine  heart :  wait,  I 
say,  on  the  Lord. 


sum  of  all  the  instruction  in  the 
psalm ;  the  main  lesson  which  the 
psalm  is  designed  to  convey.  The 
object  is  to  induce  others,  from  the 
experience  of  the  psalmist,  to  trust 
in  the  Lord ;  to  rely  upon  him ;  to 
come  to  him  in  trouble  and  danger ; 
to  wait  for  his  interposition  when  all 
other  resources  fail.  Comp.  Ps.  xxv.  3. 
^[  Be  of  good  courage.  The  Hebrew 
word  here  means,  be  strong.  That  is, 
do  not  faint.  Do  not  be  dismayed. 
Still  hope  and  trust  in  the  Lord,  % 
He  shall  strengthen  thine  heart.  He 
will  strengthen  thee.  He  will  enable 
you  to  perform  your  duties,  and  to 
triumph  over  your  enemies.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  xl.  31.  %  Wait,  I  sag, 
on  the  Loed.  Repeating  an  idea 
with  which  the  heart  was  full;  a 
lesson  resulting  from  his  own  rich  ex- 
perience. He  dwells  upon  it  as  a 
lesson  which  he  would  fix  deeply  in 
the  mind,  that  in  all  times  of  danger 
and  difficulty,  instead  of  despondency, 
instead  of  sinking  down  in  despair, 
instead  of  giving  up  all  effort,  we 
should  go  forward  in  the  discharge  of 
duty,  putting  our  trust  solely  in  the 
Lord. 

PSALM  XXVIII. 

This  psalm  is  entitled  "A  Psalm  of 
David ;"  and  there  is  no  reason  for 
doubting  the  correctness  of  the  inscrip- 
tion. But,  as  in  some  of  the  previous 
psalms,  neither  the  title  nor  the  con- 
tents contain  any  intimation  as  to  the 
time  or  the  circumstances  of  its  com- 
position. 

It  has,  in  some  respects,  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  Ps.  xxvi.  The  leading 
idea  in  this,  as  in  that,  is  the  strong 
affection  of  the  author  for  those  who 
feared  and  loved  God ;  his  strong  desire 
to  be  associated  with  them  in  character 
and  destiny ;  his  earnest  wish  that  he 
might  not  be  drawn  away  from  them, 
and  that  his  lot  might  not  be  with  the 
wicked.  It  would  seem  from  the  psalm 
itself,  especially  from  ver.  3,  that  it  was 


PSALM  XXVIII. 


213 


PSALM  XXYIII. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

TTNTO  thee  will  I  cry,  O  Lord 
^  my  rock ;  be  not  silent  l  to 
me  :  lest,  if  thou  be  silent  to  me, 
I  become  like  them  that  go  down 


composed  when  its  author  was  under 
some  powerful  temptation  from  the 
wicked,  or  when  there  were  strong 
allurements  offered  hy  them  which 
tended  to  lead  him  into  the  society  of 
those  who  were  strangers  to  God  ;  and, 
under  this  temptation,  he  urges  this 
earnest  prayei",  and  seeks  to  bring  before 
his  own  mind  considerations  why  he 
should  not  yield  to  these  influences. 

The  contents  of  the  psalm,  therefore, 
may  be  presented  in  the  following 
analysis  :  — 

I.  The  consciousness  of  danger  so 
pressing  upon  him  as  to  lead  him  to  break 
out  in  an  earnest  cry  to  God,  vers.  1,  2. 

II.  The  source  of  his  anxiety  or  his 
danger ;  and  his  earnest  prayer  that  he 
might  not  be  left  to  the  powerful  temp- 
tation, and  be  drawn  into  the  society  of 
the  wicked,  ver.  3. 

III.  Considerations  which  occurred  to 
the  mind  of  the  psalmist  himself  why 
he  should  not  yield  to  the  temptation, 
or  why  he  should  not  be  associated 
with  the  wicked.  These  considerations 
are  stated  in  vers.  3-5.  They  are 
drawn  from  the  character  and  the  certain 
destiny  of  the  wicked. 

IV.  A  sense  of  relief,  or  a  feeling  that 
God  had  answered  his  prayer,  and  that 
he  was  safe  from  the  danger,  vers.  6,  7. 

The  psalm  is  peculiarly  appropriate  to 
those  who  are  in  danger  of  being  led 
away  by  the  acts  of  the  ungodly, — or 
who  are  under  strong  temptations  to  be 
associated  with  the  gay,  the  sensual,  and 
the  worldly, — or  to  whom  strong  induce- 
ments are  offered  to  mingle  in  their 
pleasures,  their  vices,  and  their  follies. 
They  who  before  their  conversion  were 
the  companions  of  the  ungodly ;  they 
who  were  devoted  to  guilty  pleasures 
but  have  been  rescued  from  them  ;  they 
who  have  contracted  habits  of  intemper- 
ance or  sensuality  in  the  society  of  the 
dissolute,  and  who  feel  the  power  of  the 
habit  returning  upon  them,  and  are 
invited  by  their  former  associates  to  join 
them  again, — are  in  the  condition  con- 
templated in  the  psalm,  and  will  find  its 
sentiments  appropriate  to  their  expe- 
rience. 


into  the  pit. 

2  Hear  the  voice  of  my  suppli- 
cations, when  I  cry  unto  thee, 
when  h  I  lift  up  my  hands  toward 
2  thy  holy  oracle. 

1  from.  h  Ps.  cxxxviii.  2. 

2  Or,  the  oracle  of  thy  sanch<ary. 


1  Unto  thee  tvill  I  cry.  That  is, 
under  the  consciousness  of  the  danger 
to  which  I  am  exposed — the  danger 
of  being  drawn  away  into  the  society 
of  the  wicked.  In  such  circumstances 
his  reliance  was  not  on  his  own 
strength ;  or  on  his  own  resolutions ; 
on  his  own  heart ;  or  on  his  fellow- 
men.  He  felt  that  he  was  safe  only 
in  God,  and  he  appeals  to  Him,  there- 
fore, in  this  earnest  manner,  to  save 
him.  %  0  Lord  my  rocJc.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xviii.  2.  %  Be  not  silent  to  me. 
Marg.,  from  me.  So  the  Hebrew. 
The  idea  is  that  of  one  who  will  not 
speak  to  us,  or  who  will  not  attend  to 
us.  We  pray,  and  we  look  for  an 
anstver  to  our  prayers,  or,  as  it  were, 
we  expect  God  to  speak  to  us ;  to  lit- 
ter words  of  kindness;  to  assure  us 
of  his  favour ;  to  declare  our  sins  for- 
given. If  Lest,  if  thou  be  silent  to 
me.  If  thou  dost  not  answer  my  sup- 
plications, ^f  I  become  like  unto  them 
that  go  doivn  into  the  pit.  Like  those 
who  die;  or,  lest  I  be  crushed  by 
anxiety  and  distress,  and  die.  The 
word  pit  here  refers  to  the  grave.  So 
it  is  used  in  Ps.  xxx.  3;  lxxxviii.  4; 
Isa.  xxxviii.  18 ;  xiv.  15,  19.  The 
meaning  is,  that  if  he  did  not  obtain 
help  from  God  he  despaired  of  life. 
His  troubles  would  overwhelm  and 
crush  him.  He  could  not  bear  up 
under  them. 

2.  Sear  the  voice  of  my  supplica- 
tions. It  was  not  mental  prayer 
which  he  offered  •  it  was  a  petition 
uttered  audibly.  %  When  I  lift  up 
my  hands.  To  lift  up  the  hands  de- 
notes supplication,  as  this  was  a  com- 
mon attitude  in  prayer.  See  Notes 
on  1  Tim.  ii.  8.  %  Toward  thy  holy 
oracle.  Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  toward 
the  oracle  of  thy  holiness.  The  word 
oracle  as  used  here  denotes  the  place 
where  the  answer  to  prayer  is  given. 


214 


PSALM  XXVIII. 


3  Draw  *  me  not   away  with 
the  wicked,  and  with  the  workers 

t  Ps.  cxxv.  5. 


The  Hebrew  word — TI2"},  debir  — 
means  properly  the  inner'  sanctuary 
of  the  tabernacle  or  the  temple,  the 
place  where  God  was  supposed  to  re- 
side, and  where  he  gave  responses  to 
the  prayers  of  his  people  : — the  same 
place  which  is  elsewhere  called  the 
Holy  of  Holies.  See  Notes  on  Heb. 
ix.  3 — 14.  The  Hebrew  word  is  found 
only  here  and  in  1  Kings  vi.  5,  16, 
19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  31  ;  vii.  49 ;  viii. 
6,  8;  2  Chron.  iii.  16;  iv.  20;  v.  7,9. 
The  idea  here  is  that  he  who  prayed 
stretched  out  his  hands  toward  that 
sacred  place  where  God  was  supposed 
to  dwell.  So  we  stretch  out  our  hands 
towards  heaven — the  sacred  dwelling- 
place  of  God.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps. 
v.  7.  The  Hebrew  word  is  probably 
derived  from  the  verb  to  speak ;  and, 
according  to  this  derivation,  the  idea 
is  that  God  spake  to  his  people ;  that 
he  communed  with  them ;  that  he 
answered  their  prayers  from  that 
sacred  recess, — his  peculiar  dwelling- 
place.  See  Ex.  xxv.  22;  Num.  vii.  89. 
3.  Draw  me  not  away  ivith  the 
wicked.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxvi.  9. 
The  prayer  here,  as  well  as  the  prayer 
in  Ps.  xxvi.  9,  expresses  a  strong  de- 
sire not  to  be  united  with  wicked  men 
in  feeling  or  in  destiny — in  life  or  in 
death  —  on  earth  or  in  the  future 
world.  The  reason  of  the  prayer  seems 
to  have  been  that  the  psalmist,  being 
at  this  time  under  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  associate  with  wicked  persons, 
and  feeling  the  force  of  the  tempta- 
tion, was  apprehensive  that  he  should 
be  left  to  yield  to  it,  and  to  become 
associated  with  them.  Deeply  con- 
scious of  this  danger,  he  earnestly 
prays  that  he  may  not  be  left  to  yield 
to  the  power  of  the  temptation,  and 
fall  into  sin.  So  the  Saviour  (Matt. 
vi.  13)  has  taught  us  to  pray,  "  And 
lead  us  not  into  temptation."  None 
who  desire  to  serve  God  can  be  in- 
sensible to  the  propriety  of  this 
prayer.  The  temptations  of  the  world 
are  so  strong;  the  amusements  in 


of  iniquity  ;  which  speak  peace  to 
their  neighbours,  but  mischief 
is  in  their  hearts. 


which  the  world  indulges  are  so  bril- 
liant and  fascinating  ;  they  who  in- 
vite us  to  partake  of  their  pleasures 
are  often  so  elevated  in  their  social 
position,  so  refined  in  their  manners, 
and  so  cultivated  by  education;  the 
propensities  of  our  hearts  for  such  in- 
dulgences are  so  strong  by  nature ; 
habits  formed  before  our  conversion 
are  still  so  powerful ;  and  the  pros- 
pect of  worldly  advantages  from  com- 
pliance with  the  customs  of  those 
around  us  are  often  so  great, — that 
we  cannot  but  feel  that  it  is  proper 
for  us  to  go  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
and  to  plead  earnestly  with  God  that 
he  will  keep  us  and  not  suffer  us  to 
fall  into  the  snare.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  those  who  before  they  were 
converted  had  indulged  in  habits  of  in- 
temperance, or  in  sensual  pleasures  of 
any  kind,  and  who  are  invited  by  their 
old  companions  in  sin  again  to  unite 
with  them  in  their  pursuits.  Here 
all  the  power  of  the  former  habit  re- 
turns; here  often  there  is  a  most 
fierce  struggle  between  conscience 
and  the  old  habit  for  victory;  here 
especially  those  who  are  thus  tempted 
need  the  grace  of  God  to  keep  them  ; 
here  there  is  special  appropriateness 
in  the  prayer,  "  Draw  me  not  away 
with  the  wicked."  %  And  with -the 
workers  of  iniquity.  In  any  form. 
With  those  who  do  evil,  %  Which 
speak  peace  to  their  neighbours.  Who 
speak  words  of  friendliness.  Who 
seem  to  be  persuading  you  to  do  that 
which  is  for  your  good.  Who  put  on 
plausible  pretexts.  They  appear  to 
be  your  friends ;  they  profess  to  be 
so.  They  use  flattering  words  while 
they  tempt  you  to  go  astray.  %  But 
mischief  is  in  their  hearts.  They  are 
secretly  plotting  your  ruin.  They 
wish  to  lead  you  into  such  courses  of 
life  in  order  that  you  may  fall. into 
sin ;  that  you  may  dishonour  religion; 
that  you  may  disgrace  your  pro- 
fession ;  or  that  they  may  in  some 
way  profit  by  your  compliance  with 


PSALM  xxvur. 


245 


4  Give  them  according  to  their 
deeds,  and  according  to  the  wick- 
edness of  their  endeavours  :  give 
them  after  the  work  of  their 
hands ;  render  to  them  their 
desert. 

5  Because  k  they  regard  not 

i  Job  xxxiv.  26,  27. 


their  counsels.  So  the  wicked,  under 
plausible  pretences,  would  allure  the 
good;  so  the  corrupt  would  seduce 
the  innocent;  so  the  enemies  of  God 
would  entice  his  friends,  that  they 
may  bring  shame  and  reproach  upon 
the  cause  of  religion. 

4.  Give  them  according  to  their 
deeds.  Deal  righteously  with  them. 
Recompense  them  as  they  deserve. 
%  And  according  to  the"  ivickedness  of 
their  endeavours.  Their  designs ;  their 
works ;  their  plans.  Tf  Give  them 
after  the  ivorJc  of  their  hands.  Re- 
ward them  according  to  what  they  do. 
Tf  Render  to  them  their  desert.  A 
just  recompense.  This  whole  verse 
is  a  prayer  that  God  would  deal  justly 
with  them.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
there  is  anything  of  vindictiveness  or 
malice  in  the  prayer.  In  itself  con- 
sidered, there  is  no  impropriety  in 
praying  that  justice  may  be  done  to 
the  violators  of  law.  See  General 
Introduction,  §  6. 

5.  Because  they  regard  not  the 
wor7cs  of  the  Loed.  What  the  Lord 
does  in  creation  ;  in  his  providence ; 
through  his  commands  and  laws ;  and 
by  his  Spirit.  They  do  not  find  plea- 
sure in  his  works ;  they  do  not  give 
heed  to  the  intimations  of  his  will  in 
his  providential  dealings ;  they  do  not 
listen  to  his  commands ;  they  do  not 
yield  to  the  influences  of  his  Spirit. 
%  Nor  the  operation  of  his  hands. 
What  he  is  now  doing.  The  sense  is 
essentially  the  same  as  in  the  former 
member  of  the  sentence.  *j[  He  shall 
destroy  them.  He  will  pull  them 
down,   instead  of  building  them  up. 

-  They  expose  themselves  to  his  dis- 
pleasure, and  he  will  bring  deserved 
punishment  upon  them.  ^[  And  not 
build  them  up.    He  will  not  favour 


the  works  of  the  Lord,  nor  the 
operation  of  his  hands,  he  shall 
destroy  them,  and  not  build  them 
up. 

6  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  be- 
cause he  hath  heard  the  voice 
of  my  supplications. 

7  The    Lord  is  my  strength 


them ;  he  will  not  give  them  pros- 
perity. Health,  happiness,  salvation 
are  to  be  found  only  in  conformity 
with  the  laws  which  God  has  ordained. 
Neither  can  be  found  in  violating 
those  laws,  or  in  any  other  method 
than  that  which  he  has  ordained. 
Sooner  or  later  the  violation  of  law, 
in  regard  to  these  things,  and  in 
regard  to  everything,  must  lead  to 
calamity  and  ruin. 

6.  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  because 
he  hath  heard  the  voice  of  my  suppli- 
cations. This  is  one  of  those  pas- 
sages which  frequently  occur  in  the 
Psalms,  when  there  has  been  an 
earnest  and  anxious  prayer  offered  to 
God,  and  when  the  answer  to  the 
prayer  seems  to  be  immediate.  The 
mind  of  the  anxious  and  troubled 
pleader  becomes  calm ;  the  promises 
of  God  are  brought  directly  to  the 
soul ;  the  peace  which  was  sought  is 
obtained;  and  he  who  began  the 
psalm  with  deep  anxiety  and  trouble 
of  mind,  rejoices  at  the  close  of  it  in 
the  evidences  of  the  Divine  favour 
and  love.  What  thus  happened  to 
the  psalmist  frequently  occurs  now. 
The  answer  to  prayer,  so  far  as  giving 
calmness  and  assurance  to  the  mind  is 
concerned,  is  often  immediate.  The 
troubled  spirit  becomes  calm ;  and 
whatever  may  be  the  result  in  other 
respects,  the  heart  is  made  peaceful 
and  confiding,  and  feels  the  assurance 
that  all  will  be  well.  It  is  sufficient 
for  us  to  feel  that  God  hears  us ;  for 
if  this  is  so,  we  have  the  assurance 
that  all  is  right.  In  this  sense,  cer- 
tainly, it  is  right  to  look  for  an 
immediate  answer  to  our  prayers.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  lxv.  24;  Dan.  ix.  21. 

7.  The  Loed  is  my  strength.  See 
Notes   on   Ps.  xviii.  1.     ^  And   msj 


246 


PSALM  XXVIII. 


and  my  shield :  my  heart  trusted 
in  him,  and  I  am  helped ;  there- 
fore my  heart  greatly  rejoiceth, 
and  with  my  song  will  I  praise 
him. 
8  The  Lord  is  l  their  strength, 

1  Or,  h is.  2  strength  of  salvations. 


and  he  is  the  2  saving  strength 
of  his  anointed. 

9  Save  thy  people,  and  bless 
1  thine  inheritance  :  3  feed  them 
also,  and  lift  them  ivp  for  ever. 

I  1  Kings  viii.  51,  53. 
3  Or,  rule,  Mic.  vii.  14. 


shield.  See  Notes  cm  Ps.  iii.  3.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxxiii.  20;  lix.  11  j  lxxxiv.  9; 
lxxxix.  18 ;  Gen.  xv.  1.  ^  My  heart 
trusted  in  him.  I  trusted  or  confided 
in  him.  See  Ps.  xiii.  5.  ^[  And  I 
am  helped.  I  have  found  the  assist- 
ance which  I  desired.  %  Therefore 
my  heart  greatly  rejoiceth.  I  greatly 
rejoice.  I  am  happy.  He  had  found 
the  assurance  of  the  Divine  favour 
which  he  desired,  and  his  heart  was 
glad.  \  And  with  my  song  will  I 
praise  him.  I  will  sing  praises  to 
him.     Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  25. 

8.  The  Loed  is  their  strength. 
Marg.,  his  strength.  The  Hebrew  is, 
their  strength,  or  strength  to  them. 
The  allusion  is  to  the  people  of  God. 
The  course  of  tho\ight  seems  to  be, 
that  the  psalmist,  having  derived  in 
his  own  case  assistance  from  God,  or 
having  found  God  a  strength  to  him, 
his  mind  turns  from  this  fact  to  the 
general  idea  that  God  was  the  strength 
of  all  who  were  in  similar  circum- 
stances ;  or  that  all  his  people  might 
confide  in  Him  as  he  had  done.  ^[ 
And  he  is  the  saving  strength.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  strength  of  salvations. 
That  is,  In  him  is  found  the  strength 
which  produces  salvation.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xxvii.  1.  %  Of  his  anointed. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  2 ;  xx.  6.  The 
primary  reference  here  is  doubtless  to 
the  psalmist  himself,  as  one  who  had 
been  anointed  or  set  apart  to  the 
kingly  office;  but  the  connexion  shows 
that  he  intended  to  include  all  the 
people  of  God,  as  those  whom  he  had 
consecrated  or  set  apart  to  his  service. 
See  1  Peter  ii.  5,  9. 

9.  Save  thy  people.  All  thy  people. 
The  psalm  appropriately  closes  with  a 
prayer  for  all  the  people  of  God.  The 
prayer  is  offered  in  view  of  the  de- 
liverance which  the  psalmist  had 
himself  experienced,  and  he  prays  that 


all  the  people  of  God  might  expe- 
rience similar  deliverance  and  mercy. 
^f  And  bless  thine  inheritance.  Thy 
heritage ;  thy  people.  The  Hebrew 
word  properly  means  talcing  posses- 
sion of  anything ;  occupation.  Then 
it  comes  to  mean  possession;  do- 
main ;  estate  :  Num.  xviii.  21.  Thus 
it  is  used  as  applied  to  the  territory 
assigned  to  each  tribe  in  the  promised 
land :  Josh.  xiii.  23.  Thus  also  it 
is  applied  to  the  people  of  Israel — 
the  Jewish  nation — as  the  possession 
or  property  of  Jehovah ;  as  a  people 
whom  he  regarded  as  his  own,  and 
whom,  as  such,  he  protected :  Dent. 
iv.  20 ;  ix.  26,  29.  In  this  place  the 
people  of  God  are  thus  spoken  of  as 
his  peculiar  possession  or  property 
on  earth;  as  that  which  he  regards 
as  of  most  value  to  him ;  as  that 
which  belongs  to  him,  or  to  which 
he  has  a  claim ;  as  that  which 
cannot  without  injustice  to  him  be 
alienated  from  him.  %  Feed  them 
also.  Marg.,  rule.  The  Hebrew  -word 
refers  to  the  care  which  a  shepherd 
extends  over  his  flock.  See  Psalm 
xxiii.  1,  where  the  same  word,  under 
another  form — shepherd — is  used.  The 
prayer  is,  that  God  would  take  the 
same  care  of  his  people  that  a  shep- 
herd takes  of  his  flock.  %  And  lift 
them  up  for  ever.  The  word  here 
used  may  mean  sustain  them,  or  sup- 
port them ;  but  it  more  properly 
means  bear,  and  would  be  best  ex- 
pressed by  a  reference  to  the  fact  that 
the  shepherd  carries  the  feeble,  the 
young,  and  the  sickly  of  his  flock  in 
his  arms,  or  that  he  lifts  them  up 
when  unable  themselves  to  rise.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  xl.  11;  lxiii.  9.  The 
word  for  ever  here  means  simply 
always  : — in  all  circumstances  ;  at  all 
times.  In  other  words,  the  psalmist 
prays  that  God  would  always  mani- 


psalm  xxi: 


247 


G 


PSALM  XXIX. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

\TE  "  unto  the  Lord,  O   ye 


fest  himself  as  the  friend  and  helper 
of  his  people,  as  He  had  done  to  him. 
It  may  be  added  here,  that  what  the 
psalmist  thus  prays  for  will  be  done. 
God  will  save  his  people ;  he  will  bless 
his  heritage  ;  he  ivill  be  to  them  a  kind 
and  faithful  shepherd ;  he  will  sustain, 
comfort,  uphold,  and  cherish  them 
always, — in  affliction ;  in  temptation ; 
in  death ;  for  ever.  They  have  only  to 
trust  in  him,  and  they  will  find  him 
more  kind  and  faithful  than  the  most 
tender  shepherd  ever  was  to  his  flock. 

PSALM  XXIX. 

This  also  purports  to  be  a  psalm 
of  David,  and  it  has  every  mark  of 
being  his  production.  It  is  designed 
to  set  forth  the  majesty  and  glory 
of  God,  especially  as  manifested  in  a 
thunder-storm,  and  was  evidently  com- 
posed in  view  of  such  an  exhibition  of 
his  power  and  glory.  It  is  one  of  the 
sublimest  descriptions  of  a  storm  of 
thunder  and  lightning  anywhere  to  be 
found.  It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  the 
particular  occasion  on  which  it  was  com- 
posed, nor  is  it  necessary  to  do  this  in 
order  to  enter  into  the  spirit  and  to 
appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  psalm. 
Occasions  occur  in  every  country  which 
furnish  an  illustration  of  the  psalm ;  and 
its  meaning  can  be  appreciated  by  all. 

The  psalm  has  a  universal  applicability. 
It  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  de- 
signed to  show  what  feelings  men  should 
have  in  a  violent  storm,  when  the 
thunder  rolls  over  sea  and  land,  and 
when  the  lightnings  flash  along  the 
sky;  the  effects  which  should  be  pro- 
duced amidst  such  scenes  ;  the  influence 
of  religion  in  keeping  the  mind  from 
alarm, — lifting  up  the  soul  in  adoration 
of  the  great  God, — and  inspiring  con- 
fidence in  One  who  has  power  to  control 
elements  so  fearful.  Amidst  all  the 
terrors  of  the  tempest  the  mind  of  the 
psalmist  was  calm.  The  effect  of  it  was 
to  lead  him  to  confide  in  the  power  of 
God,  and  to  fill  his  soul  with  adoring 
views  of  him. '  We  need  not  dread  the 
fury  of  the  elements  when  we  know  that 
they  are  under  the  absolute  control  of  a 


i  mighty,   give  unto  the  Lord 
"  glory  and  strength. 

m  Ps.  xcvi.  7—9 ;  1  Cliron.  xvi.  28,  29. 
1  sons  of  the  mighty,  Ps.  lxxxix.  6. 
n  Rev.  v.  11 — 14. 


Being  of  infinite  goodness,  truth,  mercy, 
and  love.  If  these  fearful  elements 
raged  without  control ;  if  they  were 
independent  of  God ;  if  they  were  re- 
strained by  no  laws ;  if  the  thunder 
rolled  and  the  lightning  played  by 
mere  caprice,  or  under  the  dominion  of 
chance,  well  might  we  tremble. 

The  psalm  properly  consists  of  three 
parts: — 

I.  The  duty  of  ascribing  praise  and 
glory  to  God  ;  of  giving  to  him  the  glory 
due  to  his  name  ;  of  worshipping  him  in 
the  beaut}r  of  holiness,  vers.  1,  2. 

II.  The  description  of  the  storm, 
vers.  3-9.  The  thunder  is  seven  times 
spoken  of  as  "  the  voice  of  the  Lord" 
(comp.  Rev.  x.  3,  "  And  when  he 
had  cried,  seven  thunders  uttered  their 
voices")  ; — and  some  peculiar  effect  is 
referred  to  as  resulting  from  the  utter- 
ance of  that  voice.  It  is  "  upon  the 
waters;"  it  is  "powerful;"  it  is  "  full 
of  majesty ;"  it  "  breaks  the  cedars ;"  it 
"  divides  the  flames  of  fire ;"  it  "  shakes 
the  wilderness;"  it  "makes  the  hinds 
to  calve,"  and  "  discovereth  the  forests." 

III.  The  impression  that  should  be 
produced  by  the  whole  scene.  The  Lord 
presides  over  the  floods ;  the  Lord  is  king 
for  ever ;  the  Lord  is  able  to  give  strength 
to  his  people ;  the  Lord  will  bless  Ms 
people  with  peace,  vers.  10,11.  In  such 
a  God  his  people  may  put  confidence; 
under  the  protection  of  One  who  can 
arm  himself  with  such  power,  and  who 
can  control  such  elements,  his  people 
have  nothing  to  fear;  in  contending 
with  such  a  God — one  who  can  sweep 
the  earth  with  desolation, — who  can 
direct  the  playing  lightnings  where  he 
pleases, — who  can  cause  his  voice  to  echo 
over  hills,  and  vales,  and  floods,  over  the 
sea  and  the  land,  producing  dismay  and 
consternation, — his  enemies  can  have 
nothing  to  hope. 

1.  Give  unto  the  Lokd.  Ascribe 
unto  Jehovah ;  or,  recognise  him  as 
entitled  to  what  is  here  ascribed  to 
him.  The  word  cannot  be  understood, 
as  it  is  commonly  with  us,  to  denote 
the  imparting  to  another,  or  granting 
to  another  what  he  does  not  now 
possess — for  God  is  always  in  posses* 


248 


PSALM  XXIX. 


2  Give  unto  the  Lord  the 
l  glory  due  unto  his  name  ;  wor- 
ship the  Lord  in  2  the  beauty 
0  of  holiness. 

1  honour  of  his  name. 
2  Or,  his  glorious  sanctuary. 


3  The  voice  of  the  Lord  is 
upon  the  waters  :  the  God  of  glory 
thundereth  ;  the  Lord  is  upon 
3  many  waters. 

o  Ps.  xc.  17;  2  Chron.  x.\.  21.    a  Or,  great. 


sion  of  what  is  here  ascribed  to  him. 
%  O  ye  mighty.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
ye  sons  of  the  mighty.  The  Hebrew 
word  here  used — t3s!?N —  is  the  plural 
form  of  one  of  the  names  of  God — 5K. 
The  word  means  properly  strong, 
mighty,  a  mighty  one,  a  hero  ;  then, 
strength,  might,  power ;  and  then  it  is 
applied  to  God  as  the  Mighty  One,  the 
Almighty.  (Gesenius.)  In  the  plural 
form,  the  word  means  mighty  ones, 
heroes,  gods  :  Exod.  xv.  11;  xviii.  11 ; 
Dan.  xi.  36.  The  phrase  sons  of  the 
mighty  is  used  only  here  and  in  Ps. 
lxxxix.  6.  The  allusion  is  undoubtedly 
to  the  angels  as  being  in  an  eminent 
sense  the  sons  of  God,  or  of  the 
mighty  onfs;  and  they  are  referred 
to  here  under  that  appellation  as 
being  themselves  endowed  with  power 
or  strength.  Comp.  Ps.  ciii.  20,  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  ye  his  angels,  that  excel  in 
strength  ;"  marg.,  mighty  in  strength. 
In  view  of  the  wonderful  exhibitions 
of  God's  power  in  the  storm — exhibi- 
tions far  above  the  power  of  the  most 
exalted  of  His  creatures,  the  psalmist 
calls  upon  the  angels,  the  most  exalted 
of  them,  to  acknowledge  the  existence 
of  a  power  so  much  beyond  their  own. 
^~  Glory  and  strength.  Majesty  and 
might.  Acknowledge  him  as  the  God 
of  glory;  as  endowed  with  power. 
That  is,  learn  from  the  manifestations 
of  the  power  evinced  in  the  storm  how 
great  is  the  power  and  the  glory  of  God. 
2.  Give  unto  the  Lord  the  glory 
due  unto  his  name.  Marg.,  the  honour 
of  his  name.  The  honour  of  his  name 
is  that  which  is  due  to  it,  or  which 
properly  belongs  to  it.  The  name  is 
put  here,  as  it  often  is,  for  God 
himself;  and  the  meaning  is,  "Ascribe 
to  God  the  honour  that  is  properly 
his  due."  This  is  a  claim  addressed 
to  the  angels ;  it  is  a  claim  certainly 
not  less  binding  on  men.  It  is  prac- 
tically a  call  on  all  creatures  in  the 


universe  to  ascribe  due  honour  to 
God.  %  Worship  the  Lord.  This 
exhortation  is  made  particularly  in 
view  of  the  manifestations  of  his 
power  in  the  storm.  The  idea  is, 
that  one  who  is  capable  of  putting 
forth  such  power  as  is  displayed  in  a 
tempest,  has  a  claim  to  adoration  and 
praise.  If  In  the  beauty  of  holiness. 
Marg.,  in  his  glorious  sanciuary.  The 
Hebrew  phrase  would  properly  mean 
holy  beauty.  Some  have  supposed 
that  it  means  in  holy  adorning,  or  in 
such  consecrated  vestments  as  were 
worn  by  priests  in  the  sacred  services 
of  the  sanctuary,  or  when  they  came 
into  the  presence  of  Jehovah.  So  De 
Wette  understands  it.  But  the  more 
probable  interpretation  is  that  which 
refers  it  to  the  state  of  the  heart — the 
internal  ornament — with  which  we 
should  approach  God, — to  a  holy  and 
pure  state  of  mind — that  beauty  or 
appropriateness  of  the  soul  which  con- 
sists in  holiness  or  purit}'.  Of  this 
the  external  clothing  of  the  priesthood 
was  itself  but  an  emblem,  and  this  is 
that  which  God  desires  in  those  who 
approach  him  in  an  act  of  worship. 
It  mav  be  added  that  there  is  no 
beauty  like  this ;  that  there  is  no  ex- 
ternal comeliness,  no  charm  of  person 
or  complexion,  no  adorning  of  costly 
robes,  that  can  be  compared  with  this. 
It  is  this  which  God  seeks,  and  with 
this  he  will  be  pleased,  whether  under 
a  less  or  more  attractive  external 
form ;  whether  under  rich  and  costly 
raiment,  or  under  the  plain  and  decent 
clothing  of  poverty. 

3.  The  voice  of  the  Lord.  The 
voice  of  Jehovah.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  expression  here,  which 
is  seven  times  repeated  in  the  psalm, 
"  the  voice  of  Jehovah,"  refers  to 
thunder;  and  no  one  can  fail  to  see 
the  appropriateness  of  the  expression. 
In  heavy  thunder  it  seems  as  if  God 


PSALM  XXIX. 


249 


4  The  voice  of  the  Lord  is 
i  powerful ;  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
is  2  full  of  majesty. 


in  power. 


2  in  majesty. 


5  The  voice  of  the  Lord 
breaketli  the  cedars ;  yea,  the 
Lord  breaketh  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon. 


spake.  It  comes  from  above.  It  fills 
us  with  awe.  We  know,  indeed,  that 
thunder  as  well  as  the  other  pheno- 
mena in  the  world,  is  produced  by 
what  are  called  "natural  causes;" 
that  there  is  no  miracle  in  thunder  ; 
and  that  really  God  does  not  speak 
any  more  in  the  thunder  than  he 
does  in  the  sighing  of  the  breeze  or 
in  the  gurgling  of  the  rivulet ; — but 
(a)  he  seems  more  impressively  to 
speak  to  men  in  the  thunder;  and  (I) 
he  may  not  improperly  be  regarded 
as  speaking  alike  in  the  thunder,  in 
the  sighing  of  the  breeze,  and  in  the 
gurgling  stream.  In  each  and  all  of 
these  ways  God  is  addressing  men; 
in  each  and  all  there  are  lessons  of 
great  value  conveyed,  as  if  by  his  own 
voice,  respecting  his  own  existence 
and  character.  Those  which  are  ad- 
dressed to  us  particularly  in  thunder, 
pertain  to  his  power,  his  majesty,  his 
greatness ;  to  our  own  weakness, 
feebleness,  dependence ;  to  the  ease 
with  which  he  could  take  us  away, 
and  to  the  importance  of  being  pre- 
pared to  stand  before  such  a  God. 
\  Is  upon  the  waters.  The  word  "  is  " 
is  supplied  here  by  our  translators. 
The  whole  passage  might  be  read  as 
an  exclamation  :  The  voice  of  Jehovah 
tip  on  the  waters  !  It  is  the  utterance 
of  one  who  is  overpowered  by  a  sud- 
den clap  of  thunder.  The  mind  is 
awed.  God  seems  to  speak ;  his  voice 
is  heard  rolling  over  the  waters.  The 
psalm  was  most  likely  composed  in 
view  of  the  sea  or  a  lake — not  im- 
probably in  view  of  the  Mediterranean, 
when  a  storm  was  passing  over  it. 
A  thunder-storm  is  sublime  anywhere, 
in  mountain  scenery  or  on  the  plains, 
on  the  land  or  on  the  ocean;  but 
there  are  circumstances  which  give  it 
peculiar  grandeur  at  sea,  when  the 
thunder  seems  to  roll  along  with 
nothing  to  check  or  break  it,  and 
when  the  sublimity  is  increased  by 
the  solitude  which  reigns  everywhere 


on  the  ocean.  ^[  The  God  of  glory. 
The  glorious  God.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxiv.  7-10.  \  The  Loed  is  upon  many 
waters.  Jehovah  himself  seems  to  be 
on  the  ocean.  His  voice  is  heard 
there,  and  he  himself  appears  to  be 
there.  The  margin  here  is,  great 
waters.  This  would  seem  to  imply 
that  the  psalm  was  composed  in  view 
of  waters  more  extended  than  a  lake 
or  a  river,  and  sustains  the  idea  above 
expressed,  that  it  was  in  view  of  the 
great  waters  which  must  have  been 
so  familiar  to  the  mind  of  the  sacred 
writer — the  waters  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

4.  The  voice  of  the  Loed  is  power- 
ful.    Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  in  potver. 

That  is,  is  mighty ;  or,  has  strength. 
Allusion  may  be  made  to  what  seems 
to  be  the  effect  of  thunder  in  prostrat- 
ing trees,  or  tearing  off  their  limbs, 
or  it  may  be  merely  to  the  loud  sound 
of  the  thunder.  "[[  Is  full  of  majesty . 
Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  in  majesty.  That 
is,  it  is  grand,  sublime,  overpowering. 

5.  Breaketh  the  cedars.  The  thun- 
der prostrates  the  lofty  trees  of  the 
forest.  The  psalmist  speaks  as  things 
appeared,  attributing,  as  was  natural, 
and  as  was  commonly  done,  that  to 
the  thunder  which  was  really  pro- 
duced by  the  lightning.  It  is  now 
fully  known  that  the  effect  here  re- 
ferred to  is  not  produced  by  thunder, 
but  by  the  rapid  passage  of  the  elec- 
tric fluid  as  it  passes  from  the  cloud 
to  the  earth.  That  power  is  so  great 
as  to  rive  the  oak  or  the  cedar ;  to 
twist  off  their  limbs  ;  to  prostrate 
their  lofty  trunks  to  the  ground.  The 
psalmist  speaks  of  thunder  as  ac- 
complishing this,  in  the  same  way 
that  the  sacred  writers  and  all  men, 
even  scientific  men,  commonly  speak, 
as  when  we  say,  the  sun  rises  and 
sets, — the  stars  rise  and  set,  etc.  Men 
who  should  undertake  in  all  cases  to 
speak  with  scientific  accuracy,  or  in 
the  strict  language  of  science,  would 

M  2 


250 


PSALM  XXIX. 


6  He  maketh  them  also  to 
skip  like  a  calf;  Lebanon  and 
Sirion  like  a  young  unicorn. 

7  The  voice  of  the  Lord  l  di- 
videth  the  flames  of  fire. 


8  The  voice  of  the  Lord 
shaketh  the  wilderness ;  the 
Lord  shaketh  the  wilderness 
of  Kadesh. 

1  cuitet'h  out. 


be  unintelligible  to  the  mass  of  man- 
kind ;  perhaps  on  most  subjects  they 
would  soon  cease  to  speak  at  all, — 
since  they  themselves  would  be  in 
utter  douht  as  to  what  is  scientific 
accuracy.  Men  who  require  that  a 
revelation  from  God  should  always 
use  language  of  strict  scientific  pre- 
cision, really  require  that  a  revelation 
should  anticipate  by  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  years  the  discoveries  of 
science,  and  use  language  which,  when 
the  revelation  was  given,  would  be 
unintelligible  to  the  mass  of  mankind; 
nay,  which  would  be  always  unintel- 
ligible to  a  large  portion  of  the  race, 
— since  men  ordinarily,  however  much 
the  exact  truths  of  science  may  be  dif- 
fused, do  not  learn  to  use  such  exact- 
ness of  speech.  As  long  as  men  have 
occasion  to  speak  on  the  subject  at  all 
they  will  probably  continue  to  say 
that  the  sun  rises  and  sets ;  that  the 
grass  grows ;  and  that  water  runs. 
^[  Breaketh  the  cedars  of  Lebanon. 
"Cedars  are  mentioned  as  the  loftiest 
forest  trees,  and  those  of  Lebanon  as 
the  loftiest  of  their  species." — Prof. 
Alexander.  The  cedars  of  Lebanon 
are  often  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures 
as  remarkable  for  their  size  and  gran- 
deur :  1  Kings  iv.  33;  v.  6;  Ps.  xcii. 
12;  Ezra  hi.  7. 

6.  He  maketh  them  also  to  skip 
like  a  calf.  That  is,  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon.  Comp.  Ps.  cxiv.  4,  "The 
mountains  skipped  like  rams,  and  the 
little  hills  like  lambs."  Ps.  lxviii.  16, 
"  Why  leap  ye,  ye  high  hills  ?"  The 
meaning  is  plain.  The  lightning  tore 
off  the  large  branches,  and  uprooted 
the  loftiest  trees,  so  that  they  seemed 
to  play  and  dance  like  calves  in  their 
gambols.  Nothing  could  be  more 
strikingly  descriptive  of  power.  *~  Le- 
banon and  Sirion.  Sirion  was  the 
name  by  which  Mount  Hermon  was 
known  among  the  Sidonians:   Deut. 


iii.  9,  "  "Which  Hermon  the  Sidonians 
call  Sirion."  It  is  a  part  of  the  great 
range  of  Anti-libanus.  %  Like  a 
young  unicorn.  On  the  meaning  of 
the  word  here  used,  see  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxii.  21.  The  illustration  would  be 
the  same  if  any  young  wild  animal 
were  referred  to. 

7.  Livideth  the  fames  of  fire. 
Marg.j  eutteth  out.  The  Hebrew 
word — 2!£rT>  hhatzab  —  means  pro- 
perly to  exit,  to  heic,  to  hew  out ;  as, 
for  example,  stones.  The  allusion 
here  is  undoubtedly  to  lightning ;  and 
the  image  is  either  that  it  seems  to 
be  cut  out,  or  cut  into  tongues  and 
streaks, — or,  more  probably,  that  the 
clouds  seem  to  be  cut  or  hewed  so  as  to 
make  openings  or  paths  for  the  light- 
ning. The  eye  is  evidently  fixed  on 
the  clouds,  and  on  the  sudden  flash  of 
lightning,  as  if  the  clouds  had  been 
cleaved  or  opened  for  the  passage  of 
it.  The  idea  of  the  psalmist  is  that 
the  "  voice  of  the  Lord,"  or  the  thun- 
der, seems  to  cleave  or  open  the  clouds 
for  the  flames  of  fire  to  play  amidst 
the  tempest.  Of  course  this  language, 
as  well  as  that  which  has  been  already 
noticed  (ver.  5),  must  be  taken  as  de- 
noting what  appears  to  the  eye,  and 
not  as  a  scientific  statement  of  the 
reality  in  the  case.  The  rolling  thun- 
der not  only  shakes  the  cedars,  and 
makes  the  lofty  trees  on  Lebanon  and 
Sirion  skip  like  a  calf  or  a  young  uni- 
corn, but  it  rends  asunder  or  cleaves 
the  clouds,  and  cuts  out  paths  for  the 
flames  of  fire. 

8.  Shaketh  the  icilderness.  Causes 
it  to  shake  or  to  tremble.  The  word 
here  used  means  properly  to  dance; 
to  be  whirled  or  twisted  upon  any- 
thing ;  to  twist — as  with  pain — or,  to 
writhe ;  and  then,  to  tremble,  to 
quake.  The  forests  are  made  to 
tremble  or  quake  in  the  fierceness  of 
the    storm, — referring   still  to  what 


PSALM  XXIX. 


251 


9  The  voice  of  the  Lord 
maketh  the  hinds  >  to  calve,  and 
discovereth  the  forests  :  and  °  in 
his  temple  2  doth  every  one  speak 
of  h  is  glory. 


10  The  Lord  sitteth  upon 
the  flood ;  p  yea,  the  Lord  sitteth 
9  King  for  ever. 

1  Or,  be  in  pain.  o  Ps.  Lxiii.  2. 

2  Or,  every  whit  of  it  ultereth. 

p  Gen.  viii.  1,  2.  q  Ps.  ii.  6—9. 


the  thunder  seems  to  do.  %  The  wil- 
derness of  Kadesh.  As  in  referring 
(vers.  5,  6)  to  the  effect  of  the  storm 
on  lofty  trees,  the  psalmist  had  given 
poetic  beauty  to  the  description  by 
specifying  Lebanon  and  Sirion,  so  he 
here  refers,  for  the  same  purpose,  to 
a  particular  forest  as  illustrating  the 
power  of  the  tempest — to  wit,  the 
forest  or  wilderness  of  Kadesh.  This 
wilderness  or  forest  was  on  the  south- 
eastern border  of  the  Promised  Land, 
towards  Edom;  and  it  is  memorable 
as  having  been  the  place  where  the 
Israelites  twice  encamped  with  a  view 
of  entering  Palestine  from  that  point, 
but  whence  they  were  twice  driven 
back  again, — the  first  time  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  sentence  that  they  should 
wander  forty  years  in  the  wilderness, — 
and  the  second  time,  from  the  refusal 
of  the  king  of  Edom  to  allow  them  to 
pass  through  his  territories.  It  was 
from  Kadesh  that  '^the  spies  entered 
Palestine.  See  Num.  xiii.  17,  26; 
xiv.  40-45;  xxi.  1-3 ;  Deut.  i.  41-46 ; 
Judges  i.  7.  Kadesh  was  on  the 
northern  border  of  Edom,  and  not  far 
from  Mount  Hor.  See  Robinson's 
Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  582,  610,  662;  Kitto,  Cyclo- 
Bib.  Lit.,  art.  Kadesh ;  and  the  Pic- 
torial Bible  on  Num.  xx.  1.  There 
seems  to  have  been  nothing  special  in 
regard  to  this  wilderness  which  led 
the  author  of  the  psalm  to  select  it 
for  his  illustration,  except  that  it  was 
well  known  and  commonly  spoken  of, 
and  that  it  would  thus  suggest  an 
image  that  would  be  familiar  to  the 
Israelites. 

9.  The  voice  of  the  Loed  maketh  the 
hinds  to  calve.  The  deer.  The  object  of 
the  psalmist  here  is  to  show  the  effects 
of  the  storm  in  producing  consterna- 
tion, especially  on  the  weak  and  timid 
animals  of  the  forest.  The  effect  here 
adverted  to  is  that  of  fear  or  con- 


sternation in  bringing  on  the  throes 
of  parturition.  Comp.  Job  xxxix.  1,  3. 
No  one  can  doubt  that  the  effect 
here  described  may  occur  in  the  vio- 
lence of  a  tempest ;  and  perhaps  no 
image  could  more  vividly  describe  the 
terrors  of  the  storm  than  the  con- 
sternation thus  produced.  The  margin 
here  is,  to  be  in  pain.  The  Hebrew 
means  to  bring  forth,  referring  to  the 
pains  of  parturition.  %  And  dis- 
covereth the  forests.  The  word  here 
used  means  to  strip  off,  to  uncover ; 
and,  as  used  here,  it  means  to  strip  off 
the  leaves  of  the  forest ;  to  make  the 
trees  bare — referring  to  an  effect  which 
is  often  produced  by  a  violent  storm. 
^[  And  in  his  temple  doth  every  one 
speak  of  his  glory.  Marg.,  every  xvhit 
of  it  uttereth,  etc.  The  word  here 
rendered  temple  does  not  refer  in  this 
place  to  the  tabernacle,  or  to  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  but  rather  to 
the  world  itself,  considered  as  the  re- 
sidence or  dwelling-place  of  God. 
Perhaps  the  true  translation  would 
be,  "And  in  his  temple  everything 
says,  Glory  !"  That  is,  in  the  dwell- 
ing-place of  God, — the  world  of  na- 
ture,— the  sky,  the  earth,  the  forests, 
the  waters,  everything  in  the  storm, 
echoes  glory,  glory  !  All  these  things 
declare  the  glory  of  God;  all  these 
wonders — the  voice  of  God  upon  the 
waters;  the  thunder;  the  crash  of 
the  trees  upon  the  hills ;  the  shaking 
of  the  wilderness  ;  the  universal  con- 
sternation; the  leaves  stripped  from 
the  trees  and  flying  in  every  direc- 
tion,— all  proclaim  the  majesty  and 
glory  of  Jehovah. 

10.  The  Loed  sitteth  upon  the  flood. 
God  is  enthroned  upon  the  flood,  or 
presides  over  it.  The  obvious  mean- 
ing is,  that  God  is  enthroned  upon 
the  storm,  or  presides  over  that  which 
produces  such  consternation.  It  is 
not  undirected;  it  is  not  the  result 


252 


PSALM  XXX. 


give 


11    The      Lord     will 
strength  r  unto  his  people ;  the 

r  Isa.  xl.  29—31. 


Lord  will  bless  his  people  with 
«  peace. 

5  Ps.  lxxxv.  8,10. 


of  chance  or  fate ;  it  is  not  produced 
by  mere  physical  laws;  it  is  not 
without  restraint — without  a  ruler — 
for  Jehovah  presides  over  all,  and  all 
this  may  be  regarded  as  his  throne. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii.  7-11.  See 
also  Ps.  xcvii.  2.  The  word  here  used 
is  commonly  applied  to  the  deluge  in 
the  time  of  Noah,  hut  there  would  be 
an  obvious  unfitness  in  supposing  here 
that  the  mind  of  the  psalmist  referred 
to  that,  or  that  the  course  of  thought 
would  be  directed  to  that,  and  it  is 
most  natural,  therefore,  to  suppose 
that  the  reference  is  to  the  floods  above 
— the  vast  reservoirs  of  waters  in  the 
clouds,  pouring  down,  amidst  the  fury 
of  the  tempest,  floods  of  rain  upon 
the  earth.  ^  The  Loed  sitteth  King 
for  ever.  This  is  an  appropriate  close 
of  the  entire  description;  this  is  a 
thought  which  tends  to  make  the 
mind  calm  and  confiding  when  the 
winds  howl  and  the  thunder  rolls; 
this  accords  with  the  leading  purpose 
of  the  psalm — the  call  on  the  sons  of 
the  mighty  (ver.  1)  to  ascribe  strength 
and  glory  to 'God.  From  all  the 
terrors  of  the  storm ; — from  all  that 
is  fearful,  on  the  waters,  in  the  forests, 
on  the  hills,  when  it  would  seem  as  if 
everything  would  be  swept  away, — 
the  mind  turns  calmly  to  the  thought 
that  God  is  enthroned  upon  the 
clouds ;  that  he  presides  over  all  that 
produces  this  wide-spread  alarm  and 
commotion,  and  that  he  ivill  reign  for 
ever  and  ever. 

11.  The  Loed  will  give  strength 
unto  his  people.  This  is  a  practical 
application  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
psalm,  or  a  conclusion  which  is  fairly 
to  be  derived  from  the  main  thought 
in  the  psalm.  The  idea  is,  that  the 
God  who  presides  over  the  tempest 
and  the  storm,  the  God  who  has 
such  power,  and  can  produce  such 
effects,  is  abundantly  able  to  uphold 
his  people,  and  to  defend  them.  In 
other  words,  the  application  of  such 
amazing  power  will  be  to  protect  his 


people,  and  to  save  them  from  danger. 
When  we  look  on  the  rolling  clouds  in 
the  tempest,  when  we  hear  the  roar- 
ing of  the  thunder,  and  see  the  flash- 
ing of  the  lightning,  when  we  hear 
the  oak  crash  on  the  hills,  and  see  the 
waves  piled  mountains  high,  if  we  feel 
that  God  presides  over  all,  and  that 
he  controls  all  this  with  infinite  ease, 
assuredly  we  have  no  occasion  to 
doubt  that  he  can  protect  us;  no 
reason  to  fear  that  his  strength  can- 
not support  us.  %  The  Loed  ivill 
bless  his  people  icith  peace.  They 
have  nothing  to  fear  in  the  tempest 
and  storm;  "nothing  to  fear  from  any- 
thing. He  will  bless  them  with  peace 
in  the  tempest;  he  will  bless  them 
with  peace  through  that  power  by 
which  he  controls  the  tempest.  Let 
them,  therefore,  not  fear  in  the  storm, 
however  fiercely  it  may  rage;  let 
them  not  be  afraid  in  any  of  the 
troubles  and  trials  of  life.  In  the 
storm,  and  in  those  troubles  and 
trials,  he  can  make  the  mind  calm ; 
beyond  those  storms  and  those  trou- 
bles he  can  give  them  eternal  peace 
in  a  world  where  no  "  angry  tempest 
blows." 

PSALM  XXX. 

This  is  said  to  be  "  A  Psalm  or  Song  at 
the  dedication  of  the  house  of  David." 
There  is  no  reason  to  call  in  question 
the  correctness  of  this  inscription,  though 
it  cannot  be  certain  that  it  was  prefixed 
.by  the  author  himself.  The  words  of 
the  title  are  found  in  the  Hebrew,  and 
it  is  to  be  presumed  that  they  were 
affixed  to  the  psalm  by  some  one  of  the 
inspired  writers. 

It  is  clearly  implied  in  the  title, 
though  not  expressly  affirmed,  that 
David  was  the  author"  of  the  psalm,  for 
it  is  to  be  presumed  that  he  would  him- 
self compose  the  hymn  or  song  that  was- 
to  be  used  at  the  dedication  of  his  own 
dwelling.  In  fact,  the  title,  as  Rosen- 
miiller  has  remarked,  might  not  im- 
properly be  read,  "  A  Psalm,  a  song  of 
dedication  of  a  house,  of  David,"  so  that 
the  words  "A  Psalm  of  David"  might 
not  improperly  be  regarded  as  united. 


PSALM    XXX. 


253 


It  is  not  absolutely  certain  what  occa- 
sion is  referred  to  in  the  psalm.  Some 
have  supposed  that  the  tabernacle  is 
meant ;  but  the  tabernacle  was  dedi- 
cated long  before  the  time  of  David. 
Others,  and  among  them  several  Jewish 
interpreters,  have  supposed  that  it  was 
prepared  in  order  to  be  sung  either  at 
the  dedication  of  the  temple  which 
Solomon  built,  or  the  dedication  of  that 
which  was  erected  after  the  return  from 
the  Babylonish  captivity.  Others  have 
supposed  that  it  was  intended  to  be  used 
at  the  dedication  of  the  house  or  palace 
which  David  built  for  himself  on  Mount 
Zion,  2  Sam.  v.  11.  It  was  usual  for  the 
Hebrews  to  "dedicate"  a  house  when  it 
was  finished ;  that  is,  to  devote  it  in  a 
solemn  manner  to  God,  probably  with 
appropriate  religious  exercises.  Deut. 
xx.  5,  "What  man  is  there  that  hath 
built  a  new  house,  and  hath  not  dedi- 
cated it  r  let  him  go  and  return  to  his 
house,  lest  he  die  in  the  battle,  and 
another  man  dedicate  it."  Comp.  also 
Neh.  xii.  27.  Others,  as  Rosenmuller 
and  Prof.  Alexander,  suppose  that  the 
psalm  was  designed  to  be  used  at  the 
dedication  of  the  altar  reared  by  David 
on  the  "threshing-floor"  of  Oman, 
which  David  purchased  at  the  time  of 
the  pestilence  which .  came  upon  the 
people  for  his  sin  in  numbering  the 
people,  1  Chron.  xxi.  15-26.  But  there 
is  no  certain  evidence  of  this.  Apart 
from  the  incongruity  of  calling  an  altar 
a  "house,"  the  circumstances  are  not 
such  as  to  lead  us  to  believe  that  the 
psalm  was  composed  for  that  occasion. 
The  allusion  in  the  psalm  is  rather  to  a 
previous  state  of  depression,  trouble,  and 
sorrow,  such  as  occurred  in  the  life  of 
David  before  he  conquered  his  enemies, 
and  before  he  was  peaceably  established 
on  his  throne, — and  to  the  joy  which  he 
felt  when  he  had  triumphed  over  his 
foes,  and  teas  peacefully  established  as 
king  in  Jerusalem.  All  the  circum- 
stances seem  to  me  to  accord  best  with 
the  time  when  David  erected  a  house 
for  his  own  abode — a  palace — on  Mount 
Zion,  and  to  the  act  of  dedicating  such  a 
house  to  God.  See  2  Sam.  v.  9-12; 
vii.  1,  2.  It  may  be  added  that  that 
was  properly  called  "the  house  of 
David" — a  name  which  could  be  given 
neither  to  the  altar  erected  on  the 
threshing-floor  of  Oman,  nor  to  the 
tabernacle,  nor  to  the  temple. 

But  although  the  psalm  was  composed 
for  the  purpose  of  being  used  at  the 
dedication  of  his  "house,"  it  was  in 


view  of  some  important  circumstances 
of  his  past  life,  and  particularly  of  his 
feelings  in  time  of  dangerous  illness, 
and  of  his  obligation  on  his  recover}-  to 
devote  himself  to  God.  In  the  dedica- 
tion of  his  house  to  God  he  recurs  with 
deep  interest  to  that  period  of  his  life, 
and  dwells  with  grateful  satisfaction  on 
the  goodness  of  God  manifested  in  his 
restoration  to  health.  On  entering  his 
new  abode,  he  seems  to  have  felt  that 
there  was  a  special  propriety  in  his 
recognising  the  fact  that  he  owed  his 
life  to  God  ;  his  life,  not  only  in  general, 
but  in  this  special  act  of  goodness,  by 
which  he  had  been  raised  up  from  the 
borders  of  the  grave.  His  former  con- 
dition of  calamity  and  sorrow  as  con- 
trasted tcith  Jus  present  happy  and  pros- 
perous condition,  therefore,  suggested 
the  train  of  thought  in  the  psalm  at  the 
dedication  of  his  house.  In  the  course 
of  the  psalm,  as  illustrating  his  feelings, 
he  adverts  to  the  following  points  : — (1.) 
His  former  state  of  self-confidence  or 
security  when  he  was  in  health,  and 
when  he  thought  Ins  "mountain"  stood 
"strong,"  vers.  6,  7.  (2.)  His  sickness 
as  a  means  of  humbling  him,  and  teach- 
ing him  his  dependence,  vers.  2,  3. 
(3.)  His  prayer  for  deliverance  when  he 
was  sick,  vers.  2,  8 — 10.  (4.)  His 
deliverance  as  an  act  of  God  vers.  2,  3, 
11.  (o.)  His  obligation  to  give  thanks 
to  God  for  his  mercy,  vers.  1,  4,  12. 
These  would  suggest  most  appropiiate 
topics  of  meditation  on  entering  a  new 
abode,  and  looking  forward  to  the  vicis- 
situdes wrhich  might  and  which  would 
probably  occur  there. 

That  the  allusion  in  the  psalm  is  to 
sickness,  seems  to  me  to  be  evident  from 
vers.  2,  3,  and  9,  though  at  what  time 
of  life  this  occurred,  or  what  was  the 
particular  fonn  of  disease,  Ave  are  not 
informed.  From  vers.  3  and  9,  how- 
ever, it  is  certain  that  it  was  a  dan- 
gerous illness ;  that  he  anticipated 
death ;  and  that  he  was  saved  from 
death  only  in  answer  to  fervent  prayer. 
The  psalm,  therefore,  in  this  respect,  has 
a  resemblance  to  Ps.  vi.,  xxxv.,  and 
xli. — psalms  composed  also  in  view  of 
sickness.  In  a  book  claiming  to  be  from 
God,  and  designed  for  all  mankind  in  a 
world  where  sickness  so  abounds,  it  was 
to  be  expected  that  there  would  be  allu- 
sions to  disease  as  well  as  to  other  forms 
of  afiiiction,  and  that  in  the  examples  of 
ancient  saints  suffering  on  beds  of  pain, 
we  should  be  able  to  find  illustrations  of 
proper  pious  feeling ;  that  we  should  be 


254 


PSALM    XXX. 


I 


PSALM  XXX. 

A  Psalm  and  Song  at  the  dedication  of  the 
house  of  David. 

WILL  extol  thee,   O  Lord; 
for  thou  hast>  lifted    me  up, 


directed  by  their  example  to  the  true 
sources  of  consolation,  and  should  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  lessons  which 
God  designs  to  teach  us  in  sickness. 

The  direct  contents  of  the  psalm  are 
as  follows : — 

I.  The  author  recounts  the  signal 
mercy  of  God  to  him  in  the  time  of  his 
danger.  God  had  lifted  him  up,  and 
had  not  allowed  his  enemies  to  exult 
over  his  death,  vers.  1-3. 

II.  He  calls  upon  others  to  unite  with 
him  in  praising  God,  and  especially  in 
view  of  the  truth  that  affliction,  as  en- 
dured by  the  people  of  God,  would  not 
continue  long,  and  that  it  would  cer- 
tainly be  followed  by  peace  and  joy,  as 
the  light  of  the  morning  will  certainly 
follow  the  darkest  night,  vers.  4,  5. 

III.  He  adverts  again,  in  illustration 
of  this,  to  his  former  state,  saying  that 
there  was  a  time  when  he  thought  he 
should  never  be  moved  ;  when  he 
supposed  that  his  "  mountain"  stood 
"strong,"  and  that  he  was  secure  ;  but 
that  God  had  hid  his  face,  and  troubled 
him,  teaching  him  not  to  confide  in  his 
own  strength,  or  in  the  mei'e  fact  that 
he  was  prosperous,  vers.  6,  7. 

IV.  He  adverts  to  his  earnest  pra}'er 
in  the  time  of  his  affliction,  and  i*ecounts 
the  substance  of  that  prayer,  vers.  8-10. 
The  argument  which  he  then  urged 
was  that  there  could  be  no  "  profit "  or 
advantage  to  God  "in  his  blood,"  or  in 
his  being  cut  off;  that  the  "dust,"  that 
is,  the  dead,  could  not  praise  him  or  de- 
clare his  truth.  He,  therefore,  prajed 
that  God  would  keep  him  alive,  that  he 
might  honour  Him  upon  the  earth. 

V.  In  vers.  11,  12,  he  refers  to  the 
fact  that  the  prayer  was  heard,  and  to 
the  reason  why  it  was  heard.  God  bad 
turned  his  mourning  into  dancing ;  he 
had  put  off  his  sackcloth,  and  girded 
him  with  gladness.  The  reason  why 
God  had  done  this  was  ,that  his  "glory," 
that  is,  his  tongue  (marg.),  might  give 
praise  to  God,  and  not  be  silent ;  and, 
in  view  of  all  the  goodness  of  God  to 
him,  he  expresses  his  purpose  to  praise 
God  for  ever. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the 
contents  of  the  psalm  are  every  way 
suitable  to  the  occasion  supposed  to  be 


and  hast  not  made  my  foes  to 
rejoice  over  me. 

2  O   Lord  my  God,   I  cried 
unto  thee,  and  thou  hast  healed 


me. 


referred  to, — the  dedication  of  his  house 
to  God.  On  entering  such  a  habitation 
for  the  first  time  it  was  proper  to  recall 
the  past  scenes  of  his  life,— his  perils 
and  troubles ;  it  was  proper  to  acknow- 
ledge the  goodness  of  God  in  delivering 
him  from  those  perils  and  troubles;  it 
was  proper  to  express  his  solemn  purpose 
to  serve  God  in  that  dwelling,  and  to 
consecrate  himself  and  all  that  he  had 
to  him  and  to  his  service  evermore. 
"What  was  proper  for  the  royal  author 
of  this  psalm  is  proper  for  all ;  and 
there  can  be  nothing  more  appropriate 
when  we  have  erected  a  house  to  dwell  in 
than  to  dedicate  it  to  God,  Avith  a  suitable 
recollection  of  his  dealings  with  us  in 
our  past  life,  and  to  pray  that  lie  may 
also  condescend  to  dwell  with  us  there. 

1.  I  will  extol  thee.  Literally,  I 
tuill  exalt  thee;  that  is,  he  would 
make  God  first  and  supreme  in  his 
thoughts  and  affections;  he  would  do 
what  he  could  to  make  Him  known ; 
he  would  elevate  Him  high  in  his 
praises.  %  For  thou  hast  lifted  me  up. 
To  wit,  from  the  state  of  danger  in 
which  I  was  (vers.  2,  3).  The  Hebrew 
word  here  used  means  properly  to 
draw  out,  as  from  a  well ;  and  then, 
to  deliver,  to  set  free.  As  God  had 
thus  lifted  him  up,  it  was  proper  that 
he  should  show  his  gratitude  by  lift- 
ing up  or  extolling  the  name  of  God. 
^f  And  hast  not  made  my  foes  to  re- 
joice over  me.  Hast  not  suffered  them 
to  triumph  over  me  ;  that  is,  thou 
hast  delivered  me  from  them.  He 
refers  to  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
saved  from  a  dangerous  illness,  and 
that  his  enemies  had  not  been  allowed 
to  exult  over  his  death.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Ps.  xli.  5. 

2.  O  Lord  my  God,  I  cried  unto 
thee.  In  the  time  of  trouble  and 
danger.  %  And  thou  hast  healed  me. 
Thou  didst  restore  me  to  health.  The 
language  here  evidently  refers  to  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  sick,  and  had 
then  been  restored  to  health. 


PSALM  XXX. 


255 


3  O  Lord,  thou s  hast  brought 
up  my  soul  from  the  grave :  thou 
hast  kept  me  alive,  that  I  should 
not  go  down  to  the  pit. 

4  Sing  unto  the  Lord,  O  ye 
saints  of  his,  and  give  thanks  J  at 

s  Isa.  xxxviii.  17.       1  Or,  to  the  memorial. 


3.  0  Lord,  thou  hast  brought  up 
my  soul  from  the  grave.  My  life ;  me. 
The  meaning  is,  that  he  had  been  in 
imminent  danger  of  death,  and  had 
been  brought  from  the  borders  of  the 
grave.  The  word  here  rendered  grave 
is  Sheol — a  word  which,  properly  used, 
commonly  denotes  the  region  of  the 
dead ;  the  under- world  which  is  en- 
tered through  the  grave.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  9 ;  Ps.  vi.  5. 
^f  Thou  hast  kept  me  alive,  that  I 
should  not  go  down  to  the  pit.  More 
literally,  "  thou  hast  caused  me  to  live 
from  them  which  go  down  to  the  pit ; 
that  is,  thou  hast  distinguished  me 
from  them  by  keeping  me  alive.  The 
word  pit  here  means  the  same  as  the 
grave.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxviii.  1. 

4.  Sing  unto  the  Loed,  O  ye  saints 
of  his.  This  call  upon  others  to  give 
thanks  to  God  is  in  view  of  the  mercy 
which  he  had  experienced.  He  invites 
them  to  unite  with  him  in  celebrating 
the  praises  of  that  God  who  had  showed 
him  so  much  mercy.  It  was  not  be- 
cause they  had  been  benefited  by 
these  tokens  of  the  Divine  favour; 
but  (a)  because  when  we  are  par- 
takers of  the  Divine  mercy,  we  desire 
that  others  may  assist  us  in  giving 
utterance  to  the  praise  due  to  God; 
and  (b)  because  others  may  learn  from 
the  mercies  bestowed  on  us  that  God 
is  worthy  of  praise,  or  may  see  in  his 
dealings  with  us  an  argument  for  his 
goodness;  and  may,  therefore,  appro- 
priately unite  in  his  praise.  Thus 
religion  diffuses  its  influence  on  all 
around  us,  and  tends  to  unite  the 
hearts  of  many  in  every  manifestation 
of  the  character  of  God.  Infidelity  is 
solitary  and  dissocial ;  rsligion  is 
social ;  and,  no  matter  on  whom  the 
favour  is  bestowed,  its  effect  is  to 
unite  the  hearts  of  many  to  each  other 


the  remembrance  of  his  holiness. 
5  For  2  his  anger  endureth  but 
a  moment ;  in  his  favour  is  life  : 
weeping  may  endure  3  for  a  night, 
but  4  joy  cometh  in  the  morning. 

2  there  is  but  a  -moment  in  his  anger. 

3  in  the  evening.  4  singing. 


and  to  God.  ■[[  And  give  thanks  at 
the  remembrance  of  his  holiness. 
Marg.,  to  the  memorial.  The  Hebrew 
is,  to  the  memory  of  his  holiness.  The 
sense  is,  in  calling  to  recollection  the 
acts  of  his  holiness,  or  his  holy  per- 
fections. Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xxii. 
3.  The  word  holiness  here  is  used  in 
a  large  sense  as  denoting,  not  so  much 
the  hatred  of  sin,  as  benevolence, 
kindness,  mercy, — the  Divine  compas- 
sion towards  those  who  are  in  trouble 
or  danger.  It  is  true  that  it  is  a 
proper  subject  of  rejoicing  and  praise 
that  God  is  a  holy  God,  a  God  of  truth 
and  justice,  a  God  who  cannot  look 
upon  sin  but  with  abhorrence,  a  God 
in  whose  nature  is  combined  every 
possible  perfection ;  but  that  is  not  the 
exact  idea  here.  The  word  refers  to 
his  compassion,  goodness,  kindness; 
and  to  the  acts  by  which  that  had 
been  manifested  to  the  psalmist,  as 
laying  a  proper  foundation  for  grati- 
tude and  praise. 

5.  For  his  anger  endureth  but  a 
moment.  Marg.,  There  is  but  a  moment 
in  his  anger.  So  the  Hebrew.  That 
is,  his  anger  endures  but  a  short 
time,  or  brief  period.  The  refer- 
ence here  is  to  the  troubles  and 
sorrows  through  which  the  psalmist 
had  passed,  as  compared  with  his 
subsequent  happiness.  Though  at  the 
time  they  might  have  seemed  to  be 
long,  yet,  as  compared  with  the  many 
mercies  of  life,  with  the  joy  which 
had  succeeded  them,  and  with  the 
hopes  now  cherished,  they  seemed  to 
be  but  for  a  moment.  God,  accord- 
ing to  the  view  of  the  psalmist,  is  not 
a  Being  who  cherishes  anger ;  not 
one  who  lays  it  up  in  his  mind ;  not 
one  who  is  unwilling  to  show  mercy 
and  kindness : — he  is  a  Being  who  is 
disposed  to  be  merciful,  and  though 


25C 


PSALM  XXX. 


6  And  in  my  prosperity  I  said, 
I  shall  never  be  moved. 

t  Ps.  xviii.  35,  36. 


he  may  he  displeased  with  the  conduct 
of  men,  yet  his  displeasure  is  not 
cherished  and  nourished,  but  passes 
away  with  the  occasion,  and  is  remem- 
bered no  more.  %  In  his  favour  is 
life.  It  is  his  nature  to  impart  life. 
He  spares  life  ;  he  will  give  eternal 
life.  It  is,  in  other  words,  not  his 
nature  to  inflict  death;  death  is  to 
be  traced  to  something  else.  Death 
is  not  pleasing  or  gratifying  to  him; 
it  is  pleasing  and  gratifying  to  him  to 
confer  life.  His  favour  secures  life; 
death  is  an  evidence  of  his  displea- 
sure,— that  is,  death  is  caused  by  sin 
leading  to  his  displeasure.  If  a  man 
has  the  favour  of  God,  he  is  sure  of 
life ;  if  not  life  in  this  world,  yet  life 
in  the  world  to  come.  %  Weeping 
■may  endure  for  a  night.  Marg.,  in  the 
evening.  So  the  Hebrew.  The  word 
here  rendered  endure  means  properly 
to  lodge,  to  sojourn,  as  one  does  for  a 
little  time.  The  idea  is,  that  weeping 
is  like  a  stranger — a  wayfaring  man 
— who  lodges  for  a  night  only.  In 
other  words,  sorrow  will  soon  pass 
away  to  be  succeeded  by  joy.  %  But 
jog  cometh  in  the  morning.  Marg., 
singing.  The  margin  expresses  the 
force  of  the  original  word.  There 
will  be  singing,  shouting,  exultation. 
That  is,  if  we  have  the  friendship  of 
God,  sorrow  will  always  be  temporary, 
and  will  always  be  followed  by  joy. 
The  morning  will  come;  a  morning 
without  clouds ;  a  morning  when  the 
sources  of  sorrow  will  disappear. 
This  often  occurs  in  the  present  life ; 
it  will  always  occur  to  the  righteous 
in  the  life  to  come.  The  sorrows  of 
this  life  are  but  for  a  moment,  and 
they  will  be  succeeded  by  the  light  and 
the  joy  of  heaven.  Then,  if  not  before, 
all  the  sorrows  of  the  present  life, 
however  long  they  may  appear  to  be, 
will  seem  to  have  been  but  for  a 
moment ;  weeping,  though  it  may 
have  made  life  here  but  one  unbroken 
night,  will  be  followed  by  one  eternal 
day  without  a  sigh  or  a  tear. 


7  Lord,   by  thy  favonr  thou 
*  hast  l  made  my  mountain    to 

1  settled  strength  for  my  mountain. 


6.  And  in  my  prosperity  I  said,  I 
shall  never  be  moved.  I  shall  never 
be  visited  with  calamity  or  trial. 
This  refers  to  a  past  period  of  his  life, 
when  everything  seemed  to  be  pros- 
perous, and  when  he  had  drawn 
around  him  so  many  comforts,  and 
had  apparently  made  them  so  secure, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  they  could  never 
be  taken  from  him,  or  as  if  he  had 
nothing  to  fear.  To  what  precise 
period  of  his  life  the  psalmist  refers, 
it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain.  It 
is  sufficient  to  say,  that  men  are  often 
substantially  in  that  state  of  mind. 
They  have  such  vigorous  constitutions 
and  snch  continued  health ;  their 
plans  are  so  uniformly  crowned  with 
success;  everything  which  they  touch 
so  certainly  turns  to  gold,  and  every 
enterprise  so  certainly  succeeds ;  they 
have  so  many  and  such  warmly- 
attached  friends ;  they  have  accumu- 
lated so  much  property,  and  it  is  so 
safely  invested, — that  it  seems  as  if 
they  were  never  to  know  reverses,  and 
they  unconsciously  suffer  the  illusion 
to  pass  over  the  mind  that  they  are 
never  to  see  changes,  and  that  they 
have  nothing  to  dread.  They  become 
self-confident.  They  forget  their  de- 
pendence on  God.  In  their  own 
minds  they  trace  their  success  to 
their  own  efforts,  tact,  and  skill,  rather 
than  to  God.  They  become  worldly- 
minded,  and  it  is  necessary  for  God  to 
teach  them  how  easily  he  can  sweep 
all  this  away, — and  thus  to  bring 
them  back  to  a  right  view  of  the  un- 
certainty of  all  earthly  things.  Health 
fails,  or  friends  die,  or  property  takes 
wings  and  flies  away;  and  God  accom- 
plishes his  purpose, — a  purpose  in- 
valuable to  them, — by  showing  them 
their  dependence  on  himself,  and  by 
teaching  them  that  permanent  and 
certain  happiness  and  security  are  to 
be  found  in  Him  alone. 

7.  Lord,  by  thy  favour  thou  hast 
made  my  mountain  to  stand  strong. 
Marg.,  settled  strength  for  my  moun- 


PSALM  XXX. 


257 


stand   strong  :   thou  didst  hide 
thy  face,  and  I  was  troubled. 

m  Ps.  xxxiv.  6. 


tain.  This  refers,  I  apprehend,  to  his 
former  state  of  mind ;  to  his  confi- 
dence in  that  which  constituted  his 
prosperity  as  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
vious verse ;  to  his  feeling,  in  that 
state,  that  everything  pei'taining  to 
himself  was  safe ;  to  his  freedom  from 
any  apprehension  that  there  would  be 
any  change.  The  word  mountain 
seems  to  be  used  as  denoting  that  on 
which  he  relied  as  his  security  or 
strength,  as  the  mountain,  or  the  in- 
accessible hills,  cotistituted  a  refuge 
and  security  in  times  of  danger.  See 
Ps.  xviii.  1,  2,  33;  xxvii.  5.  It  does 
not  refer  to  Mount  Moriah,  or  Mount 
Zion,  as  some  have  supposed,  for  the 
passage  relates  to  a  former  period  of 
his  life  when  these  were  not  in  his 
possession;  but  he  speaks  of  himself 
as  having,  through  the  favour  of  God, 
put  himself  into  a  strong  position, — a 
position  where  he  feared  no  enemy 
and  no  change;  where  he  thought 
himself  entirely  secure, — the  state  of 
prosperity  to  which  he  had  referred 
in  the  previous  verse.  In  that  state, 
however,  God  showed  him  that  there 
was  no  real  security  but  in  his  favour  : 
security  not  in  what  a  man  can  draw 
around  himself,  but  in  the  favour  of 
God  alone.  %  Thou  didst  hide  thy 
face.  That  is,  at  the  time  when  I 
was  so  confident,  and  when  I  thought 
my  mountain  stood  so  strong,  and  that 
I  was  so  secure.  Then  I  was  shown 
how  insecure  and  uncertain  was  all 
that  I  relied  on,  and  how  absolutely, 
after  all  that  I  had  done,  I  was  de- 
pendent for  safety  on  God.  To  hide 
the  face  is  synonymous  in  the  sacred 
writings  with  the  withdrawing  of  fa- 
vour, or  with  displeasure.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xiii.  1.  Comp.  Ps.  civ.  29.  If 
And  I  teas  troubled.  I  was  confounded, 
perplexed,  agitated,  terrified.  I  was 
thrown  into  sudden  fear,  for  all  that 
I  had  so  confidently  relied  on,  all 
that  I  thought  was  so  firm,  was  sud- 
denly swept  away.  We  do  not  know 
what   this   was  in  the  case   of    the 


8  I  cried  M  to  thee,  O  Lord  ; 
and  unto  the  Lord  I  made  sup- 
plication. 


psalmist.  It  may  have  been  the 
strength  of  his  own  fortifications ;  it 
may  have  been  the  number  and 
discipline  of  his  army  ;  it  may  have 
been  his  own  conscious  power  and 
skill  as  a  warrior ;  it  may  have  been 
his  wealth ;  it  may  have  been  his 
bodily  health, — in  reference  to  any  of 
which  he  may  have  felt  as  if  none  of 
these  things  could  fail.  When  that 
on  which  he  so  confidently  relied  was 
swept  away,  he  was  agitated,  troubled, 
anxious.  The  same  thing  may  occur 
now,  and  often  does  occur,  when  men 
rely  on  their  own  strength ;  their 
health  ;  their  wealth.  Suddenly  any 
of  these  may  be  swept  away ;  suddenly 
they  are  often  swept  away,  to  teach 
such  men — even  good  men — their  de- 
pendence on  God,  and  to  show  them 
how  vain  is  every  other  refuge. 

8.  /  cried  to  thee,  0  Lord.  That 
is,  when  those  reverses  came,  and  when 
that  on  which  I  had  so  confidently  re- 
lied was  taken  away,  I  called  upon  the 
Lord;  I  uttered  an  earnest  cry  for 
aid.  The  prayer  which  he  uttered  on 
the  occasion  is  specified  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses.  The  idea  here  is,  that 
he  was  not  driven  from  God  by  these 
reverses,  but  to  him.  He  felt  that 
his  reliance  on  those  things  in  which 
he  had  put  his  trust  was  vain,  and  he 
now  came  to  God,  the  true  source  of 
strength,  and  sought  His  protection 
and  favour.  This  was  doubtless  the 
design  of  the  reverses  which  God  had 
brought  upon  him  ;  and  this  will  al- 
ways be  the  effect  of  the  reverses  that 
come  upon  good  men.  When  they 
have  placed  undue  reliance  on  wealth, 
or  health,  or  friends,  and  when  these 
are  taken  away,  the  effect  will  be  to 
lead  them  to  God  in  earnest  prayer. 
God  designs  to  bring  them  back,  and 
they  do  come  back  to  him.  Afflictions 
are  always,  sooner  or  later,  effectual 
in  bringing  good  men  back  to  God. 
The  sinner  is  often  driven  from  God 
by  trial ;  the  good  man  is  brought  back 
to  find  his  strength   and  comfort  in 


258 


PSALM    XXX. 


9  What  profit  is  there  in  my 
blood,  when  I  go  down  to  the 
pit  ?  Shall  the  dust  praise  thee  ? 
shall  it  declare  thy  truth  ? 

10  Hear,   O   Lord,  and  have 

v  Ps.  cxxvi.  ],  2;  Isa.  lxi.  3. 


God.  The  one  complains,  and  murmurs, 
and  is  wretched;  the  other  prays,  and 
submits,  and  is  made  more  happy  than 
he  was  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity. 

9.  What  profit  is  there  in  my  blood. 
That  is,  What  profit  or  advantage 
would  there  be  to  thee  if  I  should 
die  ?  What  would  be  gained  by  it  ? 
The  argument  which  the  psalmist 
urges  is  that  he  could  better  serve 
God  by  his  life  than  by  his  death ; 
that  his  death,  by  removing  him  from 
the  earth,  would  prevent  his  rendering 
the  service  which  he  might  by  his 
life.  The  same  argument  is  presented 
also  in  Ps.  vi.  5  (see  Notes  on  that 
verse),  and  is  found  again  in  lxxxviii. 
10 — 12,  and  in  the  hymn  of  Hezekiah, 
Isa.  xxxviii.  18,  19.  See  Notes  on 
that  passage.  The  prayer  here  used 
is  to  be  understood,  not  as  a  prayer 
at  the  time  of  the  composition  of  the 
psalm,  but  as  that  which  the  psalmist 
employed  at  the  time  when  he  thought 
his  mountain  stood  strong,  and  when 
God  saw  fit  to  humble  him  by  some 
calamity — perhaps  by  a  dangerous  ill- 
ness, vers.  6,  7.  1[  When  I  go  doion 
to  the  pit  ?  To  the  grave ;  or,  If  I 
should  go  down  to  the  grave.  Notes 
on  ver.  3.  %  Shall  the  dust  praise 
thee  ?  That  which  turns  to  dust ;  the 
lifeless  remains.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  vi. 
5.  %  Shall  it  declare  thy  truth  ?  Can 
a  lifeless  body  stand  up  in  defence  of 
the  truth,  or  make  that  truth  known 
to  the  living  ?  This  shows  on  what 
his  heart  was  really  set,  or  what  was 
the  prevailing  desire  of  his  soul.  It 
was  to  make  known  the  truth  of  God; 
to  celebrate  his  praise;  to  bring 
others  to  an  acquaintance  with  him. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  state- 
ment here  made  is  founded  on  obscure 
views,  or  on  a  misconception  of  the 
condition  of  the  soul  after  death — a 
misconception  which  we  are  enabled 
to  correct  by  the  clearer  light  of  the 


mercy  upon  me :  Lord,  be  thou 
my  helper. 

11  Thou  hast  turned  ■  for  me 
my  mourning  into  dancing  :  thou 
hast  put  off  my  sackcloth,  and 
girded  me  with  gladness ; 


Christian  religion ;  but  still  there  is  a 
truth  here  of  great  importance.  It 
is,  that  whatever  toe  are  to  do  for 
making  known  the  character  and  per- 
fections of  God  on  earth, — for  bring- 
ing others  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  saving  their  souls, — is  to 
be  done  before  we  go  down  to  the 
grave.  Whatever  we  may  do  to 
honour  God  in  the  future  world — in 
the  vast  eternity  on  which  we  enter 
at  death, — yet  all  that  we  are  to  do 
in  this  respect  on  earth  is  to  be  ac- 
complished before  the  eyes  are  closed, 
and  the  lips  are  made  dumb,  in  death. 
We  shall  not  return  to  do  what  we 
have  omitted  to  do  on  earth;  we 
shall  not  come  back  to  repair  the 
evils  of  an  inconsistent  life ;  we  shall 
not  revisit  the  world  to  check  the 
progress  of  error  that  we  may  have 
maintained ;  we  shall  not  return  to 
warn  the  sinners  whom  we  neglected 
to  warn.  Our  work  on  earth  will  be 
soon  done, — and  done  finallv  and  for 
ever.  If  we  are  to  offer  prayer  for 
the  salvation  of  our  children,  neigh- 
bours, or  friends,  it  is  to  be  clone  in 
this  world;  if  we  are  to  admonish 
and  warn  the  wicked,  it  is  to  be  done 
here ;  if  we  are  to  do  anything  by 
personal  effort  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel,  it  is  to  be  done  before  we  die. 
Whatever  we  may  do  in  heaven,  these 
things  are  not  to  be  done  there ;  for 
when  we  close  our  eyes  in  death,  our 
personal  efforts  for  the  salvation  of 
men  will  cease  for  ever. 

10.  Sear,  O  Lord,  and  have  mercy 
upon  me,  etc.  This,  too,  is  the  prayer 
which  he  uttered  in  the  calamities 
adverted  to  in  ver.  7.  It  is  a  cry  for 
mercy  founded  on  the  idea  referred 
to  in  ver.  9. 

11.  Thou  hast  turned  for  me.  In 
my  behalf.  That  is,  God  had  heard 
his  prayer;  he  had  brought  his 
troubles  to  an  end ;  he  had  caused  his 


PSALM  XXXI. 


259 


12  To  the  end  that  my  1  glory 
may  sing  praise  to  thee,  and  not 

1  i.e.  tongue,  or,  soul,  Ps.  xvi.  9. 


be  silent.  O  Lord  my  God,  I 
will  give  thanks  unto  thee  for 
ever. 


sorrows    to   be   succeeded   by    corre- 
spondent joy.     %  My  mourning  into 
dancing.     Joy,  exultation,  every  ex- 
pression of  rejoicing,  had  been  made 
to  succeed  bis  deep  sorrows.     Comp. 
ver.  5.     It  was  tbis  which  he  com- 
memorated at  the  dedication  of  his 
house ;  this  joy  succeeding  scenes  of 
sorrow  that  he  now  called  to  remem- 
brance as  he  entered  the  place  which 
he  had  reared  for  a  permanent  abode. 
The  contrast  of  his  circumstances  now 
— in  a  palace,  with  every  comfort  of 
plenty  and  peace  around  him — with 
his  former  circumstances  which  had 
been  so  sad,  made  it  proper  for  him 
thus  to  celebrate  the  goodness  of  God. 
%  Thou  hast  put  off  my  sackcloth. 
That  which  I  wore,   or   had  girded 
around  me,  as  an  emblem  of  sorrow, 
or  in  the  time  of  my  mourning.     See 
Notes  on   Isa.  iii.  24 ;    Job  xvi.  15 ; 
and  Matt.  xi.  21.     %  And  girded  me 
with  gladness.     Instead  of  a  girdle  of 
sackcloth  he  had  been  clothed  in  a 
gay  and  festive  dress,  or  with  such  a 
dress — girded  with  an  elegant  girdle 
— as  was  worn  on  joyous  and  festive  oc- 
casions. See  Notes  on  Matt.  v.  38 — 41. 
12.  To  the  end  that  my  glory  may 
sing  praise  to  thee.    Marg.,  my  tongue, 
or  my  soul.      De  Wette  renders  it, 
my  heart.     The  Chaldee  Paraphrase, 
"that  the  honourable  of  the  world 
may  praise  thee/'    The  LXX.  and  the 
Latin  Vulgate,  my  glory.     The  refer- 
ence   is,    undoubtedly,   to   what   the 
psalmist  regarded  as  most  glorious, 
honourable,  exalted,  in  himself.   There 
is  no  evidence  that  he  referred  to  his 
tongue  or  his  heart  particularly,  but 
the  expression  seems  to  be  equivalent 
to  my  highest  powers — all  the  powers 
and   faculties    of    my   nature.      The 
tongue  would  indeed  be  the  instru- 
ment of  uttering  praise,  but  still  the 
reference    is    rather   to   the    exalted 
powers  of  the  soul  than  to  the  instru- 
ment.     Let   all   that   is    capable    of 
praise  within  me,  all  my  powers,  be 
employed  in  celebrating  the  goodness 


of  God.     %   And  not  be  silent.     Be 
employed  in  praise.     ^[   O  Loed  my 
God,  I  icill  give  thanks  unto  thee  for 
ever.    Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxviii.  20. 
This  verse  states  the  purpose  which  the 
psalmist  now  saw  that  God  intended  to 
accomplish  by  his  dealings  with  him 
in  the  varied  scenes  of  his  past  life ; 
and  his  own  purpose  now  as  he  en- 
tered  his  new    abode.     The  purpose 
of  God,  in  all  these  various  dealings — 
in   the   prosperity   which    had    been 
bestowed  on  him  (vers.  6,  7)  ;    in  the 
reverses    and    trials    by    sickness    or 
otherwise    which    had     come    upon 
him  (vers.  3,  7);  and  in  the  deliver- 
ance which  God  had  granted  him  in 
answer    to   his   prayers    (vers.   2,    3, 
10,    11) — was,   that  he  should    learn 
to  praise  the  Lord.     Sis  bum  purpose 
now,  as  he  entered  his  new  habitation 
and  dedicated  it  to  God,  was,  to  praise 
God   with    his    highest    powers    for 
ever : — to  consecrate  all  that  he  had 
to  his  gracious  preserver ;    to  make 
his  house,  not  a  habitation  of  gaiety 
and   sin,    but    an    abode    of    serious 
piety — a  home  where  the  happiness 
sought  would  be  that  which  is  found 
in  the   influence    of  religion.     It   is 
scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  every 
new  dwelling  should  be  entered  by  a 
family  with  feelings  similar  to  these ; 
that  the  first  act  of  the  head  of  a 
family  on  entering  a  new  habitation — 
whether  it  be  a  palace  or  a  cottage — 
should  be  solemnly  to  consecrate  it  to 
God,  and  to  resolve  that  it  shall  be  a 
house  where  His  praises  shall  be  cele- 
brated, and  where  the  influence  of  reli- 
gion shall  be  invoked  to  guide  and  sanc- 
tify all  the  members  of  the  household. 

PSALM  XXXI. 

This  psalm  is  addressed  to  "  the  chief 
Musician,"  and  purports  to  be  a  psalm 
of  David.  On  the  meaning  of  the  phrase 
"To  the  chief  Musician,"  see  Notes  on 
the  title  to  Ps.  iv.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  inscription  which  ascribes 
it  to  David  is  correct,  and  that  he  was 
the  author.    The  occasion,  however,  on 


2G0 


PSALM  XXXI. 


I 


PSALM  XXXI. 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

N  w  thee,   O  Lord,  do  I  put 


which  it  was  composed  is  unknown,  and 
cannot  now  be  ascertained.  Most  of  the 
Jewish  and  many  Christian  interpreters 
have  supposed  that  it  was  written  when 
David  was  in  the  wilderness  of  Maon, 
and  when,  having  been  betrayed  (as  to 
the  place  of  his  retreat)  by  the  Ziphites, 
he  was  hotly  pursued  by  Saul  and  his 
host,  1  Sam.  xxiii.  19-26.  There  is, 
however,  no  particular  reason  for  re- 
ferring it  to  this  period  of  his  life,  for 
there  were  many  occasions  to  which  it 
would  be  equally  applicable. 

Its  general  purpose  is  to  inspire  con- 
fidence in  God.  in  other  hearts, — from 
the  experience  of  the  psalmist, — from 
that  manifested  favour  by  which  he  had 
been  brought  through  his  troubles.  See 
vers.  23,  24.  The  psalm  refex-s  to  the 
dangers  which  surrounded  its  author  at 
the  time  referred  to ;  his  fears  and  ap- 
prehensions in  those  dangers  ;  his  calm 
confidence  in  God  amid  his  dangers; 
the  deliverance  from  trouble  which  was 
vouchsafed  to  him ;  his  joy  and  gratitude 
for  deliverance ;  and  the  lessons  which 
others  might  learn  in  their  trials  from 
the  Divine  dealings  towards  him  in  his. 
That  the  psalmist  was  in  trouble  or  dan- 
ger when  he  penned  this  psalm  there 
can  be  no  reason  to   doubt;    that  he 

grayed  earnestly  at  that  time  for  de- 
verance  is  clear ;  but  it  is  also  plain 
that  in  the  psalm  he  refers  to  former 
troubles,  and  to  the  deliverance  which 
God  had  granted  to  him  in  those  troubles, 
and  that  he  seeks  and  derives  consola- 
tion and  assurance  from  the  dealings  of 
God  with  him  then.  In  some  parts  of 
the  psalm  he  refers  to  his  present  afflic- 
tions; in  other  parts  to  the  trials  of 
other  days,  and  to  his  deliverances  in 
those  trials;  in  the  entire  psalm  he 
inculcates  the  duty  of  confiding  in  God, 
from  his  own  experience  of  his  mercy, 
and  from  his  own  reliance  on  him. 

The  contents  of  the  psalm  are  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

I.  Prayer  to  God  for  deliverance  from 
his  sufferings  and  his  enemies,  on  the 
ground  of  his  confidence  in  Him,  and  his 
previous  experience  of  His  mercy,  vers. 
1-8. 

II.  Description  of  his  troubles  and  of 
the  calamities  under  which  he  was  op- 
pressed ;  or  an  enumeration  of  his  pre- 


my  trust ;  let  me  never  be 
ashamed :  deliver  me  .  in  thy 
*  righteousness. 

w  Ps.  lxxi.  1 — 1.  x  Ps.  cxliii.  1. 


sent  distresses,  vers.  9-13.  He  says  that 
he  is  in  trouble,  and  .that  his  eye  is 
consumed  with  grief,  ver.  9  ;  that  his 
life  is  spent  with  grief,  and  his  years 
with  sighing,  that  his  strength  failed, 
and  that  his  bones  were  consumed,  ver. 
10  ;  that  he  is  a  reproach  among  his 
neighbours  and  an  object  of  dread  to  his 
acquaintances,  or  that  they  fled  from 
him,  he  was  so  abject,  forsaken,  and 
afflicted,  ver.  11 ;  that  he  was  forsaken 
and  forgotten  like  a  dead  man  who  had 
passed  away  from  the  recollection  of 
mankind,  ver.  12;  that  he  was  slan- 
dered, and  that  men  conspired  together 
to  take  away  his  life,  ver.  13. 

III.  Calm  confidence  in  God  in  these 
times  of  trouble  ;  or  a  calm  committing 
of  all  into  his  hands,  under  an  assur- 
ance which  he  felt  that  all  would  be 
well,  vers.  14—20.  He  says  that  he 
trusted  in  God,  ver.  14 ;  and  that  his 
times  were  in  the  hand  of  God,  ver.  15 ; 
he  prays  that  God  would  deliver  him, 
vers.  15 — 18  ;  he  finds  comfort  and  peace 
in  the  assurance  of  the  Divine  goodness 
and  merc3r,  ver.  19  ;  and  in  the  assur- 
ance that  God  would  hide  them  that 
trusted  in  Mm  from  the  pride  of  man, 
and  would  keep  them  safely  in  his 
pavilion,  ver.  20. 

IV.  Thanks  for  deliverance,  vers.  21, 
22.  He  seems  to  have  found  the  deli- 
verance, even  while  he  prayed,  or  to 
have  had  such  an  assurance  of  it  that  he 
could  speak  of  it  as  if  it  were  .already 
his.  He  felt  that  he  had  been  hasty 
in  supposing  that  he  would  be  cut  off, 
and  seems  to  have  reproached  himself 
for  even  a  momentary  doubt  in  regard 
to  the  goodness  of  God,  ver.  22. 

V.  The  lesson  furnished  to  others  by 
his  experience,  vers.  23,  24.  It  is  a 
lesson  of  encouragement  to  all  in 
similar  circumstances,  prompting  them 
to  be  of  good  courage ;  to  be  cheered  by 
his  example  and  experience  ;  never  to 
despond ;  never  to  cease  to  trust  God. 
Because  he  had  found  God  to  be  a  refuge 
and  strength,  he  calls  upon  all  others  to 
believe  that  they  would  also  find  him 
such  if  they  likewise  trusted  in  him. 

1,  In  thee,  O  Loed,  do  I  put  my\ 
trust.     This  is  the  ground  of  the  pe- 
titions which  follow;    or  the  reason  I 


PSALM  XXXI. 


261 


2  Bow  down  thine  ear  to  me  ; 
deliver  me  speedily  :  be  thou  1  my 
strong  rock,  for  an  house  of 
defence  to  save  me. 

3  For  thou  art  my  rock  and 
my  fortress:  therefore  for  thy 
name's  sake  lead  me  and  guide 
me. 

why  the  psalmist  thus  appeals  to  God. 
It  was  his  firm  confidence  in  him ;  in 
his  character ;  in  his  promises ;  in  his 
ability  to  deliver  him  in  the  time  of 
danger.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  vii.  1. 
%  Let  me  never  be  ashamed.  That  is, 
let  me  never  have  occasion  to  be 
ashamed  for  having  put  this  con- 
fidence in  thee.  Let  thy  dealings 
towards  me  be  such  as  to  show  that 
my  confidence  was  well  founded.  The 
word  is  not  used  here  in  the  sense  of 
being  unwilling  to  confess  his  faith  in 
God,  or  his  love  for  Him,  as  it  is 
often  now  (comp.  Rom.  i.  16 ;  v.  5 ; 
2  Tim.  i.  12),  but  in  the  sense  of  being 
so  disappointed  as  to  make  one 
ashamed  that  he  had  thus  relied  on 
that  which  was  unworthy  of  con- 
fidence. See  Notes  on  Job  vi.  20; 
comp.  also  Isa.  xxx.  5 ;  Jer.  ii.  26 ; 
xiv.  3,  4.  The  psalmist  prays  that 
God  would  interpose  in  his  behalf  in 
answer  to  his  prayers,  and  that  he 
would  show  that  He  was  worthy  of 
the  confidence  which  he  had  reposed 
in  him,  or  that  He  was  a  God  who 
might  be  trusted  in  the  time  of  trial ; 
in  other  words,  that  he  might  not  be 
subjected  to  the  reproach  of  the  wicked 
for  having  in  his  troubles  relied  on 
such  a  God. «  %  Deliver  me  in  thy 
righteousness.  In  the  manifestation 
of  thy  righteous  character ;  in  the  ex- 
hibition of  that  character  as  righteous ; 
as  doing  justice  between  man  and  man ; 
as  pronouncing  a  just  sentence  between 
me  and  my  enemies. 

2.  Boiv  down  thine  ear  to  me.  As 
he  does  who  inclines  his  ear  towards 
one  whom  he  is  willing  to  hear, 
or  whom  he  is  desirous  of  hearing. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xvii.  6.  %  Deliver 
me  speedily.  Without  delay.  Or, 
Hasten  to  deliver  me.     It  is  right  to 


4  Pull  me  out  of  the  net  that 
they  have  laid  privily  for  me; 
for  thou  art  my  strength. 

5  Into  v  thine  hand  I  commit 
my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeemed 
me,  O  Lord  God  of  truth. 

1  to  me  for  a  rock  of  strength, 
y  Luke  xxiii.  46 ;  Acts  vii.  59. 


pray  to  be  delivered  from  all  evil; 
equally  right  to  pray  to  be  delivered 
at  once.  %  Be  thou  my  strong  rock. 
Marg.,  to  me  for  a  rock  of  strength. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii.  1,  2,  46.  % 
For  an  house  of  defence  to  save  me. 
A  fortified  house ;  a  house  made  safe 
and  strong,  It  is  equivalent  to  pray- 
ing that  he  might  have  a  secure  abode 
or  dwelling-place. 

3.  For  thou  art  my  rock  and  my 
fortress.     See  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii.  2. 

%  Therefore  for  thy  name's  sake.  For 
the  sake  of  thine  own  honour,  or  for 
the  glory  of  thy  name.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  xxiii.  3.  That  is,  since  thou  art 
my  rock  and  my  defence — since  I  put 
my  trust  in  thee — show,  by  leading 
and  guiding  me,  that  my  trust  is 
well  founded,  or  that  this  is  thy  cha- 
racter, and  that  thou  wilt  be  true  and 
faithful  to  those  who  commit  their  all 
to  thee.     See  Notes  on  ver.  1. 

4.  Full  me  out  of  the  net.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  15.  %  That  they 
have  laid  privily  for  me.  That  my 
enemies  have  laid  for  me.  The  phrase 
H  laid  privily "  refers  to  the  custom 
of  hiding  or  concealing  a  net  or  gin, 
so  that  the  wild  beast  that  was  to  be 
taken  could  not  see  it,  or  would  fall 
into  it  unawares.  Thus  his  enemies 
designed  to  overcome  him,  by  spring- 
ing a  net  upon  him  at  a  moment  when 
he  was  not  aware  of  it,  and  at  a  place 
where  he  did  not  suspect  it.  ^f  For 
thou  art  my  strength.  My  stronghold. 
My  hope  of  defence  is  in  thee,  and 
thee  alone. 

5.  Into  thine  hand  I  commit  my 
spirit.  The  Saviour  used  this  expres- 
sion when  on  the  cross,  and  when 
about  to  die :  Luke  xxiii.  46.  But 
this  does  not  prove  that  the  psalm 
had  originally  a  reference  to  him  or 


262 


PSALM  XXXI. 


6  I  have  hated  them  that  re- 

z  Jonah  ii.  8. 


that  lie  meant  to  intimate  that  the 
words    originally    were    a    prophecy. 
The  language  was  appropriate  for  him, 
as  it  is  for  all  others  in  the  hour  of 
death;  and  His  use  of  the  words  fur- 
nished the  highest  illustration  of  their 
being  appropriate  in  that  hour.     The 
act   of  the   psalmist   was   an   act  of 
strong  confidence  in  God  in  the  midst 
of  dangers  and  troubles ;  the  act  of 
the  Saviour  was  of  the  same  nature, 
commending  his  spirit  to  God  in  the 
solemn  hour  of  death.     The  same  act 
of  faith  is  proper  for  all  the  people  of 
God,  alike  in  trouble   and  in  death. 
Comp.  Acts  vii.  59.     The  word  spirit 
may  mean  either  life,  considered  as  the 
animating  principle,  equivalent  to  the 
word  myself;  or  it  may  mean  more  spe- 
cifically the  soul,  as  distinguished  from 
the  body.    The  sense  is  not  materially 
varied   by   either   interpretation.      *j[ 
Thou  hast  redeemed   me.      This  was 
the  gi-ound  or  reason  why  the  psalmist 
commended  himself  to  God;  this  reason 
was  not  urged,  and  could  not  have 
been    by  the    Saviour,  in   his   dying 
moments.     He  committed  his  depart- 
ing spirit  to  God  as  his  Father,  and  in 
virtue  of  the  work  which  he  had  been 
appointed  to  do,   and  wdiich  he  was 
now  about  finishing,  as  a  Redeemer ; — 
tee  commit  our  souls  to  him  in  virtue 
of  having  been   redeemed.      This  is 
proper  for  us,  (a)  because  he  has  re- 
deemed us;  (b)  because  we  have  been 
redeemed  for  him,  and  we  may  ask 
him  to  take  his  own  ;  (e)  because  this 
is  a  ground  of  safety,  for  if  we  have 
been   redeemed,  we   may   be   certain 
that  God  will  keep  us  ;  and  (d)  because 
this  is  the  only  ground  of  our  security 
in    reference    to    the    future    world. 
What  David  may  have  understood  by 
this    word    it   may   not   be   easy  to 
determine  with  certainty;  but  there 
is   no  reason  to  doubt  that  he  may 
have  used  it  as  expressive  of  the  idea 
that  he  had  been  recovered  from  the 
ruin  of  the  fall,  and  from  the  dominion 
of  sin,  and  had  been  made  a  child  of 
God.  Nor  need  we  doubt  that  he  had 


gard  :  lying  vanities  :  but  I  trust 
in  the  Lord. 


such  views  of  the  way  of  salvation 
that  he  would  feel  that  he  was  re- 
deemed only  by  an  atonement,  or  by 
the  shedding  of  blood  for  his  sins.  To 
all  who  are  Christians  it  is  enough  to 
authorise  them  to  use  this  language 
in  the  midst  of  troubles  and  dangers, 
and  in  the  hour  of  death,  that  they 
have  been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of 
the  Saviour;  to  none  of  us  is  there 
any  other  safe  ground  of  trust  and 
confidence  in  the  hour  of  death  than 
the  fact  that  Christ  has  died  for  sin, 
and  that  we  have  evidence  that  we 
are  interested  in  his  blood.  %  O 
Loed  God  of  truth.  True  to  thy 
pi-omises  and  to  thy  covenant-engage- 
ments. As  thou  hast  promised  life 
and  salvation  to  those  who  are  re- 
deemed, they  may  safely  confide  in 
thee.     See  Xotes  on  2  Cor.  i.  20. 

6.  I  have  hated  them  that  regard 
lying  vanities.  This  is  evidently  stated 
as  a  reason  for  the  prayer  offered  in 
the  previous  verses.  It  is  a  refer- 
ence by  the  psalmist  to  his  own  past 
life ;  to  his  general  aim  and  conduct. 
The  meaning  is,  that  he  had  been  a 
friend  of  God ;  that  he  had  separated 
himself  from  wicked  men ;  and  he 
now  prays  in  return  for  His  protec- 
tion and  interposition.  The  senti- 
ment is  similar  to  that  which  occurs 
in  Ps.  xxvi.  3,  4,  5.  See  Notes  on 
that  passage.  The  word  rendered 
regard  here  means  to  observe,  to 
keep,  to  attend  upon  ;  and  the  refer- 
ence is  to  those  who  show  honour  to 
what  is  here  called  "lying  vanities;" 
that  is,  those  who  attend  upon  them, 
or  who  show  them  favour.  The 
"  lying  vanities  "  are  probably  idols, 
and  the  allusion  is  to  those  who 
attended  on  the  worship  of  idols  as 
distinguished  from  those  who  wor- 
shipped the  true  God.  Idols  are 
often  represented  as  false, — as  vain, 
or  vanity, — as  a  lie, — in  contradistinc- 
tion from  that  which  is  true  and  real. 
See  Xotes  on  1  Cor.  viii.  4.  There  is 
peculiar  emphasis  in  the  language 
used  here  as  denoting  the  utter  worth- 


PSALM  XXXI. 


263 


7  I  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
thy  mercy :  for  thou  hast  con- 
sidered my  trouble  ;  thou  hast 
known  a  my  soul  in  adversities  ; 

8  And  hast  not  shut  me  up 
into  the  hand  of  the  enemy  :  thou 
6  hast  set  my  feet  in  a  large 
room. 

9  Have    mercy  upon    me,    O 


lessness  and  vanity  of  idols.  The 
language  means  vanities  of emptiness ; 
denoting  that  they  were  utterly  vain 
and  worthless.  %  But  I  trust  in  the 
Lord.  In  Jehovah,  the  true  God,  as 
distinguished  from  idols. 

7.  I  toill  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  thy 
mercy.  I  will  triumph  and  joy  in  thy 
mercy ;  that  is,  in  the  mercy  which 
he  had  already  experienced,  and  in 
that  which  he  still  hoped  to  enjoy. 
He  had  had  abundant  proofs  of  that 
mercy ;  he  hoped  for  still  further 
proofs  of  it;  and  he  says  that  he 
would  find  his  joy  in  that,  and  not  in 
what  idols  could  give.  %  For  thou 
hast  considered  my  trouble.  In  times 
past  and  now.  He  felt  assured  that 
his  prayer  would  be  regarded,  and 
that  God  would  relieve  and  deliver 
him.  ^[  Thou  hast  known  my  soul  in 
adversities.  In  the  troubles  that  have 
come  upon  me.  That  is,  God  had 
seen  and  known  all  the  feelings  of 
his  heart  in  the  time  of  adversity ; — 
his  sorrow  and  anxiety  ;  his  hope  and 
trust;  his  unmurmuring  spirit;  his 
feeling  of  entire  dependence  on  God, 
and  his  belief  that  he  would  inter- 
pose to  save  him.  God  had  not  turned 
away  from  him,  but  had  shown  that 
he  regarded  with  interest  all  his  feel- 
ings, his  desires,  his  hopes.  It  is  much, 
in  the  time  of  trouble,  to  know  that 
all  our  feelings  are  understood  by 
God,  that  he  sees  all  our  sorrows,  and 
that  he  will  not  be  regardless  of  them. 
There  are  no  states  of  mind  more  in- 
teresting than  those  which  occur  in 
adversities ;  there  is  no  one  who  can 
fully  understand  the  soul  in  adversi- 
ties but  God;  there  is  no  one  but 
God  who  can  wholly  meet  the  wants 
of  the  soul  in  such  seasons. 

8.  And  hast  not  shut  me  up  into 


Lord,  for  I  am  m  trouble ;  mine 
eye  is  consumed  with  grief,  yea, 
my  soul  and  my  belly. 

10  For  c  my  life  is  spent  with 
grief,  and  my  years  with  sighing : 
my  strength  faileth  because  of 
mine  iniquity,  and  my  bones  are 
consumed. 

a  Ps.  cxlii.  3.    b  Ps.  xviii.  19.    c  Ps.  cii.  3,  etc. 

the  hand  of  the  enemy.  Hast  not  de» 
livered  me  into  his  hand,  or  into  his 
power.  See  margin  1  Sam.  xvii.  46 ; 
xxiv.  18  ;  xxvi.  8.  ^  Thou  hast  set 
my  feet  in  a  large  room.  In  a  large 
place.  Thou  hast  made  me  free,  or 
set  me  at  liberty.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
iv.  1 ;  xviii.  19,  36. 

9.  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  Lord, 
for  I  am  in  trouble.     The  nature  and 

sources  of  his  trouble  are  specified  in 
the  verses  following.  He  seems  to 
have  regarded  all  his  trouble  as  the 
result  of  sin,  either  the  sin  of  his 
heart,  of  which  he  alone  was  conscious, 
or  of  some  open  act  of  sin,  that  had 
been  the  means  of  bringing  this  afflic- 
tion upon  him,  ver.  10.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  this,  he  says  that  he  was 
subjected  to  the  reproach  of  his  ene- 
mies, and  shunned  by  his  neighbours 
and  his  acquaintances ;  that  he  was 
forgotten  by  them  like  a  dead  man 
out  of  mind;  that  he  was  exposed  to 
the  slander  of  others,  and  that  they 
conspired  against  his  life,  vers.  11-13. 
In  view  of  all  this  he  calls  earnestly 
upon  God  to  save  him  in  his  troubles, 
and  to  be  his  helper  and  friend. 
Tf  Mine  eye  is  consumed  with  grief. 
That  is,  with  weeping.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  vi.  7.  %  Yea,  my  soul.  That  is, 
my  spirit,  my  life,  my  mind.  My 
powers  are  weakened  and  exhausted 
by  excessive  grief.  If  And  my  belly. 
My  bowels  :  regarded  as  the  seat  of 
the  affections.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xvi. 
11 ;  comp.  Ps.  xxii.  14.  The  effect  of 
his  grief  was  to  exhaust  his  strength, 
and  to  make  his  heart  sink  within  him. 

10.  For  my  life  is  spent  with  grief. 
The   word  here   rendered  spent  does 
not  mean  merely  passed,  as  it  is  com- 
monly now  used,  as  when  we  say  we  ' 
spent  our  time  at  such  a  place,  or  in 


264 


PSALM  XXXI. 


11  I  was  a  reproach  among  all 
mine  enemies,  but  especially 
among  my  neighbours,  d  and  a 

d  Job  xix.  13. 


such  a  manner,  but  in  the  more  proper 
meaning  of  the  word,  as  denoting 
consumed,  wasted  away,  or  destroyed. 
See  the  word  H^D  as  used  in  Jer.  xvi. 
4;  Lam.  ii.  11 ;  Ps.  lxxxiv.  2  (Heb. 
3);  cxliii.  7;  lxix.  3  (Heb.  4);  Job 
xi.  20.  \  And  my  years  with  sighing . 
That  is,  my  years  are  wasted  or  con- 
sumed with  sighing.  Instead  of  being 
devoted  to  active  toil  and  to  useful 
effort,  they  are  exhausted  or  wasted 
away  with  a  grief  which  wholly 
occupies  and  preys  upon  me.  %  My 
strength  faileth  because  of  mine  ini- 
quity. Because  of  the  trouble  that 
has  come  upon  me  for  my  sin.  He 
regarded  all  this  trouble — from  what- 
ever quarter  it  came,  whether  directly 
from  the  hand  of  God,  or  from  man — 
as  the  fruit  of  sin.  Whether  he  refers 
to  any  particular  sin  as  the  cause  of 
this  trouble,  or  to  the  sin  of  his  nature 
as  the  source  of  all  evil,  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine.  As,  however,  no 
pnrticular  sin  is  specified,  it  seems 
most  probable  that  the  reference  is  to 
the  sin  of  his  heart — to  his  corrupt 
nature.  It  is  common,  and  it  is  not 
improper,  when  we  are  afflicted,  to 
regard  all  our  trials  as  fruits  of  sin ; 
as  coming  upon  us  as  the  result  of  the 
fall,  and  as  an  evidence  that  we  are 
depraved.  It  is  certain  that  there  is 
no  suffering  in  heaven,  and  that  there 
never  would  be  any  in  a  perfectly  holy 
world.  It  is  equally  certain  that  all 
the  woes  of  earth  are  the  consequence 
of  man's  apostacy ;  and  it  is  proper, 
therefore,  when  we  are  afflicted,  even 
though  we  cannot  trace  the  affliction 
to  any  particular  offence,  to  trace  it 
all  to  the  existence  of  evil,  and  to  re- 
gard it  as  among  the  proofs  of  the 
Divine  displeasure  against  sin.  %  And 
my  bones  are  consigned.  That  is,  are 
decayed,  worn  out,  or  wasted  away. 
Even  the  solid  framework  of  my  body 
gives  way  under  excessive  grief,  and 
all  my  strength  is  gone.  See  Ps. 
xxxii.  3  ;  cii.  3. 


fear  to  mine  acquaintance :  they 
that  did  see  me  without  fled  from 


me. 


12  I   am  forgotten   as  a  dead 


11.  I  was  a  reproach  among  all 
mine  enemies.  That  is,  he  was  sub- 
jected to  their  reproaches,  or  was 
calumniated  and  reviled  by  them. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxii.  6.  \  But 
especially  among  my  neighbours.  I 
was  reproached  by  none  more  than  by 
my  neighbours.  They  showed  special 
distrust  of  me,  and  manifested  special 
unkindness,  even  more  than  my  ene- 
mies did.  They  turned  away  from 
me.  They  abandoned  me.  They 
would  not  associate  with  me.  They 
regarded  me  as  a  disgrace  to  them, 
and  forsook  me.  Comp.  Job  xix. 
13-15,  and  the  Notes  on  that  passage. 
TI"  And  a  fear  to  mine  acquaintance. 
An  object  of  dread  or  terror,  so  that 
they  fled  from  me.  %  They  that  did 
see  me  icithout.  In  the  streets,  or  in 
public — out  of  my  own  house.  Not 
only  those  in  my  own  dwelling — the 
members  of  my  family — regarded  me 
in  this  manner,  but  passers  in  the 
streets — those  whom  I  accidentally 
met — turned  from  me  and  fled  in  dis- 
gust and  horror.  It  is  not  possible 
now  to  determine  at  what  time  in  the  ; 
life  of  the  psalmist  this  occurred,  or 
to  ascertain  the  exact  circumstances.  | 
There  were,  doubtless,  times  when 
with  the  saddest  feelings  he  could  say 
that  all  this  was  true  of  him.  His 
troubles  in  the  time  of  his  persecutions 
by  Saul,  and  still  more  probably  his 
trials  in  the  time  when  Absalom  re- 
belled against  him,  and  when  he  was 
driven  away  from  his  throne  and  his 
capital,  would  furnish  an  occasion 
when  this  would  be  true.  If  the 
latter  was  the  occasion,  then  we  can 
see  how  naturally  he  would  connect 
all  this  with  his  "  iniquity,"  and  re- 
gard it  as  the  consequence  of  his  sin 
in  the  matter  of  Uriah, — a  sin  which 
would  probably  be  always  in  his  re- 
collection, and  which  he  would  ever 
onward  regard  as  lying  at  the  foun- 
dation of  all  his  afflictions. 

12.  I  am  forgotten  as  a  dead  man 


PSALM  XXXI. 


265 


man  out  of  mind :  I  am  like  a 
i  broken  vessel. 

13  For  I  have  heard  the  slan- 

1  vessel  that  perlsheth. 


out  of  mind.     Like  the  man  who  is 
dead,  and  who  has  passed  away  from 
the  recollection  of  mankind.     Comp. 
Ps.  lxxxviii.  4,   5.     The   Hebrew   is, 
"as   a  dead  man  from  the  heart;" 
that  is,  from  the  memory  or  recollec- 
tion of  men,   so  as  to  be  no   more 
remembered ;  no  more  regarded.  The 
expression  is  nearly  the  same  in  mean- 
ing as  our  common  English  proverb  : 
out  of  sight,  out  of  mind.     The  allu- 
sion is  to  the  fact  that  a  man  who  is 
dead  is  soon  forgotten.     He  is  missed 
at  first  by  a  few  friends,  while  the 
rest  of  the  world  knows  little  about 
him,  or  cares  little  about  him.     He  is 
no   longer  seen   where   he  has  been 
accustomed  to  be  seen,  at  the  place  of 
business,  in  the  social  circle,  in  the 
scenes  of  amusement,  in  the  streets, 
or  in  public  assemblies.     For  a  short 
period   a   vacancy   is   created   which 
attracts  attention  and  causes  regret. 
But  the  world  moves   on.     Another 
comes  to  fill  his  place,  and  soon  his 
absence  ceases  to  be  a  subject  of  re- 
mark, or  a  cause  of  regret ;  the  world 
says  little  about   him,  and   soon  he 
altogether  ceases  to  be  remembered. 
At  no  distant  time  the  rude  board 
with  his  name  written  on  it,  or  the 
marble  sculptured  with  all  the  skill  of 
art,  falls  down.     The  passing  traveller 
casts  an  eye  upon  the  name  of  him 
who   slept   his   last  sleep  there,  and 
neither  knows  nor  cares  who  he  was. 

"  The  gay  will  laugh 
"When  thou  art  gone,  the  solemn  brood  of  care 
Plod  on,  and  each  one  as  before  will  chase 
His  favourite  phantom." — Bryant. 

"  On* my  grassy  grave 
The  men  of  future  times  will  careless  tread, 
And  read  my  name  upon  the  sculptured  stone; 
Js'or  will  the  sound,  familiar  to  their  ears, 
Ktcall  my  vanish'd  memory." 

Henry  KirJce  White. 

It  is  sad  to  reflect  that  this  is  to  be 
our  lot ;  but  so  it  is.  It  would  cast  a 
most  gloomy  shade  over  life  if  this 
was  to  be  the  end  of  man,  and  if  he 
passed  from  existence  as  soon  as  he 
passes   from  the  recollection  of  the 

VOL.  I. 


der  of  many  :  fear  teas  on  every 
side :  while  they  took  counsel 
together  against  me,  they  de- 
vised to  take  away  my  life. 


living.  The  idea  of  the  psalmist  here 
is,  that,  in  the  circumstances  to  which 
he  referred,  he  had  been  forgotten  by 
mankind,  and  he  uses  the  most  striking 
image  which  could  be  employed  to 
convey  that  idea.  ^[  I  am  like  a 
broken  vessel.  Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew, 
like  a  vessel  that  perisheth.  That  is, 
like  a  vessel  made  of  clay — a  piece  of 
pottery — that  is  easily  broken  and 
rendered  worthless.  This  is  a  favourite 
comparison  with  Jeremiah.  See  ch. 
xxii.  28;  xlviii.  38;  Lam.  iv.  2. 
Comp.  also  Ps.  ii.  9;  Isa.  xxx.  14; 
Hosea  viii.  8. 

13.  For  I  have  heard  the  slander 
of  many.  The  reproach ;  the  false 
accusations ;  the  unjust  aspersions. 
We  are  here  more  definitely  informed 
as  to  another  of  the  sources  of  the 
trouble  that  came  upon  him.  It  was 
slander.  He  had  already  referred  to 
two  sources  of  trouble  ; — one  (ver.  11) 
that  he  was  reproached  by  his  friends 
and  neighbours,  and  that  his  society 
was  shunned  by  them  ;.  a  second,  that 
he  was  forgotten  by  those  who  ought 
to  have  remembered  him,  and  that 
they  treated  him  as  though  he  were 
"dead,  ver.  12.  The  third  is  referred 
to  now;  to  wit,  that  he  was  the 
subject  of  slander,  or  of  false  reports. 
What  was  the  nature  of  those  false 
charges  we  are  not  informed.  But  it 
is  not  needful  that  we  should  know 
precisely  what  they  were.  It  is 
enough,  in  order  to  see  the  depth  and 
aggravation  of  his  trouble,  to  know 
that  he  teas  exposed  to  this ;  and 
that,  to  all  that  he  had  to  endm'e 
from  other  sources,  there  was  this 
added, — that  his  name  was  reproached 
and  cast  out  as  evil, — that  he  was 
subjected  to  slander, 

"  Whose  edge  is  sharper  than  the  sword ;  whose 
tongue 
Outvenoms  all  the  worms  of  Nile;  whose 

breath 
Eidcs  on  the  posting  winds  ;  and  doth  belie 
All  corners  of  the  world." 

Cymbeline,  Act  iii.;  Sc.  iv. 


266 


PSALM  XXXI. 


14  But  I  trusted  in  thee,  O 
Lord  :  I  said,  Thou  art  my  God. 

15  My  times  are  in  thy  hand : 
deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  my 

e  Numb.  vi.  25,  26. 


%  Fear  was  on  every  side.  From  the 
causes  already  specified.  He  knew 
not  whom  to  trust.  He  seemed  to 
have  no  friend.  He  was  afraid,  there- 
fore, of  every  one  that  he  met. 
%  While  they  took  counsel  together 
against  me.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  h.  2. 
They  entered  into  a  conspiracy  or 
combination.  %  They  devised  to  take 
aivay  my  life.  They  devised  mea- 
sures, or  they  laid  a  plot,  thus  to  kill 
me.  These  are  the  grounds  of  the 
earnest  prayer  which  he  urges  in  ver. 
9:  "Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  Lord, 
for  I  am  in  trouble." 

14.  But  I  trust  in  thee,  O  Losd. 
In  these  times  of  trial— when  (ver.  9) 
his  eye  was  consumed  with  grief; 
when  (ver.  10)  his  years  were  spent 
with  sighing,  his  strength  failed,  and 
his  hones  were  consumed ;  when  (ver. 
11)  he  was  a  reproach  among  his 
neighbours,  and  dreaded  by  his  ac- 
quaintances; when  (ver.  12)  he  was 
forgotten  as  a  dead  man ;  and  when 
(ver.  13)  he  was  surrounded  with 
causes  of  alarm.  Then  he  trusted  in 
God.  His  confidence  did  not  fail.  He 
believed  that  God  was  his  Father  and 
Friend ;  that  He  was  on  the  throne ; 
that  He  could  protect  and  defend  him  ; 
and  he  left  himself  and  his  cause  with 
Him.  In  such  circumstances  as  these 
there  is  no  other  sure  refuge  but  God; 
at  such  times  the  strength  of  faith  is 
shown,  and  then  is  seen  pre-eminently 
the  power  and  value  of  religion. 
^[  I  said,  Thou  art  my  God.  Thou 
art  all  that  is  implied  in  the  name 
"  God ;"  and  thou  art  mine.  He  felt 
assured  that  God  would  not  forsake 
him,  though  men  did ;  that  he  might 
confide  in  Him,  though  his  earthly 
friends  all  turned  away.  There  is  al- 
ways One  who  will  not  leave  or  for- 
sake us;  and  the  friendship  and  favour 
of  that  One  is  of  more  value  to  us 
than  that  of  all  other  beings  in  the 
universe  combined. 


enemies  and  from  them  that  per- 
secute me. 

16  Make  e  thy  face  to  shine 
upon  thy  servant :  save  me  for 
thy  mercies'  sake. 


15.  My  times  are  in  thy  hand.  That 
is,  I  said  this  in  my  trouble ;  when 
my  friends  forsook  me,  and  when  my 
enemies  came  around  me  and  threat- 
ened my  life.  The  meaning  is,  that 
all  that  pertained  to  him  was  under 
the  control  and  at  the  disposal  of 
God.  He  would  live  as  long  as  God 
should  please.  It  was  His  to*  give 
life ;  His  to  preserve  it ;  His  to  take 
it  away.  All  in  relation  to  life, — its 
origin — its  continuance — its  changes 
— its  seasons — childhood,  youth,  mid- 
dle age,  old  age, — all  was  in  the  hand 
of  God.  No  one,  therefore,  could  take 
his  life  before  the  time  that  had  been 
appointed  by  God,  and  he  might 
calmly  commit  the  whole  to  him. 
This  we  may  feel  in  all  seasons  of  life 
and  in  all  times  of  danger ;  of  sick- 
ness; of  feebleness.  We  shall  live  as 
long  as  God  has  appointed ;  we  shall 
pass  through  such  changes  as  he  di- 
rects ;  we  shall  die  when  and  where 
and  how  he  chooses.  In  the  faithful 
discharge  of  our  duty,  therefore,  we 
may  commit  all  these  things  to  him, 
and  leave  all  at  his  disposal.  ^[  De- 
liver me  from  the  hand  of  mine  ene- 
mies. That  is,  since  all  these  things 
are  under  thy  control ;  since  thou 
hast  power  over  my  life  and  over  all 
that  pertains  to  me,  I  pray  that  thy 
power  may  be  exerted  in  my  behalf, 
and  that  my  life  may  be  rescued  from 
danger.  This  was  his  prayer  in  the 
midst  of  his  troubles,  and  this  prayer 
was  heard. 

16.  Make  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy 
servant.  That  is,  show  me  thy  favour, 
or  be  kind  and  merciful  to  me.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  iv.  6.  %  Save  me  for 
thy  mercies'  sake.  On  account  of 
thy  mercy;  or  that  thy  mercy  may 
be  manifested.  This  is  always  a  just 
ground  of  appeal  to  God  by  a  sinner 
or  a  sufferer,  that  God  would  make 
our  sins  and  trials  an  occasion  for  dis- 
playing his  own  character.    There  are. 


PSALM  XXXI. 


207 


17  Let  me  not  be  ashamed,  O 
Lord  ;  for  I  have  called  upon 
thee :  let  the  wicked  be  ashamed, 
and  let  them  be  l  silent  in  the 
grave. 

18  Let  the  lying  lips  be  put  to 
silence,  which  speak  2  grievous 

1  Or,  eut  off  for. 


indeed,  other  grounds  of  appeal ;  but 
there  is  no  one  that  is  mere  pure  or 
exalted  than  this. 

17.  Let  me  not  be  ashamed,  0 
Lord,  for  I  have  called  upon  thee. 
That  is,  I  have  reposed  entire  con- 
fidence in  thee,  and  in  thy  promises, 
in  the  time  of  trial ;  let  now  the  re- 
sult be  such  as  to  show  that  I  had 
reason  thus  to  trust  in  thee  j  that  thy 
character  is  such  that  the  persecuted 
and  the  afflicted  may  always  find  thee 
to  be  a  safe  and  secure  refuge.  In 
other  words,  Let  me  not  be  disap- 
pointed, and  thus  be  made  ashamed 
before  men,  as  if  I  had  put  my  trust 
where  no  relief  was  to  be  found,  or 
where  there  was  nothing  to  authorize 
an  act  of  unreserved  confidence.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxv.  2,  3.  %  Let  the 
wicked  be  ashamed.  Let  them  be 
disappointed  in  that  on  which  they 
had  put  their  trust ;  let  it  be  seen 
that  they,  in  their  wicked  plans,  had 
no  safe  ground  of  confidence.  They 
rely  on  their  strength ;  their  skill ; 
their  courage ;  their  resources ;  and 
not  on  God.  Let  it  now  be  seen  that 
these  things  constitute  no  safe 
ground  of  trust,  and  let  not  others 
be  encouraged  to  follow  their  example 
by  any  success  that  shall  attend  them 
in  their  designs.  ^[  And  let  them  be 
silent  in  the  grave.  Marg.,  let  them 
be  cut  off  for  the  grave.  Heb.,  for 
Sheol.  The  more  correct  translation 
is  that  which  is  in  the  text,  Let  them 
be  silent.  That  is,  let  them  go  down 
to  the  grave — to  Sheol — to  the  under- 
world— to  the  land  of  silence.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used-Sheol, 
the  grave — see  Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  9; 
comp.  Notes  on  Job  x.  21,  22;  and  on 
Ps.  xvi.  10.  This  is  represented  as  a 
land  of  silence.     This  idea  is  derived 


things    proudly   and    contempt- 
uouslv  against  the  righteous. 

19  Oh  how  great  /  is  thy  good- 
ness, which  thou  hast  laid  up  for 
them  that  fear  thee  ;  which  thou 
hast  wrought  for  them  that  trust 
in  thee  before  the  sons  of  men. 

2  a  hard  thing.  f  Isa.  lxiv.  4. 


from  the  grave,  where  the  dead  repose 
in  silence;  and  the  meaning  here  is,  let 
them  be  cut  off  and  consigned  to  that 
land  of  silence.  It  is  a  prayer  that 
the  wicked  may  not  triumph. 

18.  Let  the  lying  lips  be  put  to 
silence.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xii.  2,  3. 
The  lips  which  speak  lies.  The  re- 
ference here  is  especially  to  those  who 
had  spoken  in  this  manner  against 
the  psalmist  himself,  though  he  makes 
the  language  general,  or  prays  in  gene- 
ral that  God  would  silence  all  liars  : — a 
prayer  certainly  in  which  all  persons 
may  properly  join.  %  Which  speak 
grievous  things.  Marg.,  a  hard  thing. 
The  Hebrew  word — p]iy,  dthak  — 
means  bold,  impudent,  wicked.  Ge- 
senius,  Lex.  The  phrase  here  means, 
therefore,  to  speak  wickedly,  or  to 
speak  in  a  bold,  reckless,  impudent 
manner;  that  is,  without  regard  to 
the  truth  of  what  is  said,  ^f  Proudly 
and  contemptuously.  Heb.,  in  pride 
and  contempt :  — that  is,  in  a  manner 
which  shows  that  they  are  proud  of 
themselves  and  despise  others.  Slan- 
der always  perhaps  implies  this.  Men 
are  secretly  proud  of  themselves  ;  or 
they  desire  to  cherish  an  exalted 
opinion  of  themselves,  and  to  have 
others  entertain  the  same  opinion  of 
them ;  and  hence,  if  they  cannot 
exalt  themselves  by  their  own  merit, 
as  they  wish,  they  endeavour  to 
humble  others  below  their  real  merit, 
and  to  a  level  lower  than  themselves, 
by  detraction. 

19.  Oh  how  great  is  thy  goodness. 
That  is,  in  view  of  the  Divine  protec- 
tion and  favour  in  such  cases,  or  when 
thus  assailed.  The  psalmist  seems  to 
have  felt  that  it  was  an  inexpressible 
pi'ivilege  thus  to  be  permitted  to  ap- 
peal to  God  with  the  assurance  of  the 


263 


PSALM  XXXI. 


20  Thou  shalt  hide  them  iu  the 
secret  of  thy  presence  from  the 
pride  of  man  ;    thou  a  shalt  keep 


Divine  protection.  In  few  circum- 
stances do  men  feel  more  grateful  for 
the  opportunity  of  appealing  to  God 
than  when  they  are  reviled  and  calum- 
niated. As  there  is  nothing  which  we 
feel  more  keenly  than  calumny  and 
reproach,  so  there  can  be  no  circum- 
stances when  we  more  appreciate  the 
privilege  of  having  such  a  refuge  and 
friend  as  God.  Tf  Which  thou  hast 
laid  up.  Which  thou  hast  treasured 
up,  for  so  the  Hebrew  word  means. 
That  is,  goodness  and  mercy  had  been, 
as  it  were,  treasured  up  for  such  an 
emergency, — as  a  man  treasures  up 
rood  in  autumn  for  the  wants  of 
winter,  or  wealth  for  the  wants  of  old 
age.  The  goodness  of  God  is  thus  a 
treasure  garnered  up  for  the  wants  of 
his  people — a  treasure  always  acces- 
sible; a  treasure  that  can  never  be 
exhausted.  ^[  For  them  that  fear 
thee.  Or  reverence  thee, — fear  or  re- 
verence being  often  used  to  denote 
friendship  with  God,  or  religion.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  v.  7.  *^  Which  thou 
hast  wrought  for  them.  Which  thou 
hast  made  for  them  (Heb.) ;  or,  which 
thou  hast  secured  as  if  by  labour ; 
that  is,  by  plan  and  arrangement.  It 
was  not  by  chance  that  that  goodness 
had  been  provided ;  God  had  done  it 
in  a  manner  resembling  the  act  of  a 
man  who  lays  up  treasure  for  his 
future  use  by  plan  and  by  toil.  The 
idea  is,  that  all  this  was  the  work 
of  a  benevolent  God ;  a  God  who  had 
carefully  anticipated  the  wants  of  his 
people.  %  For  them  that  trust  in 
thee.  Who  rely  on  thee  in  trouble, 
iu  danger,  and  in  want ; — who  feel 
that  their  only  reliance  is  on  thee, 
and  who  do  actuallv  trust  in  thee. 
%  Before  the  sons  of  men.  That  is, 
Thou  hast  wrought  this  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  sons  of  men,  or  in  the 
presence  of  mankind.  God  had  not 
only  laid  it  up  in  secret,  making 
provision  for  the  wants  of  his  people, 
but  he  had  wrought  out  this  deliver- 
ance before  men,  or  had  shown  his 


them  secretly  in  a  pavilion  from 
the  strife  of  tongues. 

g  Job  v.  21. 


goodness  to  them  openly.  The  acts 
of  benevolence  or  goodness  in  the  case 
were—frst,  that  he  had  treasured  up 
the  resources  of  his  goodness  by  pre- 
vious arrangement,  or  by  anticipation, 
for  them ;  and  second,  that  he  had 
wrought  out  deliverance,  or  had  mani- 
fested his  goodness  by  interposing  to 
save,  and  by  doing  it  openly  that  it 
might  be  seen  by  mankind. 

20.  Thou  shalt  hide  them  in  the 
secret  of  thy  presence.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  xxvii.  5.  The  phrase  "  secret  of 
thy  presence "  means  thy  "  secret 
presence."  The  Hebrew  is,  the  secret 
of  thy  face ;  and  the  idea  is,  that  he 
would  hide  them,  or  withdraw  them 
from  public  view,  or  from  the  view  of 
their  enemies,  into  the  very  place 
where  he  himself  dwelt,  so  that  they 
would  be  before  him  and  near  him ; 
so  that  his  eye  would  be  upon  them, 
and  that  they  would  be  certain  of  his 
protection.  The  language  here  is  the 
same  as  in  Ps.  xxvii.  5,  ex,cept  that 
the  word  face  or  presence  is  used 
here  instead  of  the  word  tabernacle. 
The  idea  is  the  same.  %  From  the 
j) ride  of  man.  The  Hebrew  word 
here  rendered  pride — DD%  rukes — 
means  properly  league  or  conspiracy  ; 
then,  snares  or  plots.  It  occurs 
nowhere  else  in  the  Scriptures,  though 
the  corresponding  verb — DD"I>  rakas 
— occurs  twice,  meaning  to  bind  on 
or  to,  Ex.  xxviii.  28;  xxxix.  21.  The 
word  here  means  league  or  conspiracy, 
and  the  idea  is,  that  when  the  wicked 
form  a  conspiracy,  or  enter  into  a 
league  against  the  righteous,  God 
will  take  them,  as  it  were,  into  his 
own  immediate  presence,  and  will 
protect  them.  %  Thou  shalt  keep 
them  secretly.  Thou  wilt  hide  them 
as  with  thyself.  ^  In  a  pavilion. 
In  thy  tent,  or  dwelling-place.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxvii.  5.  *~  From  the 
strife  of  tongues.  Slander;  reproach; 
calumny.  This  does  not  mean  the 
strife  of  tongues  among  themselves, 
or  their  contentions  with  each  other, 


PSALM  XXXI. 


269 


21  Blessed  be  the  Lord;  for 
he  hath  showed  ine  his  marvel- 
lous kindness  in  a  x  strong  city. 

22  For  I  said  in  my  haste,  I 
am  cut  off  h  from  before  thine 
eyes  :  nevertheless  thou  heardest 

1  Or,  fenced. 


but  the  united  clarnours  of  the  whole 
against  himself.  God  would  guard 
the  righteous  from  their  reproaches, 
or  their  efforts  to  ruin  them  by 
slander.     Comp.  Ps.  xxxvii.  5,  6. 

21.  Blessed  be  the  Lokd.  An  ex- 
pression of  thanksgiving  for  the  evi- 
dence that  God  had  heard  him  in  his 
troubles,  and  had  answered  him.  ^ 
For  he  hath  shoived  me  Ms  marvellous 
kindness.  Literally,  He  has  made  his 
mercy  ivonderful ;  that  is,  he  has 
showed  me  such  mercy  as  to  be  an 
object  of  admiration  and  astonishment. 
It  was  not  ordinary  kindness,  such  as 
is  shown  to  men  every  day ;  it  was  so 
uncommon — so  far  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion— so  separate  from  second  causes 
and  the  agency  of  man — so  marked  in 
its  character — as  to  fill  the  mind  with 
wonder.  %  In  a  strong  city.  Marg., 
fenced  city.     This   may  mean  either 

that  he  had  thus  placed  him  literally 
in  a  strongly  fortified  city  where  he 
was  safe  from  the  fear  of  his  enemies ; 
or,  that  he  had  interposed  in  his 
behalf,  and  had  given  him  protection 
as  if  he  had  brought  him  into  such 
a  strongly  foi'tified  place.  Jarchi  sup- 
poses that  the  city  of  Keilah  (1  Sam. 
xxiii.  7)  is  here  intended.  But  this 
is  improbable.  All  that  the  passage 
necessarily  implies  is,  that  God  had 
given  him  protection  as  if  he  had 
been  placed  in  a  strongly-fortified 
town  where  he  would  be  safe  from 
danger. 

22.  For  I  said  in  my  haste.  In 
my  fear  ;  my  apprehension.  The  word 
rendered  haste  means  properly  that 
terror  or  alarm  which  causes  one  to 
flee,  or  to  endeavour  to  escape.  It  is 
not  haste  in  the  sense  of  an  opinion 
formed  too  quickly,  or  formed  rashly  ; 
it  is  haste  in  the  sense  of  terror  lead- 
ing to  sudden  flight,  or  an  effort  to 


the  voice    of   my  supplications, 
when  I  cried  unto  thee. 

23  O  love  the  Lord,  all  ye  his 
saints  :  for  the  Lord  preserveth 
the  faithful,  and  plentifully  re- 
wardeth  the  proud  doer. 

h  Job  xxxv.  14. 


escape.  See  an  illustration  of  this  idea 
in  the  case  of  David  himself,  in  1  Sam. 
xxiii.  26.  %  I  am  cut  off.  That  is, 
I  shall  certainly  be  cut  oil' or  destroyed. 
If  From  before  thine  eyes.  Either,  in 
thy  very  presence ;  or,  so  that  I  shall 
not  be  admitted  into  thy  presence.  I 
shall  be  cut  down,  and  suffered  no  more 
to  come  before  thee  to  worship  thee. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  vi.  5.  %  Never- 
theless thou  heardest,  etc.  Contrary 
to  my  apprehensions,  I  was  heard  and 
delivered.  God's  mercy  went  beyond 
the  psalmist's  faith, — as  it  often  does 
to  His  people  now,  far  beyond  what 
they  hope  for ;  far  beyond  what  they 
even  pray  for;  far  beyond  what  they 
believe  to  be  possible ; — so  far  beyond 
all  this,  as  to  make  the  result,  as  in 
the  case  of  David  (ver.  21),  a  matter 
of  wonder  and  astonishment. 

23.  O  love  the  Lord,  all  ye  his 
saints.  This  is  the  application  of  all 
the  truths  suggested  in  the  psalm. 
The  experience  of  the  psalmist  had 
shown  the  wisdom  of  trusting  in  God 
in  times  of  danger  and  trouble,  and 
had  laid  the  foundation  for  a  proper 
exhortation  to  others  to  imitate  his 
example ;  an  argument  why  all  the 
people  of  God  should  love  him,  and 
should  be  of  good  courage.  The  rea- 
son here  assigned  for  their  loving  the 
Lord  is,  that  he  preserves  those  who 
are  faithful  to  him,  and  "rewards  the 
proud  doer."  This  is  a  reason  for 
loving  God,  or  for  putting  our  trust 
in  him, — though  the  psalmist  does 
not  say  that  this  is  the  only  reason 
for  doing  it.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  the  dealings  of  God  toward  the  • 
psalmist  had  established  this  truth  in 
regard  to  the  character  of  God,  that 
he  does  preserve  the  faithful,  and 
does  punish  the  proud,  and  that  this 
fact  constitutes  a  reason  why  all  his 


270 


PSALM  XXXII. 


24  Be  of  good  courage,  and  he 
shall  strengthen  your  heart,  all 


ye  that  hope  in  the  Lord. 


people  should  confide  in  him.  %  For 
the  Lord  preserveth  the  faithful.  The 
faithful; — those  who  put  their  trust 
in  him ;  those  who  do  not  give  up  in 
despondency  and  despair  in  time  of 
danger  and  trouble ;  those  who  do 
not  forsake  him  even  though  for  a 
time  he  seems  to  forsake  them.  What 
God  looks  for  mainly  in  his  people 
is  confidence ;  faithfulness  ;  trust ; 
fidelity.  %  And  plentifully  reicardeth. 
Abundantly  rewards.  Literally,  in 
plenty.  That  is,  his  punishment  does 
not  fall  short  of  the  desert  of  the 
wicked  man.  It  is  ample  or  full. 
He  does  full  justice.  %  The  proud 
doer.  "  The  man  icorJcing  pride." 
The  reference  is  to  the  man  who  is 
confident  in  himself;  who  seeks  to 
aggrandise  himself,  and  who  in  doing 
this  is  regardless  of  the  rights  of 
others. 

24.  Be  of  good  courage.  See  a 
similar  exhortation  at  the  close  of  a 
psalm,  in  Ps.  xxvii.  14.  Comp.  Xotes 
on  that  verse.  As  the  result  of  all 
his  own  experience  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  and  of  His  gracious  interposition 
in  the  time  of  danger,  the  psalmist 
exhorts  others  to  he  encouraged,  and  to 
feel  assured  that  God  would  not  leave 
or  forsake  them.  %  And  he  shall 
strengthen  your  heart.  He  will  ani- 
mate you ;  he  will  enable  you  to  meet 
trial  and  opposition ;  he  will  keep  you 
from  becoming  faint  and  disheartened. 
%  All  ye  that  hope  in  the  Loed.  All 
that  put  their  trust  in  him,  or  all 
whose  expectation  is  from  him.  It  is 
a  characteristic  of  true  piety  that  all 
hope  centres  in  God,  or  that  the  soul 
feels  that  there  is  no  other  ground  of 
hope,  (a)  The  truly  pious  man  de- 
spairs of  success  in  anything  else,  or 
from  any  other  quarter,  for  he  feels 
that  God  alone  can  give  success,  (b) 
He  does  hope  in  God — in  reference  to 
all  that  is  needful  for  himself  as  an  indi- 
vidual ;  all  that  will  be  for  the  good 
of  his  family ;  all  that  will  tend  to 
bless  the  world ;  all  that  he  desires  in 
heaven.     Hope  in   God   cheers  him, 


sustains  him,  comforts  him;  makes 
life  happy  and  prosperous;  and  makes 
death  calm,  serene,  triumphant. 

PSALM  xxxn. 

This  psalm  is  ascribed  to  David,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  correct- 
ness of  the  superscription  to  that  effect. 

The  occasion  on  which  it  was  com- 
posed, however,  is  not  intimated,  nor  i3 
there  any  Way  now  of  ascertaining  it. 
That  David  refers  to  his  own  experience 
is  manifest  from  the  psalm  itself,  vers. 
3-5  ;  but  whether  to  his  experience  at 
the  time  of  his  conversion,  or  to  his  ex- 
perience in  the  matter  of  Bathsheba 
and  Uriah — his  deep  guilt — his  anguish 
of  spirit  on  that  occasion — the  remorse 
of  conscience  which  he  felt  when  the 
guilt  of  that  sin  was  brought  home  to  his 
conscience  ;  or  whether  he  refers  to  some 
other  occasion  of  his  life  when  he  was 
troubled  at  the  remembrance  of  sin,  it  is 
impossible  now  to  determine. 

The  design  of  this  psalm  is  manifest 
It  is  to  show  the  blessedness  of  the  for- 
giveness of  sin.  This  is  done  by  showing, 
in  the  first  place,  the  pain,  distress, 
and  anguish,  resulting  from  the  convic- 
tion of  guilt.  Then  follows  a  statement 
of  the  effects  consequent  on  a  frank  and 
full  confession  of  guilt  in  giving  peace 
to  the  mind,  and  relieving  the  distress 
caused  by  the  remembrance  of  guilt.  It 
is  remarkable  that  this  psalm  refers  so 
much  to  the  inward  feelings  ;  and  that 
it  contains  no  reference  to  any  external 
acts, — to  Jewish  saci-ifices  and  offerings. 
It  pertains  to  the  soul  and  to  God ;  to  the 
inward  work  of  penitence  and  pardon ; 
to  the  sorrow  of  conviction  and  to  the 
peace  of  forgiveness  ;  and  it  shows  that 
there  was  among  the  Hebrews  a  just  idea 
of  the  nature  of'  religion  as  a  spiritual 
transaction  between  the  soul  and  God. 
Even  De  "Wette  recognises  this,  and  sees 
in  the  psalm  an  illustration  of  the  na- 
ture of  faith  and  its  bearing  on  salva- 
tion, and  an  illustration  of  the  nature 
of  true  reconciliation  with  God.  "In 
this  psalm,"  says  he,  "as  well  as  in 
Ps.  li.  and  others,  Judaism  nears  itself — 
niihertsich — to  Christianity  ;  it  elevates 
itself  from  the  mere  legal  to  the  moral." 
The  psalm  thus  furnishes  an  illustration 
of  the  nature  of  true  conversion  to  God, 
and  is  of  value — as  such  an  illustration 


PSALM  XXXII. 


271 


PSALM  XXXIL 

A  Psalm  of  David, 1  Maschil. 

"DLESSED  '  is  he  whose  trans- 


— to  all  men  ;  while  it  also  shows  that 
true  religion,  under  all  dispensations,  is 
essentially  the  same. 

The  psalm  is  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing parts:— 

I.  A  statement  of  the  blessings  of  for- 
giveness, as  the  leading  thought  of  the 
psalm,  vers.  1,  2. 

II.  A  description  of  the  state  of  mind, 
when  under  conviction  for  sin,  vers.  3,  4. 

III.  The  effect  of  confession  of  sin, 
resulting  in  a  sense  of  forgiveness  and 
peace,  ver.  5. 

IV.  Encouragement  to  others  in  simi- 
lar circumstances,  derived  from  the 
example  of  the  psalmist,  or  from  the 
fact  that  he  found  peace  and  pardon 
when  he  called  upon  God,  ver.  6. 

V.  An  expression  of  confidence  in  God 
as  a  refuge  and  hiding-place  in  time  of 
trouble,  ver.  7. 

VI.  The  proper  spirit  which  they 
should  have  who  are  thus  brought  up 
from  the  depths  of  guilt ;  and  the  way 
in  which  they  should  receive  the  guid- 
ance and  direction  which  will  be  afforded 
them,  vers.  8,  9.  The  psalmist  under- 
takes to  instruct  them;  and  says  that 
they  should  cherish  a  spirit  of  humility 
and  docility, — not  the  fierce  spirit  of  the 
untamed  horse,  or  the  spirit  of  the  obsti- 
nate mule. 

VII.  The  blessedness  of  trusting  in 
the  Lord,  as  the  result  of  the  experience 
of  the  psalmist  in  this  time  of  sorrow  for 
sin,  vers.  10,  11. 

The  word  Maschil  in  the  title-^ssta 
is  derived  from  the  verb — 25^?>  sakhal — 
meaning  properly  to  look  at,  to  behold,  to 
view ;  and  then,  to  be  prudent,  circum- 
spect; to  act  prudently  or  circumspectly, 
as  one  does  who  looks  attentively  and 
carefully  at  objects  ;  then  it  means  to  be 
intelligent,  prudent,  wise.  The  parti- 
ciple, which  is  the  form  used  here  (causat. 
of  Hiph.),  means  making  wise  or  prudent, 
or  conveying  instruction  ;  and  this  title 
is  given  to  this  psalm,  as  well  as  to 
many  others,  as  conveying  the  idea  that 
the  psalm  was  adapted  to  make  wise,  or 
to  impart  instruction ;  and  the  sense 
would  be  well  expressed  by  our  phrase, 
didactic  song.  The  title  is  prefixed  also 
to  the  following  psalms :  xlii.,  xliv., 
xlv.,  lii.,  liii.,  liv.,  lv.,  lxxiv.,  lxxxviii., 


gression   is  forgiven,   whose   sin 
is  covered. 

1  Or,  giving  instruction. 
i  lloni.  iv.  6 — 8. 


lxxxix.,  cxlii.  It  would  be  difficult  now» 
however,  to  discover  from  the  contents  of 
the  psalms  themselves  why  the  title  was 
affixed  to  these  particularly  rather  than 
to  many  others.  Probably  this  was 
determined,  by  those  who  collected  and 
arranged  the  psalms,  according  to  some 
rules  that  are  not  now  known  to  us. 

1.  Blessed  is  he,  etc.  On  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  blessed,  see  Notes  on 
Ps.  i.  1.  See  the  passage  explained  in 
the  Notes  on  Rom.  iv.  7,  8.  The  word 
blessed  here  is  equivalent  to  happy  : — 
"Happy  is  the  man;"  or  "happy  is 
the  condition — the  state  of  mind — 
happy  are  the  prospects,  of  one  whose 
sins  are  forgiven."  His  condition  is 
happy  or  blessed  (a)  as  compared  with 
his  former  state,  when  he  was  pressed 
or  bowed  down  under  a  sense  of  guilt; 
(b)  in  his  real  condition,  as  that  of  a 
pardonedman — a  man  who  has  nothing 
now  to  fear  as  the  result  of  his  guilt, 
or  who  feels  that  he  is  at  peace  with 
God ;  (c)  in  his  hopes  and  prospects, 
as  now  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of 
heaven.  ^[  Whose  transgression  is 
forgiven.  The  word  rendered  forgiven  \ 
means  properly  to  lift  up,  to  bear,  to  \ 
carry,  to  carry  away ;  and  sin  which  j 
is  forgiven  is  referred  to  here  as  if  it 
were  borne  away, — perhaps  as  the 
scapegoat  bore  off  sin  into  the  wilder-  / 
ness.  Comp.  Ps.  lxxxv.  2 ;  Job  vii. 
21;  Gen.  I.  17;  Num.  xiv.  19;  Isa. 
ii.  9.  If  Whose  sin  is  covered.  As  it 
were  covered  over ;  that  is,  concealed 
or  hidden;  or,  in  other  words,  so 
covered  that  it  will  not  appear.  This 
is  the  idea  in  the  Hebrew  word  which 
is  commonly  used  to  denote  the  atone- 
ment,— 1D3,  kaphar, — meaning  to 
cover  over ;  then,  to  overlook,  to  for- 
give; Gen.  vi.  14;  Ps.  lxv.  3;  lxxviii. 
38 ;  Dan.  ix.  24.  The  original  word 
here,  however,  is  different  —  HD3, 
kasah — -though  meaning  the  same, — 
to  cover.  The  idea  is,  that  the  sin 
would  be,  as  it  were,  covered  over, 
hidden,  concealed,  so  that  it  would  no 


272 


PSALM  XXXII. 


2  Blessed  is  the  man  unto 
whom  the  Lord  iniputeth  *  not 
iniquity,  and  in  whose  spirit  there 


is  no  guile. 


longer  come  into  the  view  of  either 
God  or  man ;  that  is,  the  offender 
would  be  regarded  and  treated  as  if  he 
had  not  sinned,  or  as  if  he  had  no  sin. 
2.  Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  the 
Loed  imputeth  not  iniquity.  Whose 
sin  is  not  reckoned  to  him,  or  charged 
on  him.  The  reference  here  is  to  his 
own  sin.  The  idea  is  not,  that  he  is 
happy  on  whom  God  does  not  charge 
the  guilt  of  other  men,  but  that  he  is 
happy  who  is  not  charged  with  his 
own  guilt,  or  who  is  treated  as  if  he 
had  no  guilt  ;  that  is,  as  if  he  were 
innocent.  This  is  the  true  idea  of 
justification.  It  is,  that  a  man,  al- 
though he  is  a  sinner,  and  is  conscious 
of  having  violated  the  law  of  God,  is 
treated  as  if  he  had  not  committed 
sin,  or  a?  if  he  were  innocent;  that 
is,  he  is  p  rdoned,  and  his  sins  are  re- 
membered against  him  no  more  ;  and 
it  is  the  purpose  of  God  to  treat  him 
henceforward  as  if  he  were  innocent. 
The  act  of  pardon  does  not  change 
the  facts  in  the  case,  or  make  him 
innocent,  but  it  makes  it  proper  for 
God  to  treat  him  as  if  he  were  inno- 
cent. The  sin  will  not  be  re-charged 
upon  him,  or  reckoned  to  his  account ; 
but  he  is  admitted  to  the  same  kind 
of  treatment  to  which  he  would  be 
entitled  if  he  had  always  been  per- 
fectly holy.  See  Xotes  on  Rom.  i.  17 ; 
iii.  24;  iv.  5;  v.  1.  %  And  in  tvhose 
spirit  there  is  no  guile.  Who  are 
sincere  and  true.  That  is,  who  are 
not  hypocrites;  who  are  conscious  of 
no  desire  to  cover  up  or  to  conceal 
their  offences ;  who  make  a  frank 
and  full  confession  to  God,  imploring 
pardon.  The  guile  here  refers  to  the 
matter  under  consideration.  The  idea 
is  not  who  are  innocent,  or  without 
guilt,  but  who  are  sincere,  frank,  and 
honest  in  making  confession  of  their 
sins  who  keep  nothing  back  when 
they  go'  before  God.  We  cannot  go 
before  him  and  plead  our  innocence, 
but  we  may  go  before  him  with  the 


.  3  When  I  kept  silence,  my 
bones  waxed  old  through  my 
roaring  all  the  day  long. 

1  2  Cor.  v.  19. 


feeling  of  conscious  sincerity  and 
honesty  in  making  confession  of  our 
guilt.     Comp.  Ps.  lxvi.  18. 

3.  When  I  kept  silence.  The  psalm- 
ist now  proceeds  to  state  his  condition 
of  mind  before  he  himself  found  this 
peace,  or  before  he  had  this  evidence 
of  pardon ;  the  state  in  which  he  felt 
deeply  that  he  was  a  sinner,  yet  was 
unwilling  to  confess  his  sin,  and  at- 
tempted to  conceal  it  in  his  own  heart. 
This  he  refers  to  by  the  expression, 
"  When  I  kept  silence ;"  that  is,  be- 
fore I  confessed  my  sin,  or  before  I 
made  mention  of  it  to  God.  The  con- 
dition of  mind  was  evidently  this  : — 
he  had  committed  sin,  but  he  endea- 
voured to  hide  it  in  his  own  mind ;  he 
was  unwilling  to  make  confession  of 
it,  and  to  implore  pardon.  He  hoped, 
probably,  that  the  conviction  of  sin 
would  die  away ;  or  that  his  trouble 
would  cease  of  itself;  or  that  time 
would  relieve  him  ;  or  that  employ- 
ment— occupying  him  self  in  the  affairs 
of  the  world— would  soothe  the  an- 
guish of  his  spirit,  and  render  it  un- 
necessary for  him  to  make  a  humiliat- 
ing confession  of  his  guilt.  He  thus 
describes  a  state  of  mind  which  is 
very  common  in  the  case  of  sinners. 
They  know  that  they  are  sinners,  but 
they  are  unwilling  to  make  confession 
of  their  guilt.  They  attempt  to  con- 
ceal it.  They  put  off,  or  try  to  remove 
far  away,  the  whole  subject.  They 
endeavour  to  divert  their  minds,  and 
to  turn  their  thoughts  from  a  sub- 
ject so  painful  as  the  idea  of  guilt 
— by  occupation,  or  by  amusement, 
or  even  by  plunging  into  scenes  of 
dissipation.  Sometimes,  often  in  fact, 
they  are  successful  in  this ;  but,  some- 
times, as  in  the  case  of  the  psalmist, 
the  trouble  at  the  remembrance  of 
sins  becomes  deeper  and  deeper,  de- 
stroying their  rest,  and  wasting  their 
strength,  until  they  make  humble  con- 
fession, and  then  the  mind  finds  rest. 
Tf  Jig  hones  waxed  old.     My  strength 


PSALM  XXXII. 


273 


4  For  day  and  night  thy  hand 
was  heavy  upon  me  :  my  mois- 
ture is  turned  into  the  drought 
of  summer.     Selah. 


failed ;  my  strength  was  exhausted ; 
it  seemed  as  if  the  decrepitude  of  age 
was  coming  upon  me.  The  word  here 
used,  and  rendered  waxed  old,  would 
properly  denote  decay,  or  the  wearing 
out  of  the  strength  by  slow  decay. 
All  have  witnessed  the  prostrating 
effect  of  excessive  grief.  ^[  Through 
my  roaring.  My  cries  of  anguish  and 
distress.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxii.  1. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  his  sorrow 
was  so  great  as  to  lead  to  loud  and 
passionate  cries ;  and  this  well  de- 
scribes the  condition  of  a  mind  under 
deep  trouble  at  the  remembrance  of 
sin  and  the  apprehension  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  %  All  the  day  long.  Con-* 
tinually;  without  intermission. 

4.  For  day  and  night.  I  found  no 
relief  even  at  night.  The  burden 
was  constant,  and  was  insupportable. 
IT  Thy  hand  tvas  heavy  upon  me.  Thy 
hand  seemed  to  press  me  down.  It 
weighed  upon  me.  See  Job  xiii.  21 ; 
Ps.  xxxix.  10.  It  was  the  remem- 
brance of  guilt  that  troubled  him,  but 
that  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  hand  of 
God.  It  was  God  who  brought  that 
guilt  to  his  recollection ;  and  God 
kept  the  recollection  of  it  before  his 
mind,  and  on  his  heart  and  conscience, 
so  that  he  could  not  throw  it  off. 
^[  My  moisture.  The  word  here  used 
— lltib  leshad — means  properly  Juice 
or  sap,  as  in  a  tree ;  and  then,  vital- 
moisture,  or,  as  we  should  say,  life- 
blood.  Then  it  comes  to  denote  vigour 
or  strength.  f  Is  turned  into  the 
drought  of  summer.  Is,  as  it  were, 
all  dried  up.  I  am — that  is,  I  was  at 
the  time  referred  to — like  plants  in 
the  heat  of  summer,  in  a  time  of 
drought,  when  all  moisture  of  rain  or 
dew  is  withheld,  and  when  they  dry 
up  and  wither.  Nothing  could  more 
strikingly  represent  the  distress  of 
mind  under  long-continued  conviction 
of  sin,  when  all  strength  and  vigour 
seem  to  waste  away. 


5  I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto 
thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I 
not  hid.     I  said,  I  l  will  confess 

l  1  John  l.  9. 


5.  I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto  thee. 
That  is,  I  then  confessed  my  guilt.  I 
had  borne  the  dreadful  pressure  as 
long  as  I  could.  I  had  endeavoured 
to  conceal  and  suppress  my  conviction, 
but  I  found  no  relief.  The  anguish  be- 
came deeper  and  deeper ;  my  strength 
was  failing ;  I  was  crushed  under  the 
intolerable  burden,  and  when  I  could 
no  longer  bear  it  I  went  and  made 
humble  confession,  and  found  relief. 
The  verb  here  used  is  in  the  future 
tense,  "  I  will  acknowledge  my  sin ;" 
but  in  order  to  a  correct  understand- 
ing of  it,  it  should  be  regarded  as  re- 
ferring to  the  state  of  mind  at  the 
time  referred  to  in  the  psalm,  and  the 
resolution  which  the  psalmist  then 
formed.  The  words  "  I  said  "  should 
be  understood  here.  This  he  ex- 
presses in  a  subsequent  part  of  the 
verse,  referring  doubtless  to  the  same 
time.  "  I  said,"  or  I  formed  a  re- 
solution to  this  effect.  The  idea  is, 
that  he  could  find  no  relief  in  any 
other  way.  He  could  not  banish 
these  serious  and  troublous  thoughts 
from  his  mind ;  his  days  and  nights 
were  spent  in  anguish.  He  resolved 
to  go  to*  God  and  to  confess  his  sin, 
and  to  see  what  relief  could  be  found 
by  such  an  acknowledgment  of  guilt. 
%  And  mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid. 
That  is,  I  did  not  attempt  then  to 
hide  it.  I  made  a  frank,  a  full  con- 
fession. I  stated  it  all,  without  any 
attempt  to  conceal  it ;  to  apologise 
for  it ;  to  defend  it.  .  Before,  he  had 
endeavoured  to  conceal  it,  and  it  was 
crushing  him  to  the  earth.  He  now 
resolved  to  confess  it  all,  and  he  found 
relief.  1J  I  said.  I  formed  the  re- 
solution. %  I  tvill  confess  my  trans- 
gressions unto  the  Lord.  I  will  no 
longer  attempt  to  hide  them,  or  to 
suppress  the  convictions  of  guilt.  I 
will  seek  the  only  proper  relief  by 
making  confession  of  my  sin,  and  by 
obtaining  forgiveness.  This  resolu- 
N  2 


274 


PSALM  XXXII. 


my  transgressions  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  thou  forgavest  the 
iniquity  of  my  sin.     Selah. 

6  For "'  this  shall  every  one  that 
is  godly  pray  unto  thee  in  a  time 

m  1  Tim.  i.  16.  1  of  finding. 


tion  was  substantially  the  same  as 
that  of  the  prodigal  son :  "  I  will 
arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will 
say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sin- 
ned," Luke  xv.  18.  %  And  thou  for- 
gavest the  iniquity  of  my  sin.  He 
found  that  God  was  willing  to  par- 
don ;  he  no  sooner  made  confession 
than  he  obtained  the  evidence  of  par- 
don. All  the  guilt,  or  the  "iniquity" 
of  his  sin,  was  at  once  forgiven ;  and, 
as  a  consequence,  he  found  peace.  In 
what  way  he  had  evidence  that  his  sin 
was  forgiven  he  does  not  state.  It 
may  have  been  in  his  case  by  direct 
revelation,  but  it  is  more  probable  that 
he  obtained  this  evidence  in  the  same 
way  that  sinners  do  now,  by  the  in- 
ternal peace  and  joy  which  follows 
such  an  act  of  penitent  confession. 
In  regard  to  this,  we  may  observe, — 
(a)  the  very  act  of  making  confession 
tends  to  give  relief  to  the  mind ;  and, 
in  fact,  relief  never  can  be  found  when 
confession  is  not  made,  (b)  We  have 
the  assurance  that  when  confession  is 
made  in  a  proper  manner,  God  will 
pardon.  See  Notes  on  1  John  i.  9. 
(c)  When  such  confession  is  made, 
peace  will  flow  into  the  soul;  God 
will  show  himself  merciful  and  gra- 
cious. The  peace  which  follows  from 
a  true  confession  of  guilt  before  God, 
proves  that  God  has  heard  the  prayer 
of  the  penitent,  and  has  been  merci- 
ful in  forgiving  his  offences.  Thus, 
without  any  miracle,  or  any  direct 
revelation,  we  may  obtain  evidence 
that  our  sins  are  washed  away,  which 
will  give  comfort  to  the  soul. 

6.- For  this.  With  reference  to 
this  state  of  mind,  or  to  this  happy 
result ;  or,  encouraged  by  my  ex- 
ample and  my  success.  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  others  would  find, 
and  might  find,  encouragement  from 
what  had  occurred  to  him.  In  other 
words,  his  case  had  furnished  an  il- 


1  wrhen  thou  mayest  be  n  found  : 
surely  in  the  floods  of  great 
waters  °  they  shall  not  come  nigh 
unto  him. 

n  lsa.  lv.  6.  o  Isa.  xliii.  2. 


lustration  of  the  way  in  which  sin- 
ners are  pardoned,  and  a  proof  of  the 
mercy  of  God,  which  would  be  in- 
structive and  encouraging  to  others 
in  similar  circumstances.  The  con- 
version of  one  sinner,  or  the  fact  that 
one  sinner  obtains  pardon,  becomes 
thus  an  encouragement  to  all  others ; 
for  (a)  pardon  is  always  to  be  obtained 
in  the  same  manner  essentially, — by 
humble  and  penitent  confession  of  sin, 
and  by  casting  ourselves  entirely  on 
the  offered  mercy  of  God ;  and  (b) 
the  fact  that  one  sinner  has  been  par- 
doned, is  full  proof  that  others  may 
obtain  forgiveness  also,  for  God  is  un- 
changeably the  same.  All  those, 
therefore,  who  have  been  pardoned 
and  saved  in  the  world  have  become 
examples  to  the  rest,  and  have  fur- 
nished full  proof  that  all  others  may 
be  pardoned  and  saved  if  they  will 
come  in  the  same  manner.  See  Notes 
on  1  Tim.  i.  16.  %  Every  one  that 
is  godly.  The  original  word  here 
used  would  properly  mean  those  who 
are  pious,  or  who  are  already  con- 
verted. It  is  the  common  word  used 
in  the  Scriptures  to  denote  saints,  and 
is  usually  so  translated.  But,  as  used 
here,  it  would  seem  rather  to  denote 
those  who  are  inclined  to  be  pious,  or 
who  are  seeking  how  they  may  become 
pious ;  in  other  words,  those  who  are 
religiously  disposed.  The  encourage- 
ment js  to  those  who  feel  that  they 
are  sinners ;  who  desire  some  way  of 
relief  from  the  burden  of  sin ;  who 
are  convinced  that  there  is  no  other 
source  of  relief  but  God,  and  who  are 
disposed  to  make  the  same  trial  which 
the  psalmist  did, — to  find  peace  by 
making  confession  of  sin.  All  such 
persons,  the  psalmist  says,  might  see 
in  his  case  encouragement  to  come 
thus  to  God ;  all  such  would  find  him 
willing  to  pardon.  %  In  a  time  ivhen 
thou  mayest  be  found.     Marg.,  as  in 


PSALM  XXXII. 


275 


7  Thou  p  art  my  "hiding-place ; 
thou  shalt  preserve  me  from 
trouble ;  thou  shalt  compass  me 
about  with  songs  <z  of  deliverance. 
Selah. 

p  Ps.  cxliii.  9. 


8  I  will  instruct  thee,  r  and 
teach  thee  in  the  way  which  thou 
shalt  go  :  I  will  l  guide  thee  with 
mine  eye. 

q  Ex.  xv.  1,  etc. ;  Rev.  xv.  2,  3. 

I  counsel  thee,  mine  eye  shall  he  upon  thee. 


Heb.,  in  a  time  of  finding.  That  is, 
they  would  find  that  to  be  a  propi- 
tious time,  or  a  time  of  mercy.  It 
does  not  mean  that  there  were  ap- 
pointed or  set  times  in  which  God 
would  be  gracious ;  or  that  there  were 
seasons  when  he  was  disposed  to  give 
audience  to  men,  and  seasons  when  he 
could  not  be  approached ;  but  the 
meaning  is,  that  whenever  they  came 
thus — with  this  penitent  feeling,  and 
this  language  of  confession  —  they 
would  find  that  the  time  of  mercy. 
The  idea  is  not  that  God  is  any  more 
disposed  to  show  mercy  at  one  time 
than  another,  but  that  they  would  find 
him  always  ready  to  show  mercy  when 
they  came  in  that  manner : — that 
would  be  the  time  to  obtain  his  favour; 
that  "  the  time  of  finding."  The  real 
time  of  mercy,  therefore,  for  a  sinner, 
is  the  time  when  he  is  willing  to  come 
as  a  penitent,  and  to  make  confession 
of  sin.  %  Surely  in  the  floods  of 
great  roaters.  In  times  of  calamity 
— as  when  floods  of  water  spread  over 
a  land ;  or  in  a  time  of  judgment — 
when'  such  floods  sweep  everything 
away.  The  reference  here  is,  doubt- 
less, to  the  floods  that  will  come  upon 
the  ungodly — upon  a  wicked  world. 
The  illustration  is  drawn  probably 
from  the  deluge  in  the  time  of  Noah. 
So,  when  God  shall  sweep  away  the 
wicked  in  his  wrath,— when  he  shall 
consign  them  to  destruction  in  the 
day  of  judgment, — the  pardoned  sin- 
ner will  be  safe.  %  They  shall  not 
come  nigh  unto  him.  He  will  be  se- 
cure. He  shall  not  be  swept  off  with 
others.  Safe,  as  a  forgiven  man,  — 
safe  as  a  child  and  a  friend  of  God, — 
he  shall  be  protected  as  Noah  was  in 
the  great  deluge  that  swept  off  a 
guilty  world.  A  pardoned  man  has 
nothing  to  fear,  though  flood  or  fire 
should  sweep  over  the  world. 

7.  Thou  art  my  hiding-place.     See 


Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  9 ;  xxvii.  5.  The 
idea  is  that  he  would  be  safe  under 
the  protection  of  God.  The  general 
allusion  is  to  concealment  from  an 
enemy,  but  the  immediate  reference 
is  to  sin,  and  the  consequences  of  sin. 
By  fleeing  to  God  he  would  be  secure 
against  all  the  evils  which  sin  brings 
upon  men.  ^[  Thou  shalt  preserve 
me  from  trouble.  Particularly  the 
trouble  which  comes  from  guilt;— 
sadness  and  sorrow  in  the  remem- 
brance of  sin;  apprehension  of  the 
wrath  of  God  in  the  world  to  come ; 
the  consequences  of  guilt  in  that  un- 
seen and  eternal  world.  %  Thou 
shalt  compass  me  about  with  songs  of 
deliverance.  With  songs  expressive 
of  deliverance  or  salvation.  It  is  not 
merely  one  song  or  a  single  expression 
of  gratitude;  —  in  his  pathway  to 
another  world  he  will  be  attended 
with  songs  and  rejoicings;  he  will 
seem  to  be  surrounded  with  songs. 
He  himself  will  sing.  Others,  re- 
deemed like  him,  will  sing,  and  will 
seem  to  chant  praises  because  he  is 
redeemed  and  forgiven.  All  nature 
will  seem  to  rejoice  over  his  redemp- 
tion. Nature  is  full  of  songs.  The 
birds  of  the  air ;  the  wind ;  the  run- 
ning stream  ;  the  ocean ;  the  seasons 
— spring,  summer,  autumn,  winter ; 
hills,  valleys,  groves, — all,  to  one  re- 
deemed, seem  to  be  full  of  songs.  The 
feeling  that  we  are  pardoned  fills  the 
universe  with  melody,  and  makes  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  seem  to  us  to  be 
glad.  The  Christian  is  a  happy  man  ; 
and  he  himself  being  happy,  all  around 
him  sympathizes  with  him  in  his  joy. 
8.  I  will  instruct  thee.  Many  in- 
terpreters have  understood  this  to 
refer  to  God, — as  if  he  were  now  in- 
troduced as  speaking,  and  as  saying 
that  he  would  be  the  guide  of  those 
who  thus  submitted  to  him,  and  who 
sought  him  by  penitence  and  confes- 


276 


PSALM  XXXII. 


9  Be  ye  not  as  the  horse, r  or 
as  the  mule,  which  have  no  under- 
standing ;  whose  mouth  must  be 


r  Prow  xxvi.  3. 


sion.  But  it  is  more  natural  to  regard 
the  psalmist  as  still  speaking,  and 
referring  to  his  own  experience  as 
qualifying  him  to  give  counsel  to 
others,  showing  them  how  they  might 
find  peace,  and  with  what  views  and 
feelings  they  should  come  "before  God 
if  they  wished  to  secure  his  favour. 
He  had  himself  learned  hy  painful 
experience,  and  after  much  delay, 
how  the  favour  of  God  was  to  be 
obtained,  and  how  deliverance  from 
the  distressing  consciousness  of  guilt 
was  to  be  secured;  and  he  regards 
himself  as  now  qualified  to  teach 
others  who  are  borne  down  with  the 
same  consciousness  of  guilt,  and  who 
are  seeking  deliverance,  how  they 
may  find  peace.  It  is  an  instance  of 
one  who,  by  personal  experience,  is 
fitted  to  give  instruction  to  others ; 
and  the  psalmist,  in  what  follows, 
does  merely  what  every  converted 
man  is  qualified  to  do,  and  should  do, 
by  imparting  valuable  knowledge  to 
those  who  are  inquiring  how  they 
must  be  saved.  Comp.  Ps.  li.  12,  13. 
^T  And  teach  thee  in  the  way  which 
thou  shalt  go.  The  way  which  you 
are  to  take  to  find  pardon  and  peace ; 
or,  the  way  to  God.  \  I  tvill  guide 
thee  wit7i  mine  eye.  Marg.,  I  toill 
counsel  thee,  mine  eye  shall  be  upon 
thee.  The  margin  expresses  the  sense 
of  the  Hebrew.  The  literal  meaning 
is,  "  I  will  counsel  thee ;  mine  eye 
shall  be  upon  thee."  De  Wette,  "  my 
eye  shall  be  directed  towards  thee." 
The  idea  is  that  of  one  who  is  telling 
another  what  way  he  is  to  take  in 
order  that  he  may  reach  a  certain 
place  ;  and  he  says  he  will  watch  him, 
or  will  keep  an  eye  upon  him;  he  will 
not  let  him  go  wrong. 

9.  Be  ye  not  as  the  horse.  The 
horse  as  it  is  by  nature — wild,  un- 
governed,  unwilling  to  be  caught  and 
made  obedient.  The  counsel  referred 
to  in  the  previous  verse  is  here  given ; 
and  it  is,  that  one   who  wishes  to 


held  in  with  *  bit  and  bridle,  rest 
they  come  near  unto  thee. 


5  James  iii.  3. 


obtain  the  favour  of  God  should  not 
be  as  the  wild  and  unbroken  horse, 
an  animal  that  can  be  subdued  only 
by  a  curb,  but  should  evince  a  calm, 
submissive  spirit — a  spirit  disposed  to 
obey  and  submit.  If  he  becomes  a 
subject  of  God's  government,  he  is  not 
to  be  subdued  and  held  as  the  horse  is 
— by  mere  force  ;  there  must  be  the 
cheerful  submission  of  the  will.  Men 
are  not  brought  into  the  service  of 
God  by  physical  power  ;  they  are  not 
kept  there  by  an  iron  curb.  They 
come  and  yield  themselves  willingly  to 
his  law ;  they  must  come  with  that 
spirit  if  they  would  find  the  favour  of 
God.  %  Or  as  the  mule.  The  mule 
is  distinguished  for  its  obstinacy,  and 
this  is  evidently  the  ground  of  com- 
parison here.  The  meaning  is,  be 
tractable,  gentle,  yielding ;  submit  to 
the  guidance  and  direction  of  God  and 
his  truth.  %  Which  have  no  under- 
standing. That  cannot  he  controlled 
by  reason  and  conscience.  They  are 
governed  only  by  power  and  by  fear. 
Men  have  reason  and  conscience,  and 
they  should  allow  themselves  to  be 
controlled  by  appeals  to  their  reason 
and  to  their  moral  sense.  They  are 
not  made  to  he  governed  as  brutes  are. 
As  they  have  a  higher  nature,  they 
should  permit  themselves  to  be 
governed  by  it.  %  Whose  mouth  must 
be  held  in  icith  bit  and  bridle.  More 
literally,  "  in  bit  and  bridle  is  their 
ornament  to  restrain  them ;"  that  is, 
the  trappings  or  the  ornaments  of 
the  horse  and  the  mule  consist  of  the 
bridle  and  the  hit,  the  purpose  of 
which  is  to  restrain  or  control  them. 
The  allusion,  however,  is  not  to  the 
bit  and  bridle  as  an  "  ornament,"  but 
as  the  ordinary  trappings  of  the  mule 
and  the  horse.  %  Lest  they  come 
near  unto  thee.  Or  rather,  "  because 
of  its  not  approaching  thee  ;"  that  is, 
because  the  horse  and  the  mule  will 
not  come  to  thee  of  their  own  accord, 
but  must  be  restrained  and  controlled. 


PSALM  XXXII. 


277 


10  Many  *  sorrows  shall  be  to 
the  wicked :  but  he  '  that  trust- 
eth  in  the  Lord,  mercy  shall 
compass  him  about. 

s  Vs.  xvi.  4;  1  Tim.  vi.  10. 


10.  Many  sorrows  shall  be  to  the 
wicked.  The  meaning  here  is,  pro- 
bably, that  those  who  will  not  submit 
themselves  to  God  in  the  manner 
which  the  psalmist  recommends ;  who 
are  like  the  horse  and  the  mule, 
needing  to  be  restrained,  and  who 
are  to  be  restrained  only  by  force, 
will  experience  bitter  sorrows.  The 
psalmist  may  refer  here,  in  part,  to 
sorrows  such  as  he  says  he  himself 
experienced  when  he  attempted  to 
suppress  the  convictions  of  guilt 
(vers.  3,  4) ;  and  partly  to  the  punish- 
ment that  will  come  upon  the  impeni- 
tent sinner  for  his  sins.  The  sorrows 
referred  to  are  probably  both  internal 
and  external ;  those  arising  from 
remorse,  and  those  which  will  be 
brought  upon  the  guilty  as  a  direct 
punishment.  ^[  But  he  that  trusteth 
in  the  Loed.  He  that  has  faith  in 
God  ;  he  that  so  confides  in  him  that 
he  goes  to  him  with  the  language  of 
sincere  confession.  %  Mercy  shall 
compass  him  about.  Shall  surround 
him ;  shall  attend  him  ;  shall  be  on 
every  side  of  him.  It  shall  not  be 
only  in  one  respect,  but  in  all  respects. 
He  shall  be  surrounded  with  mercy — 
as  one  is  surrounded  by  the  air,  or  by 
the  sunlight.  He  shall  find  mercy 
and  favour  everywhere, —  at  home, 
abroad ;  by  day,  by  night ;  in  society, 
in  solitude ;  in  sickness,  in  health ; 
in  life,  in  death ;  in  time,  in  eternity. 
He  shall  walk  amidst  mercies ;  he 
shall  die  amidst  mercies ;  he  shall  live 
in  a  better  world  in  the  midst  of 
eternal  mercies. 

11.  Be  glad  in  the  Loed.  Rejoice 
in  the  Lord,  llejoice  that  there  is  a 
God  ;  rejoice  that  he  is  such  as  he  is; 
rejoice  in  his  favour;  find  your  joy — 
your  supreme  joy — in  him.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Phil.  iii.  1;  iv.  4.  %  Ye 
righteous.  You  who  are  willing  to 
go  to  him  and  confess  your  sins ;  you 
who  are  willing  to  serve  and  obey 


11  Be  glad  in  the  Lord,  and 
rejoice,  ye  righteous :  and  shout 
for  joy,  all  ye  that  are  upright  in 
heart . 

t  Jer.  xvii.  7,  8. 


him.  See  Notes  on  ver.  6.  The 
meaning  is,  that  those  who  are  dis- 
posed to  confess  their  sins,  and  are 
willing  to  submit  to  him  without 
being  compelled  by  force,  as  the  horse 
and  the  mule  are,  will  find  occasion 
for  rejoicing.  They  will  find  a  God 
who  is  worthy  of  their  love,  and  they 
will  find  true  happiness  in  him.  \ 
And  shout  for  joy.  Give  expression 
to  your  joy.  Let  it  not  remain 
merely  in  the  heart ;  but  give  it  ut- 
terance in  the  language  of  song.  If 
any  of  the  dwellers  on  earth  have 
occasion  for  the  loud  utterances  of 
praise,  they  are  those  who  are  re- 
deemed ;  whose  sins  are  forgiven ; 
who  have  the  hope  of  heaven.  If 
there  is  any  occasion  when  the  heart 
should  be  full  of  joy,  and  "when  the 
lips  should  give  forth  loud  utterances 
of  praise,  it  is  when  one  pressed  down 
with  the  consciousness  of  guilt,  and 
overwhelmed  with  the  apprehensions 
of  wrath,  makes  confession  to  God, 
and  secures  the  hope  of  heaven.  •[[ 
All  ye  that  are  upright  in  heart. 
That  is,  who  are  sincere  in  your  con- 
fession of  sin,  and  in  your  desires  to 
secure  the  favour  of  God.  Such  have 
occasion  for  joy,  for  to  such  God  will 
show  himself  merciful,  as  He  did  to 
the  psalmist  when  he  made  confession 
of  sin;  to  such  God  will  give  the 
tokens  of  his  favour,  and  the  hope  of 
heaven,  as  he  did  to  him.  The  ex- 
perience of  the  psalmist,  therefore,  as 
recorded  in  this  psalm,  should  be  full 
of  encouragement  to  all  who  are  bur- 
dened with  a  sense  of  sin.  Warned 
by  his  experience,  they  should  not 
attempt  to  conceal  their  transgres- 
sions in  their  own  bosom,  but  they 
should  go  at  once,  as  he  was  con- 
strained at  last  to  go,  and  make  full 
and  free  confession  to  God.  So  doinor, 
they  will  find  that  God  is  not  slow  to 
pardon  them,  and  to  fill  their  hearts 
with  peace,  and  their  lips  with  praise. 


278 


PSALM    XXXIII. 


PSALM  XXXIII. 

"DEJOICE  "  in  the  Lord,  O  ye 
■*-*  righteous:  for  praise  is  comely 
for  the  upright. 


PSALM  XXXIII. 

This  psalm  has  no  title  prefixed  to  it, 
and  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  with 
certainty  who  was  the  author,  or  on 
what  occasion  it  was  written.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  psalm  that  has  any  special 
allusion  to  David,  nor  is  there  reference 
to  an y  circumstances  which  would  enable 
us  to  determine  when  it  was  composed. 
It  has,  indeed,  no  particular  allusion  to 
the  Jewish  religion,  or  to  the  prevailing 
mode  of  worship  in  that  land,  and  is,  in 
fact,  so  general  in  its  sentiments  and  in 
its  descriptions,  that  it  might  have  been 
written  at  any  period  of  the  Jewish 
history,  or  even  in  an3r  land.  As  it  is 
found  among  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
is  between  psalms  which  are  both  as- 
cribed to  David,  we  may  presume  that  it 
was  believed  to  have  been  composed  by 
him ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  is 
at  variance  with  that  belief.  It  is  really 
but  a  carrying  out  of  the  sentiment  with 
which  the  preceding  psalm  closes  ;  and 
it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  intimate 
relation  of  the  two  psalms  may  have 
been  the  reason  why  the  title  to  the 
latter  of  them  was  omitted. 

The  psalm  properly  consists  of  three 
parts  : — I.  an  exhortation  to  praise  God  ; 
II.  reasons  why  he  should  be  praised ; 
and  III.  the  expression  of  a  purpose  thus 
to  praise  him. 

I.  An  exhortation  to  praise  God,  vers. 
1-3.  In  this  there  is  a  call  on  the 
righteous  to  praise  him  with  songs  and 
with  musical  instruments, — the  harp, 
the  psaltery,  the  instrument  of  ten 
strings  ;-r-a  call  to  make  use  of  the  best 
powers  of  music  in  all  its  varied  forms 
in  his  service. 

II.  Reasons  for  thus  praising  him, 
vers.  4-19. 

(1)  His  general  character  for  good- 
ness and  truth,  vers.  4,  5. 

(2)  The  fact  that  he  made  the  uni- 
verse;— or,  the  wisdom  and  power  dis- 
played by  him  in  creation,  vei-s.  6-9. 

(3)  The  stability  of  his  counsel  or 
purposes,  vers.  10, 11. 

(4)  The  blessings  which  he  bestows 
upon  those  who  acknowledge  him  to  be 
their  God — blessings  of  care,  protection, 
and  deliverance  in  danger,  vers.  12-19. 

III.  The  purpose  of  the  writer,  and  of 


2  Praise  the  Lord  with  harp : 
sing  unto  him  with  the  "  psaltery 
and  an  instr  ument  of  ten  strings. 

7i  Ps.  xcvii.  12 ;  Phil.  iv.  4. 
v  Ps.  cl.  3,  4. 


those  who   were    associated   with  him, 
thus  to  praise  God,  vers.  20-22. 

The  psalm  is  thus  one  that  is  appro- 
priate to  the  people  of  all  lands  and  times, 
and  will  be  better  appreciated  in  pro- 
portion as  men  become  more  and  more 
acquainted  with  God  in  the  wisdom,  the 
power,  and  the  skill  which  he  has  shown 
in  the  works  of  creation,  and  in  his 
providential  government  of  the  world. 

1.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord,  O  ye 
righteous.  This  is  the  sentiment  with 
which  the  preceding  psalm  closes. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxii.  11.  %  For 
praise  is  comely  for  the  upright.  Is 
befitting,  suitable,  proper.  That  is, 
the  upright — the  righteous  —  have 
abundant  cause  for  praise,  and  it  is 
for  them  a  suitable  employment,  or 
one  which  becomes  them.  A  man  who 
is  upright,  or  who  is  a  righteous  man, 
has  in  this  very  fact  much  which 
lays  a  foundation  for  praise,  for  the 
fact  that  he  has  such  a  character  is  to 
be  traced  to  the  grace  of  God,  and 
this  in  itself  is  a  more  valuable  pos- 
session than  gold  or  kingly  crowns 
would  be.  That  he  is  not  an  open 
violator  of  the  law  of  God ;  that  he  is 
not  intemperate ;  that  he  is  not  the 
victim  of  raging  lusts  and  passions; 
that  he  is  not  a  dishonest  man ;  that 
he  is  not  profane;  that  he  is  not  an 
infidel  or  a  scoffer ; — that  he  is  a  pious 
man, — a  redeemed  man, — a  man  of 
good  character, — an  heir  of  heaven, — 
is  the  highest  blessing  that  could  be 
conferred  on  him  ;  and  he  who  has 
been  saved  from  outbreaking  trans- 
gression  and  crime  in  a  world  like 
this,  and  has  been  enabled  to  live  an 
upright  life,  has  eminently  occasion 
to  praise  and  bless  God.  Assuredly 
for  such  a  man  praise  is  an  appro- 
priate employment ;  for  such  a  man 
it  is  "comely." 

2.  Praise  the  Loed  with  harp.  For 
a  description  of  the  harp,  see  Notes 
on  Isa.  v.  12.     ^f  Sing  unto  him  xvith 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


279 


3  Sing  w  unto  him  a  new  song ; 
play  skilfully  with  a  loud  noise. 

4  For  the  word  of  the  Lord  is 
right ;  and  all  his  works  are  done 

w  Ps.  cxliv.  9;  Rev.  v.  9. 


the  psaltery.  For  the  meaning  of 
this  word,  also,  see  Notes  on  Isa.  v.  12, 
where  the  word  is  rendered  viol.  % 
And  an  instrument  of  ten  strings.  The 
word  "and"  is  supplied  here  hy  the 
translators  as  if,  in  this  place,  a  third 
instrument  was  referred  to,  distinct 
from  the  harp  and  the  psaltery.  The 
more  correct  rendering,  however, 
would  be,  "  a  psaltery  (or  lyre)  of  ten 
strings."  The  same  construction  oc- 
curs in  Ps.  cxliv.  9.  In  Ps.  xcii.  3, 
however,  the  two  words  are  separately 
used  as  denoting  different  instru- 
ments. The  lyre  or  psaltery  was  pro- 
bably not  always  made  with  the  same 
number  of  strings,  and  it  would  seem 
that  the  one  that  was  made  of  ten 
strings  had  something  peculiar  about 
it  as  an  instrument  of  uncommon 
sweetness  or  power.  Hence  it  is  par- 
ticularly designated  here;  and  the 
idea  is  that  the  instruments  of  especial 
power  and  sweetness  should  be  on 
this  occasion  employed  in  the  service 
of  God. 

3.  Sing  unto  him  a  new  song.  A 
song  specially  composed  for  this  occa- 
sion ;  expressive  of  the  peculiar  feel- 
ings suggested  by  this  occasion,  or 
appropriate  to  this  new  manifestation 
of  the  Divine  goodness  and  mercy. 
Such  occasions,  exhibiting  some  new 
phase  of  the  Divine  goodness,  de- 
manded new  language  appropriate  to 
them.  So  now,  new  hymns  of  praise, 
and  new  tunes  in  music,  are  de- 
manded to  meet  the  ever-varying 
manifestations  of  the  mercy  of  God; 
and  as  the  church  is  extended  in  the 
world,  its  modes  of  praise  must  be 
adapted  to  the  new  state  of  things 
which  will  arise.  Nothing  could  be 
more  absurd  than  to  attempt  to  re- 
strict the  church  in  its  praises  to 
the  exact  words  which  were  used  in 
the  time  of  David,  or  to  the  music 
which  was  employed  then.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Rev.  v.  9.     The  expression 


in  truth. 

5  He  loveth  righteousness  and 
judgment :  the  earth  is  full  x  of 
the  l  goodness  of  the  Lord. 


x  Ps.  cxix.  64 


1  Or,  mercy. 


"  neio  song "  occurs  several  times  in 
the  Psalms,  showing  that  new  hymns 
of  praise  were  composed  as  adapted  to 
some  new  manifestation  of  the  good- 
ness of  God  :  Ps.  xl.  3 ;  xcvi.  1 ;  xcviii. 
1;  cxliv.  9;  cxlix.  1.  Compare  also 
Isa.  xlii.  10.  %  Play  skilfully  with  a 
loud  noise.  Literally,  Do  well  to  play  ; 
or,  do  ivell  in  playing.  That  is,  do 
the  work  well,  or  with  all  the  skill  of 
music.  The  word  rendered  loud  noise, 
means  properly  a  shout  of  joy  or  re- 
joicing :  Job  viii.  21  ;  1  Sam.  iv.  5. 
It  is  especially  applied  to  the  sound  or 
clangour  of  trumpets  :  Lev.  xxv.  9 ; 
xxiii.  21;  Num.  xxix.  1.  There  is 
rather  the  idea  of  rejoicing  than  of 
noise  in  the  word.  The  meaning  is 
that  the  music  should  be  such  as 
would  be  expressive  of  the   highest 

j°y- 

4.  For  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  right. 
The  command;  the  law;  the  promise 
of  God.  Whatever  he  says  is  right; 
or,  is  true.  It  is  worthy  of  universal 
belief;  and  should,  therefore,  be  a 
reason  for  praise.  The  fact  that  God 
says  a  thing  is  the  highest  proof  that 
it  is  true.  %  And  all  his  ivories  are 
done  in  truth.  Or  rather,  in  faith- 
fulness. That  is,  All  that  he  does 
is  executed  faithfully.  He  does  all 
that  he  promises,  and  all  that  he  does 
is  such  as  to  claim  universal  con- 
fidence. Whatever  he  does  is,  from 
the  very  fact  that  he  does  it,  worthy 
of  the  confidence  of  all  his  creatures. 
None,  however  they  may  be  affected 
by  what  he  does,  have  any  reason  to 
doubt  that  it  is  perfectly  right.  God 
is  the  only  Being  of  whom  we  have 
any  knowledge,  concerning  whom  we 
can  feel  this  certain  asstirance. 

5.  lie  loveth  righteousness.  See  Ps. 
xi.  7.  %  And  judgment.  Justice. 
TT  The  earth  is  full  of  the  goodness  of 
the  Lord.  Marg.,  mercy.  So  the 
Hebrew.    That  is,  his  mercy  or  good- 

#ness  is  manifest  everywhere.     Every 


280 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


6  By  y  the  word  of  the  Lord 
were  the  heavens  made :  and  all 
z  the  host  of  them  by  the  breath 
of  his  mouth. 

7  He  «  gathereth  the  waters  of 
the  sea  together  as  an  heap :  he 

y  Heb.  xi.  3.     t  Gen.  ii.  1.    a  Job  xxvi.  10. 


part  of  the  earth  bears  witness  that 
he  is  good. 

6.  By  the  word  of  the  Loed.  By 
the  command  of  God :  Gen.  i.  3,  6, 
etc.  See  Notes  on  ver.  9.  •"  Were 
the  heavens  made.  That  is,  the  starry 
heavens ;  the  worlds  above  us  :  Gen. 
i.  1.  •"  And  all  the  host  of  them.  All 
their  armies.  The  stars  are  repre- 
sented as  armies  or  marshalled  hosts, 
led  forth  at  his  command,  and  under 
his  direction, — as  armies  are  led  forth 
in  war.  See  Gen.  ii.  1 ;  comp.  Xotes 
on  Isa.  i.  9.  *""  By  the  breath  of  his 
mouth.  By  his  word  or  command — 
as  our  words  issue  from  our  mouths 
with  our  breath.  The  idea  here  is, 
that  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things ; 
and,  as  such,  has  a  claim  to  praise ; 
or,  that  as  Creator  he  is  entitled  to 
adoration.  To  this  he  is  entitled  from 
the  fact  that  he  has  made  all  things, 
and  from  the  manner  in  which  it  Las 
been  done — the  wisdom,  power,  good- 
ness, skill,  with  which  it  has  been 
accomplished. 

7.  BZe  gathereth  the  waters  of  the 
sea  together  as  an  heap.  The  Hebrew 
word  here  rendered  gathereth  is  a 
participle  ; — gathering.  The  design 
is  to  represent  this  as  a  continuous 
act ;  an  act  not  merely  of  the  original 
creation,  but  constantly  occurring. 
The  reference  is  to  .the  power  by 
which  the  waters  are  gathered  and 
kept  together;  the  continual  power 
which  prevents  their  overspreading 
the  earth.  The  word  rendered  heap 
• — T3,  Ned — means  properly  a  heap  or 
mound,  and  is  applied  to  the  waves  of 
the  sea  heaped  up  together  like 
mounds.  Comp.  Josh.  iii.  13,  16; 
Ex.  xv.  8 :  Ps.  lxxviii.  13.  He  col- 
lected those  waters,  and  kept  them  in 
their  places,  as  if  they  were  solid 
matter.     This   denotes   the    absolute. 


layeth  up   the  depth  &  in   store- 
houses. 

8  Let  all  the  earth  fear  c  the 
Lord;  let  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world  stand  in  awe  of  him. 

9  For  he  spake,  d  and  it  was 

b  Job  xxxvni.  8 — 11.  c  Jer.  x.  ~. 

d  Gen.  l.  3,  etc. 


or 
of 
to 
of 


control  which  God  has  over  the  waters, 
and  is  thus  a  most  striking  illustra- 
tion of  his  power.  *j"  Me  layeth  up  the 
depth  in  storehouses.  The  abysses; 
the  deep  waters ;  the  masses  of  water. 
He  places  them  where  he  pleases  ;  he 
disposes  of  them  as  the  farmer  his 
grain,  or  the  rich  man  his  treasures. 
The  caverns  of  the  ocean — the  ocean- 
beds — are  thus  vast  reservoirs 
treasure-houses  for  the  reception 
the  waters  which  God  has  chosen 
deposit  there.  All  this  is  proof 
his  amazing  power,  and  all  this  lays  a 
proper  foundation  for  praise.  Occa- 
sions for  gratitude  to  him  may  be 
found  in  every  world  that  he  has  made; 
in  every  object  that  has  come  from 
his  hand;  and  nothing  more  obviously 
suggests  this  than  his  wondrous  power 
over  the  waters  of  the  ocean — collect- 
ing them,  restraining  them,  control- 
ling them,  as  he  pleases. 

8.  Let  all  the  earth.  All  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth.  *~  Fear  the 
Loed.  Worship  and  adore  a  Being 
of  so  great  power.  See  Xotes  on  Ps. 
v.  7.  r  Let  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world.  The  power  displayed  in 
the  works  of  creation  appeals  to  all 
alike.  %  Stand  in  awe  of  him. 
Reverence  or  adore  him.  The  expres- 
sion is  equivalent  to  worship, — fear  or 
reverence  entering  essentially  into  the 
idea  of  worship. 

9.  For  he  spake,  and  it  teas  done. 
The  word  "  done!'  introduced  here  by 
our  translators,  enfeebles  the  sentence. 
It  would  be  made  more  expressive  and 
sublime  as  it  is  in  the  original: — 
"  He  spake,  and  it  was."  That  is, 
Its  existence  depended  on  his  word  ; 
the  universe  sprang  into  being  at  his 
command  ;  he  had  only  to  speak,  and 
it  arose  in  all  its  grandeur  where 
before  there  was  nothing.     There  is 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


281 


done;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood 
fast. 

10  The  Lord  l  bringetk  the 
counsel  of  the  heathen  to  nought ; 


1  makelh  frustrate.        d  Isa.  xliv.  25. 
e  Isa.  xlvi.  10. 


here  an  undoubted  allusion  to  the 
account  in  Genesis  of  the  work  of 
creation, — where  the  statement  is  that 
all  depended  on  the  command  or  the 
word  of  God  :  ch.  i.  3,  6,  9,  11,  14, 
20,  24,  26.  Nothing  more  sublime 
can  be  conceived  than  the  language 
thus  employed  in  the  Scriptures  in 
describing  that  work.  No  more 
elevated  conception  can  enter  the 
human  mind  than  that  which  is  im- 
plied when  it  is  said,  God  spoke  and 
all  this  vast  and  wonderful  universe 
rose  into  being.  ^[  He  commanded. 
He  gave  order ;  he  required  the  uni- 
verse to  appear.  %  And  it  stood  fast. 
Or  rather,  stood.  That  is,  it  stood 
forth  ;  it  appeared ;  it  rose  into  being. 
The  idea  of  its  "  standing  fast "  is 
not  in  the  original,  and  greatly  en- 
feebles the  expression. 

10.  The  Loed  bringeth  the  counsel 
of   the   heathen    to   nought.       Marg., 

\  maketh  frustrate.  The  Hebrew  word 
means  to  break,  or  to  annul.  The 
word  here  rendered  heathen  means 
nations ;  and  the  idea  is  that  God,  by 
his  own  overruling  purpose  and  provi- 
dence, frustrates  the  designs  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth ;  that  he  carries 
forward  his  own  designs  and  purposes 
in  spite  of  theirs  ;  that  their  plans 
avail  nothing  when  they  come  in 
competition  with  his.  Their  purposes 
must  yield  to  his.     Comp.  Notes  on 

'  Isa.  viii.  9,  10 ;  and  xix.  3.  All  the 
plans  and  purposes  of  the  nations  of 

;  the  earth  that  conflict  with  the  pur- 
poses of  God  will  be  vain;  all  those 
plans,  whatever  they  may  be,  will  be 
made  subservientunder  his  Providence 
to  the  promotion  of  his  great  designs. 

I  If  He  maketh  the  devices  of  the  people 
of  none  effect.  That  is,  he  renders 
them  vain,  unsuccessful,  ineffectual. 
The  word  people  here  is  synonymous 
with  Rations,  and  the  idea  is,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  thoughts  and 


he  d  maketh  the  devices  of  the 
people  of  none  effect. 

11  The  counsel e  of  the  Lord 
standeth  for  ever,  the  thoughts 
of  his  heart  to  -  all  generations. 

2  generation  and  generation.  m 


purposes  of  men,  if  they  are  opposed 
to  the  plans  of  God,  or  if  they  do  not 
tend  to  promote  his  glory,  they  will 
be  rendered  futile  or  vain.  God  is  a 
great  and  glorious  Sovereign  over  all, 
and  he  will  make  everything  subordi- 
nate to  the  promotion  of  his  own 
great  designs. 

11.  The  counsel  of  the  Loed.  The 
purpose  of  the  Lord.  "  ^[  Standeth 
for  ever.  It  will  be  carried  out.  It 
will  never  be  changed.  There  can  be 
no  superior  counsel  or  will  to  change 
it,  as  is  the  case  with  the  plans  of 
men  ;  and  no  purposes  of  any  beings 
inferior  to  himself — angels,  men,  or 
devils — can  affect,  defeat,  or  modify 
his  eternal  plans.  No  changes  in 
human  affairs  can  impede  his  plans; 
no  opposition  can  defeat  them ;  no 
progress  can  supersede  them.  ^[  The 
thoughts  of  his  heart.  The  things 
which  he  has  designed,  or  which  he 
intends  shall  be  accomplished.  %  To 
all  generations.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
to  generation  and  generation.  That 
is,  from  one  generation  of  men  to 
another;  or,  to  all  time.  The  plans 
of  God  are  not  changed  by  the  passing 
off  of  one  generation  and  the  coming 
on  of  another ;  by  new  dynasties  of 
kings,  or  by  the  revolutions  that  may 
occur  in  states  and  empires.  Men 
can  seldom  cause  their  plans  to  be 
carried  forward  beyond  the  generation 
in  which  they  live;  and  they  can 
have  no  security  that  coming  genera- 
tions, with  their  own  plans,  will  not 
abolish  or  change  all  that  has  been 
devised  or  purposed  before.  No  man 
can  make  it  certain  that  his  own  will, 
even  in  regard  to  property,  will  be 
carried  out  in  the  generation  that 
succeeds  him.  No  monarch  can  make 
it  certain  that  his  plans  will  be  per- 
fected by  his  successors. '  Schemes 
devised  with  the  profoundest  care 
and  the  highest  wisdom  may  be  set 


282 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


12  Blessed  f  is  the  nation 
■whose  God  is  the  Lord  ;  and  the 
people  whom  he  hath  chosen  for 

'his  own  inheritance. 

13  The   Lord    looketh    from 

«f  Ps.  lxv.  4.    g  Prov.  xv.  3.    h  Prov.  xxii.  2. 


aside  by  those  who  are  next  in  power ; 
and  no  individual  can  hope  that 
coming  ages  will  feel  sufficient  interest 
in  him  or  his  memory  to  carry  on 
his  plans.  Who  feels  now  any  obliga- 
tion to  carry  out  the  projects  of  Caesar 
or  Alexander  ?  How  long  since  have 
all  their  plans  passed  away  !  So  it 
will  be  with  all  who  are  now  playing 
their  parts  on  the  earth  !  But  none 
of  these  things  affect  the  purposes  of 
Him  who  will  continue  to  live  and  to 
carry  out  his  own  designs  when  all 
the  generations  of  men  shall  have 
passed  away. 

12.  Blessed  is  the  nation.  For  the 
meaning  of  the  word  blessed,  see 
Notes  on  Ps.  i.  1.  The  idea  here  is, 
that  the  nation  referred  to  is  happy, 
or  that  its  condition  is  desirable. 
What  is  true  of  a  nation  is  also  as 
true  of  an  individual.  %  Whose  God 
is  the  Loed.  Whose  God  is  Jehovah, 
— for  so  this  is  in  the  original  He- 
brew. That  is,  the  nation  which 
worships  Jehovah,  and  is  under  his 
protection.  This  is  evidently  said  to 
distinguish  such  a  nation  from  those 
which  worshipped  false  gods  or  idols. 
Such  a  nation  is  blessed  or  happy,  be- 
cause (a)  he  is  a  real  God,  the  true 
God,  and  not  an  imagination  or  fic- 
tion; (b)  because  his  laws  are  just 
and  good,  and  their  observance  will 
always  tend  to  promote  the  public 
welfare  and  prosperity ;  (c)  because 
his  protection  will  be  vouchsafed  to 
such  a  nation ;  and  (d)  because  his 
worship,  and  the  influence  of  his  re- 
ligion, will  tend  to  diffuse  virtue,  in- 
telligence, purity,  and  truth,  over  a 
laud,  and  thus  will  promote  its  wel- 
fare. %  And  the  people  whom  he 
hath  chosen  for  his  oivn  inheritance. 
Chosen  to 'be  his;  or,  his  portion. 
The  primary  reference  here  is  un- 
doubtedly  to    the    Hebrew    people, 


heaven;    he  g  beholdetli   all  the 
sons  of  men. 

14  From  the  place  of  his  habi- 
tation he  looketh  upon  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth. 

15  He  *  fashioneth  their  hearts 


called  his  inheritance ;  Deut.  iv.  20; 
ix.  26  ;  xxxii.  9;  Ps.  lxxiv.  2;  lxxviii. 
62,  71 ;  or  heritage,  Ps.  xciv.  5 ;  Jcr. 
xii.  7, 9  ;  but  what  is  here  affirmed  of 
that  people  is  true  also  of  all  other 
people  who  worship  the  true  God. 

13.  The  Loed  looketh  from  heaven. 
Heaven  is  represented  as  his  abode  or 
dwelling;  and  from  that  place  he  is 
represented  as  looking  down  upon  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  mean- 
ing here  is,  that  he  sees  all  that  dwell 
upon  the  earth,  and  that  therefore  all 
that  worship  him  are  under  his  eye. 
He  knows  their  wants,  and  he  will 
watch  over  them  to  protect  them. 
It  is  not  merely  to  the  abstract  truth 
that  God  sees  all  who  dwell  upon  the 
earth  that  the  psalmist  means  to  re- 
fer; but  that  those  who  are  his  friends, 
or  who  worship  him,  are  all  under  his 
eye,  so  as  to  enjoy  his  watchful  care 
and  attention.  ^  He  beholdeth  all 
the  sons  of  men.  All  the  descendants 
of  Adam, — for  this  is  the  original. 
There  is  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  the  word  Adam  here 
(usually  meaning  man)  is  employed 
as  a  proper  name  to  denote  the  great 
ancestor  of  the  human  race,  and  that 
the  psalmist  means  to  refer  to  the 
race  as  one  great  family  descended 
from  a  common  ancestor,  though 
scattered  abroad  over  the  face  of  the 
world. 

14.  From  the  place  of  his  habita- 
tion. From  his  dwelling, — heaven. 
%  He  looketh  doicn.  He  continually 
sees.  The  sentiment  is  repeated  here 
to  show  that  no  one  can  escape  his 
eye  ;  that  the  condition,  the  charac- 
ters, the  wants  of  all  are  intimately 
known  to  him,  and  that  thus  he  can 
watch  over  his  people — all  that  love 
and  serve  him — and  can  guard  them 
from  danger.     See  vers.  18,  19. 

15.  He   fashioneth    their   marts 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


283 


alike;    lie    considereth   all  their 
works. 

16  There  i  is  no  king  saved  by 
the  multitude  of  an  host  :  a 
mighty  man  is  not  delivered  by 
much  strength. 

i  Ps.  xliw  3—7. 


alike.  That  is,  one  as  well  as  another  ; 
or,  one  as  really  as  another.  No  one 
is  exempt  from  his  control,  or  from  all 
that  is  implied  in  the  word  fashioneth. 
The  meaning  is  not  that  their  hearts 
are  made  to  resemble  each  other,  or 
to  he  like  each  other,  whether  in 
goodness  or  in  wickedness, — but  that 
all  alike  are  made  by  him.  The  idea 
in  the  word  "fashioneth  "  here  is  not 
that  of  creating,  in  the  sense  that  He 
makes  the  heart  by  his  own  power 
what  it  is,  whether  good  or  bad;  — 
but  that,  as  he  has  formed  the  hearts 
of  all  men,  he  must  see  what  is  in 
the  heart,  or  must  behold  all  the 
pui'poses  and  thoughts  of  men.  The 
Maker  of  the  human  heart  must  un- 
derstand what  is  in  it ;  and  therefore 
He  must  have  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  purposes  and  designs  of  men. 
This  idea  is  carried  out  in  the  latter 
member  of  the  sentence,  "  he  con- 
sidereth all  their  works/'  and  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  in  the  expres- 
sion (Ps.  xciv.  9),  "  He  that  planted 
the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear  ?  He  that 
formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see  ?  " 
^[  He  considereth  all  their  ivorks. 
He  understands  all  that  they  do  ;  he 
marks,  or  attends  to,  all  that  is  done 
by  them.  The  purpose  here  is  to 
state  the  universal  sovereignty  of 
God.  He  made  all  things ;  he  pre- 
sides over  all  things ;  he  sees  all 
things  ;  he  is  the  source  of  safety  and 
protection  to  all. 

16.  There  is  no  king  saved  by  the 
multitude  of  an  host.  By  the  num- 
ber of  his  armies.  His  safety,  how- 
ever numerous  and  mighty  may  be 
his  forces,  is  in  God  alone.  He  is  the 
great  Protector,  whatever  means  men 
may  use  to  defend  themselves.  The 
most  numerous  and  the  best  organized 
armies  cannot  secure  a  victory.  It 
is,  after  all,  wholly  in  the  hands  of 


17  An  horse  *  is  a  vain  thing 
for  safety  :  neither  shall  he  deli- 
ver any  by  iris  great  strength. 

18  Behold,  the  eye  '  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  them    that  fear 

Jc  Prov.  xxi.  31 ;  Hos.  xiv.  3. 
I  1  Pet.  iii.  12. 


God.  A  wasting  sickness  in  a  camp 
may  defeat  all  the  plans  of  war;  or 
success  in  battle  may  depend  on  con- 
tingencies which  no  commander  could 
anticipate  or  provide  against.  A  ma- 
tiny  in  a  camp,  or  a  panic  on  the 
battle-field,  may  disconcert  the  best- 
laid  schemes;  or  forces  may  come 
against  an  army  that  were  unex- 
pected; or  storm  and  tempest  may 
disarrange  and  frustrate  the  entire 
plan  of  the  campaign.  See  Eccl.  ix. 
11.  %  A  mighty  man.  A  strong 
man ;  a  giant, — as  Goliath  of  Gath. 
Strength  is  not  the  only  thing  neces- 
sary to  secure  a  victory.  ^[  Is  not 
delivered  by  much  strength.  By  the 
mere  fact  that  he  is  strong.  Other 
things  are  needed  to  ensure  success ; 
and  God  has  power  so  to  arrange 
events  that  mere  strength  shall  be  of 
no  avail. 

17.  An  horse.  The  reference  here 
is  undoubtedly  to  the  war-horse.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  xx.  7.  %  Is  a  vain 
thing.  Literally,  is  a  lie.  That  is, 
he  cannot  be  confided  in.  \\For  safety. 
For  securing  safety  in  battle.  He  is 
liable  to  be  stricken  down,  or  to  be- 
come wild  and  furious  so  as  to  be 
beyond  the  control  of  his  rider ;  and 
however  strong  or  fleet  he  may  be,  or 
however  well  he  may  be  "  broken," 
yet  none  of  these  things  make  it  cer- 
tain that  the  rider  will  be  safe.  God 
is  the  only  being  in  whom  perfect  con- 
fidence can  be  reposed.  ^[  Neither  shall 
he  deliver  any  by  his  great  strength. 
Safety  cannot  be  found  in  his  mere 
strength,  however  great  that  may  be. 
These  illustrations  are  all  designed  to 
lead  the  mind  to  the  great  idea  that 
safety  is  to  be  found  in  God  alone, 
vers.  18,  19. 

18.  Behold,  the  eye  of  the  Lokd  is 
upon  them  that  fear  him.  He 
watches   over  them,  and  he  guards 


284 


PSALM   XXXIII. 


him,  upon  them  that  hope  in  his 
mercy ; 

19  To  deliver  theft  soul  from 
death,  and  to  keep  them  alive  in 
»"  famine. 

20  Our  n  soul  waiteth  for  the 
Lord  ;  he  is  our  help  and  our 
shield. 


them  from   danger.      His  eye  is,  in 
fact,  upon  all  men  ;  but  it  is  directed 
with  special  attention  to  those  who 
fear   him    and   trust  in   him.     Their 
security  is  in  the  fact  that  the  eye  of 
God  is  upon  them;  that  he  knows 
their  wants ;  that  he  sees  their  dan- 
gers; that  he  has  ample  ability  to  de- 
liver and  save  them.  %  Upon  them  that 
hope  in  his  mercy.     Upon  the  pious ; 
upon  his  friends.     The  expression  is 
a  very  beautiful  one.      It   describes 
the  true  state  of  a  pious  heart ;  it  in 
fact   chai'acterises   the    whole   of  re- 
ligion, for  we  imply  all  that  there  is 
in  religion  on  earth  when  we  say  of  a 
man,  that — conscious  of  his  weakness 
and  sinfulness — he  hopes  in  the  mercy 
of  God. 

19.  To  deliver  their  soul  from  death. 
To  preserve  their  lives, — for  so  the 
word  soul  is  tobe understood  here.  The 
meaning  is,  to  keep  them  alive.  That 
is,  God  is  their  protector;  he  guards 
and  defends  them  when  in  danger. 
\  And  to  keep  them  alive  in  famine. 
In  times  of  want.  Comp.  Job  v.  20. 
He  can  provide  for  them  when  tbe 
harvests  fail.  Famine  was  one  of  the 
evils  to  which  the  inhabitants  of 
Palestine,  and  of  Oriental  countries 
generally,  wrere  particularly  exposed, 
and  it  is  often  referred  to  in  the 
Scriptures. 

20.  Our  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord. 
This  and  the  subsequent  verses  to  the 
end  of  the  psalm  refer  to  the  people  of 
God,  expressing  their  faith  in  him  in 
view  of  the  considerations  suggested 
in  the  former  part  of  the  psalm.  The 
language  is  expressive  of  the  general 
character  of  piety.  True  piety  leads 
men  to  wait  on  the  Lord  ;  to  depend 
on  him ;  to  look  to  his  interposition 
in  danger,  sickness,  poverty,  want; 


21  For  °  our  heart  shall  re- 
joice in  him,  because  p  wre  have 
trusted  in  his  holy  name. 

22  Let  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  be 
upon  us  according  as  we  hope  in 
thee. 

m  Ps.  xxxvii.  19.       n  Ps.  cxv.  9 — 11. 
o  Zee.  x.  7 ;  John  xvi.  22.    p  Isa  xxv.  9. 


to  rely  on  him  for  all  that  is  hoped 
for  in  this  life,  and  for  salvation  in 
the  life  to  come.  Comp.  Ps.  lxii.  1 ; 
xxv.  3.  If  He  is  our  help.  Our  aid ; 
our  helper.  Comp.  Ps.  x.  14 ;  xxii. 
11;  xxx.  10.  %  And  our  shield. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  12.  That  is,  he 
will  defend  us  from  our  enemies,  as 
if  he  threw  his  shield  between  us  and 
them. 

21.  For  our  heart  shall  rejoice  in 
him.  See  Kotes  on  Ps.  xiii.  5. 
^f  Because  we  have  trusted  in  his  holy 
name.  In  him, — the  name  often  being 
put  for  the  person  himself.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  xx.  1.  The  idea  is  (a) 
that  the  fact  of  our  having  put  our 
trust  in  God  is  in  itself  an  occasion 
of  joy  or  rejoicing;  (b)  that  there- 
suit  will  be  joy,  for  we  shall  never  be 
disappointed.  It  will  always,  and  in 
all  circumstances,  be  a  source  of  joy 
to  any  one  that  he  has  put  his  trust 
in  the  name  of  God. 

22.  Let  thy  mercy,  0  Lord,  he 
upon  us.  Let  us  find  or  obtain  thy 
mercy  or  thy  favour,  ^f  According 
as  toe  hope  in  thee.  It  may  be  re- 
marked in  regard  to  this, — (a)  it  is 
but  reasonable  that  we  should  look 
for  the  favour  of  God  only  as  we 
trust  in  him,  for  we  could  not  with 
propriety  expect  his  favour  beyond 
the  measure  of  our  confidence  in  him.  * 
(b)  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
that  we  are  entitled  to  hope  from 
God.  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  will  go  beyond  our  wisbesand 
prayers,  or  that  he  will  confer  favours 
on  us  which  we  neither  expect  nor 
desire,  (c)  One  of  the  reasons  why 
the  people  of  God  are  no  more  blessed, 
or  why  they  receive  no  more  favours 
from  him,  may  be  found  in  what  is 
here  suggested.    As  they  expect  little, 


PSALM   XXXIV. 


2S5 


they  obtain  little ;  as  they  have  no 

intense,  burning,  lofty  desire  for  the 

favour  of  God,  either  for  themselves 

personally,  or  for  their  families,  or  for 

the  world,  so  they  obtain  but  slight 

tokens  of  that  favour,     (d)  The  true 

principle,  therefore,  on  which  God  is 

willing   to   bestow   his   favours,  and 

which  will  be  the  rule  that  he  will 

observe,  is,  that  if  men  desire  much, 

they  will  obtain  much  ;  that  if  they 

have  large  expectations,  they  will  not 

be   disappointed ;    and   that    God   is 

willing  to  bestow  his  mercies  on  his 

people  and  on  the  world  to  the  utmost 

of  their  desires   and   hopes.     Comp. 

,   Ps.  lxxxi.  10,  "  Open  thy  mouth  wide, 

and   I   will   fill   it."     Ps.  xxxvii.    4, 

"  Delight  thyself  in  the  Lord,  and  he 

shall   give   thee  the   desires    of   thy 

heart."     How    intense   and   fervent, 

then,  should  be  the  prayers  and  the 

petitions ,of  the  people  of  God!    How 

earnest  the  supplications  of   sinners 

that  God  would  have  mercy  on  them ! 

PSALM  XXXIV. 

This  psalm  purports,  by  its  title,  to 
have  been  written  by  David,  and  there 
is  no  reason  to  call  in  question  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  inscription.  It  is  not 
probable  that  the  title  was  given  to  the 
psalm  by  the  author  himself ;  but,  like 
the  other  inscriptions  which  have  «c- 
curred  in  many  of  the  previous  psalms, 
it  is  in  the  Hebrew,  and  was  doubtless 
prefixed  by  him  who  made  a  collection 
of  the  Psalms,  and  expresses  the  current 
belief  of  the  time  in  regard  to  its  author. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  that  is 
inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that 
David  was  the  author,  or  that  is  incom- 
patible with  the  circumstances  of  the 
occasion  on  which  it  is  said  to  have  been 
composed. 

That  occasion  is  said  to  have  been 
when  David  "  changed  his  behaviour 
before  Abimelech."  The  circumstance 
,  here  referred  to  is,  undoubtedly,  that 
which  is  described  in  1  Sam.  xxi.  10-15. 
David,  forbear  of  Saul,  fled  to  Gath,  and 
put  himself  under  the  protection  of 
Achish  (or  Abimelech),  the  king  of 
Gath.  It  soon  became  known  who  the 
stranger  was.  The  fame  of  David  had 
reached  Gath,  and  a  public  reference 
was  made  to  him  by  the  "servants  of 
Achish,' '  and  to  the  maimer  in  which  his 


deeds  had  been  celebrated  among  the 
Hebrews :    "  Did  the)-  not  sing  one  to 
another  of  him  in  dances,  saying,  Saul 
hath  slain  his  thousands,  and  "David  his 
ten  thousands  ?"  1  Sam.  xxi.  11.    David 
was  apprehensive  that  he  might  be  be- 
trayed, and  be  delivered  up  by  Achish  to 
Saul,  and  he  resorted  to  the  device  of 
feigning  himself  mad,   supposing  that 
this  would  be  a  protection  ;  that  either 
from  pity  Achish  would  shelter  him ;  or, 
that   as   he   would  thus  be  considered 
harmless,  Saul  would  regard  it  needless 
to   secure  him.     He,    therefore,    acted 
like  a  madman,  or  like  an  idiot.     He 
"scrabbled  on  the  doors  of  the  gate,  and 
let  his  spittle  fall  down  upon  his  beard.' ' 
The  device,  though  it  may  have  saved 
him  from  being  delivered   up  to  Saul, 
had  no  other  effect.     Achish  was  unwil- 
ling to  harbour  a  madman  ;  and  David 
left  him,  and  sought  a  refuge  in  the  cave 
of  Adullam  :    1  Sam.  xxi.  15 ;  xxii.  1. 
It  is  not  necessary,  in  order  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  psalm,  to  attempt 
to  vindicate  the  conduct  of  David  in  this. 
Perfect  honesty  would  doubtless,  in  this 
case,  as  in  all  others,  have  been  better  in 
regard  to  the  result  as  it  is  certainly 
better  in  respect  to  a  good  conscience. 
The  question  of  adopting  disguises,  how- 
ever, when  in  danger,  is  not  one  which 
it  is  always  easy  to  determine. 

It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  suppose 
that  the  psalm  was  written  at  that  time, 
or  when  he  thus  "  changed  his  beha- 
viour." All  that  the  language  of  the 
inscription  properly  expresses  is,  that  it 
was  with  reference  to  that  occasion,  or  to 
the  danger  in  which  he  then  was,  or  in 
remembrance  of  his  feelings  at  the  time, 
as  he  recalled  them  afterwards ;  and 
that  it  was  in  view  of  his  own  expe- 
rience in  going  through  that  trial,  and 
of  his  deliverance  from  that  danger.  In 
the  psalm  itself  there  is  no  allusion  to 
his  "change  of  behaviour;"  and  the 
design  of  David  was  not  to  celebrate  that, 
or  to  vindicate  that,  but  to  celebrate 
the  goodness  of  God  in  his  deliverance  as 
it  was  effected  at  that  time.  In  the 
psalm  David  expresses  no  opinion  about 
the  measure  which  he  adopted  to  secure 
his  safety  ;  but  his  heart  and  his  lips  are 
full  of  praise  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  delivered.  It  is,  moreover,  fairly 
implied  in  the  inscription  itself,  that  the 
psalm  was  composed,  not  at  that  time, 
but  subsequently  : — "  A  Psalm  of  David, 
when  he  changed  his  behaviour  before 
Abimelech,  who  drove  him  away,  and  he 
departed."     The  obvious  construction  of 


286 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


this  would  be  that  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed after  Abhnelech  had  driven  him 
away. 

The  name  of  ths  king  of  Gath  at  the 
time  is  said,  in  the  text  of  the  inscription 
or  title,  to  have  been  Abimelech ;  in  the 
margin,  it  is  Acliish.  In  1  Sam.  xxi. 
it  is  Achish  in  the  text,  and  Abimelech 
in  the  margin.  It  is  not  at  all  impro- 
bable that  he  was  known  by  both  these 
names.  His  personal  name  was  doubt- 
less Achish ;  the  hereditary  name — the 
name  by  which  the  line  of  kings  of  Gath 
was  known — was  probably  Abimelech. 
Thus  the  general,  the  hereditary,  the 
family  name  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  in 
eaidy  times  was  Pharaoh;  in  later  times 
Ptolemy.  In  like  manner  the  kings  of 
Pontus  had  the  general  name  of  Mithri- 
dates ;  the  Roman  emperors,  after  the 
time  of  Julius  Caesar,  were  the  Casars ; 
and  so,  not  improbably,  the  general  name 
of  the  kings  of  Jerusalem  may  have  been 
Adonizedek,  or  Melckizedek ;  and  the 
name  of  the  kings  of  the  Amalekites, 
Agag.  We  have  evidence  that  the  gene- 
ral name  Abimelech  was  given  to  the 
kings  of  the  Philistines  (Gen.  xx.,  xxvi.) 
as  early  as  the  time  of  Abraham  ;  and  it 
is  certainly  not  impossible  or  impro- 
bable that  it  became  a  hereditary  name, 
like  the  names  Pharaoh,  Ptolemy, 
Mithridates,  and  Caesar.  A  slight  con- 
firmation of  this  supposition  may  be 
derived  from  the  signification  of  the 
name  itself.  It  properly  means  father 
of  the  king,  or  father-king ;  and  it 
might  thus  become  a  common  title  of 
the  kings  in  Philistia.  Thus,  also,  the 
term  Padisha  (Pater,  Pex)  is  given  to 
the  kings  of  Persia,  and  the  title  Atalik 
(father)  to  the  khans  of  Bucharia. 
(Ge'scnius,  Lex.) 

This  psalm  is  the  second  of  the  alpha- 
betical psalms,  or  the  psalms  in  which 
the  successive  verses  begin  with  one  of 
the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  See 
introd.  to  Ps.  xxv.  The  arrangement  is 
regular  in  this  psalm,  except  that  the 
letter  T,  Van,  is  omitted,  and  that,  to 
make  the  number  of  the  verses  equal  to 
the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  an 
additional  verse  is  appended  to  the  end, 
commencing,  as  in  the  last  verse  of  Ps. 
xxv.,  with  the  letter  D,  p. 

The  psalm  consists  essentially  of  four 
parts,  which,  though  sufficiently  con- 
nected to  be  appropriate  to  the  one  occa- 
sion on  which  it  was  composed,  are  so 
distinct  as  to  suggest  different  trains  of 
thought, 


I.  An  expression  of  thanksgiving  for 
deliverance  (vers.  1-6);  concluding  with 
the  language,  "  This  poor  man  cried,  and 
the  Lord  heard  him,  and  saved  him  out 
of  all  his  troubles."  From  this  it  has 
been  supposed,  as  suggested  above,  that 
the  psalm  was  composed  after  David  had 
left  the  court  of  Abimelech,  and  not  at 
t/ie  time  when  he  was  feigning  madn 

II.  A  general  statement  about  the 
privilege  of  confiding  in  God,  as  derived 
from  his  own  experience ;  and  an  ex- 
hortation to  others,  founded  on  that 
experience,  vers.  7-10. 

III.  A  special  exhortation  to  the 
young  to  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  to  pursue 
a  life  of  uprightness,  vers.  11-14.  The 
psalmist  professes  himself  able  to  in- 
struct them,  and  he  shows  them  that 
the  way  to  attain  to  prosperity  and  to 
length  of  days  is  to  lead  a  life  of  virtue 
and  religion.  What  he  had  himself 
passed  through — his  deliverance  in  the 
time  of  trial — the  recollections  of  his 
former  life, — all  suggested  this  as  an  in- 
valuable lesson  to  the  youn^.  From 
this  it  Avould  seem  not  to  be  improbable 
that  the  psalm  was  written  at  a  consider- 
able period  after  what  occurred  to  him 
at  the  court  of  the  king  of  Gath,  and  per- 
haps when  he  was  himself  growing  old, 
— yet  still  in  view  of  the  events  at  that 
period  of  his  life. 

IV.  A  general  statement  that  God 
will  protect  the  righteous ;  that  their 
interests  are  safe  in  his  hands;  that 
they  may  confidently  rely  on  him  ;  that 

;  though  they  may  be  afflicted,  yet  God 
will  deliver  them  from  then-  afflictions, 
and  that  he  will  ultimately  redeem  them 
from  all  their  troubles,  vers.  15-22. 

The  general  purport  and  bearing  of 
the  psalm,  therefore,  is  to  furnish  an 
argument  for  trusting  in  God  in  the 
time  of  ti-ouble,  and  for  leading  such  a 
life  that  we  may  confidently  trust  him 
as  our  Protector  and  Friend. 

In  the  title,  the  Avords  "  a  psalm  "  are 
not  in  the  original.  The  original  is 
simply  of  David,  "TIT-?,  or  by  iJavid, — 
without  denoting  the  character  of 
the  production,  whether  it  was  to  be 
regarded  as  a  psalm,  or  some  other 
species  of  composition.  H  When  he  changed 
his  behaviour.  The  word  beha viour  does 
not  quite  express  the  meaning  of  the 
original  word,  nor  describe  the  fact  as  it 
is  related  1  Sam.  xxi.  The  Hebrew 
word  —  O^E,  taam  —  means  properly, 
taste,  flavour  of  food  ;  then  intellectual 
taste,    judgment,    discemruent,   under- 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


287 


PSALM  XXXIV. 

J  Psalm  of  David,  when  he  changed  his  be- 
haviour before  iAbimelech;  who  drove  him 
away,  and  he  departed. 

I  WILL  bless  the  Lord  at  all 
2  times  :  his  praise    shall  con- 


tinually be  in  my  month. 

2  My  soul  shall  make  her  boast 
»•  in  the  Lord  :  the s  humble  shall 
hear  thereof,  and  be  glad. 

1  Or,  Acliish,  1  Sam.  xxi.  13. 

q  Eph.  v.  20.    r  1  Cor.  i.  31.    s  Ps.  cxix.  74- 


standing;  and  in  this  place  it  would 
literally  mean,  "  he  changed  his  under- 
standing ;"  that  is,  he  feigned  himself 
mad.  This  corresponds  precisely  with 
the  statement  of  his  conduct  in  1  Sam. 
xxi.  13.  H  Before  Abimelech.  Marg., 
Achish.  As  remarked  above,  this  latter 
is  the  proper  or  personal  name  of  the 
king.  H  Who  drove  him  away.  See 
1  Sam.  xxi.  15. 

1.  I  will  bless  the  Loed.  I  will 
praise  him  ;  I  will  be  thankful  for  his 
mercies,  and  will  always  express  my 
sense  of  his  goodness.  %  At  all  times. 
In  every  situation  of  life ;  in  every 
event  that  occurs.  The  idea  is,  that  he 
would  do  it  publicly  and  privately ; 
in  prosperity  and  in  adversity;  in 
safety  and  in  danger ;  in  joy  and  in 
sorrow.  It  would  be  a  great  prin- 
ciple of  his  life,  expressive  of  the  deep 
feeling  of  his  soul,  that  God  was 
always  to  be  regarded  as  an  object  of 
adoration  and  praise,  \  His  praise 
shall  continually  be  in  my  mouth.  I 
will  be  constantly  uttering  his  praises; 
or,  my  thanks  shall  be  unceasing. 
This  expresses  the  purpose  of  the 
psalmist ;  and  this  is  an  indication  of 
the  nature  of  true  piety.  With  a 
truly  pious  man  the  praise  of  God  is 
constant;  and  it  is  an  indication  of 
true  religion  when  a  man  is  disposed 
always  to  bless  God,  whatever  may 
occur.  Irreligion,  unbelief,  scepti- 
cism, worldliness,  false  philosophy, 
murmur  and  complain  under  the 
trials  and  amidst  the  dark  things  of 
life ;  true  religion,  faith,  love,  spirit- 
uality of  mind,  Christian  philosophy, 
see  in  God  always  an  object  of  praise. 
Men  who  have  no  real  piety,  but  who 
make  pretensions  to  it,  are  disposed  to 
praise  and  bless  God  in  times  of  sun- 
shine and  prosperity ;  true  piety 
always  regards  him  as  worthy  of 
praise — in  the  storm  as  well  as  in  the 
suiishine;  in  the  dark  night  of  cala- 


mity, -as  well  as  in  the  bright  days 
of  prosperity.     Comp.  Job  xiii.  15. 

2.  My  soul  shall  make  her  boast  in 
the  Loed.  I  myself  will  rejoice  and 
exult  in  him.  The  word  "boast" 
here  refers  to  that  on  which  a  man 
would  value  himself;  that  which 
would  be  most  prominent  in  his  mind  • 
when  he  endeavoured  to  call  to  remem- 
brance what  he  could  reflect  on 
with  most  pleasure.  The  psalmist 
here  says  that  when  he  did  this,  it 
would  not  be  wealth  or  strength  to 
which  he  would  refer;  it  would  not  be 
his  rank  or  position  in  society ;  it 
would  not  be  what  he  had  done,  nor 
what  he  had  gained,  as  pertaining  to 
this  life.  His  joy  would  spring  from 
the  fact  that  there  tvas  a  God ;  that 
he  was  such  a  God,  and  that  he  could 
regard  him  as  his  God.  This  would 
be  his  chief  distinction — that  on  which 
he  would  value  himself  most.  Of  all 
the  things  that  we  can  possess  in 
this  world,  the  crowning  distinction 
is,  that  we  have  a  God,  and  that  he  is 
such  a  being  as  he  is.  *^  The  humble 
shall  hear  thereof.  The  poor ;  the 
afflicted ;  those  who  are  in  the  lower 
walks  of  life.  They  should  hear  that 
he  put  his  trust  in  God,  and  they 
should  find  joy  in  being  thus  directed 
to  God  as  their  portion  and  their 
hope.  The  psalmist  seems  to  have 
referred  here  to  that  class  particularly, 
because  (a)  they  would  be  more  likely 
to  appreciate  this  than  those  of  more 
elevated  rank,  or  than  those  who  had 
never  known  affliction ;  and  (5)  be- 
cause this  would  be  specially  fitted  to 
impart  to  them  support  and  consola- 
tion, as  derived  from  his  own  experi- 
ence. Me  had  been,  in  trouble.  He 
had  been  encompassed  with  dangers. 
He  had  been  mercifully  protected  and 
delivered.  He  was  about  to  state 
how  it  had  been  done.  He  was  sure 
that  they  who  were  in  the  ciroum- 


288 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


3  O  magnify  '  the  Lord  with 
me,  and  let  ns  exalt  his  name  to- 
gether. 

4  I  sought  "  the  Lord,  and  he 

t  Luke  i.  46,  etc. 
u  Luke  xi.  9. 


heard  me,  and  'delivered  me  from 
all  my  fears. 

5  They  l  looked  unto  him,  and 
were  lightened ;  and  their  faces 
were  not  ashamed. 

1  Or,  flowed. 


stances  in  which  he  had  been  would 
welcome  the  truths  which  he  was 
about  to  state,  and  would  rejoice  that 
there  might  be  deliverance  for  them 
also,  and  that  they  too  might  find  God 
a  protector  and  a  friend.  Calamity, 
danger,  poverty,  trial,  are  often  of 
eminent  advantage  in  preparing  the 
mind  to  appreciate  the  nature,  and  to 
prize  the  lessons  of  religion.  ^[  And 
be  glad.  Rejoice  in  the  story  of  my 
deliverance,  since  it  will  lead  them  to 
see  that  they  also  may  find  deliver- 
ance in  the  day  of  trial. 

3.  O  magnify  the  Lobd  with  me. 
This  seems  to  be  addressed  primarily 
to  the  "  humble," — those  referred  to 
in  the  previous  verse.  As  they  could 
appreciate  what  he  would  say,  as  they 
could  understand  the  nature  of  his 
feelings  in  view  of  his  deliverance,  he 
calls  on  them  especially  to  exult  with 
him  in  the  goodness  of  God.  As  he 
and  they  had  common  calamities  and 
trials,  so  might  they  have  common 
joys  ;  as  they  were  united  in  danger 
and  sorrow,  so  it  was  proper  that  they 
should  be  united  in  joy  and  in  praise. 
The  word  magnify  means  literally  to 
make  great,  and  then,  to  make  great 
in  the  view  of  the  mind,  or  to  regard 
and  treat  as  great.  The  idea  is,  that 
he  wished  all,  in  circumstances  similar 
to  those  in  which  he  had  been  placed, 
to  have  a  just  sense  of  the  greatness 
of  God,  and  of  his  claims  to  love  and 
praise.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  27 ;  xl.  17 ; 
lxix.  30;  lxx.  4  j  Luke  i.  46.  \\  And 
let  us  exalt  his  name  together.  Let 
us  unite  in  lifting  up  his  name ;  that 
is,  in  raising  it  above  all  other  things 
in  our  own  estimation,  and  in  the 
view  of  our  fellow-men ;  in  so  making 
it  known  that  it  shall  rise  above  every 
other  object,  that  all  may  see  and 
adore. 

4.  I  sought  the  Loed,  and  he  heard 


me.  That  is,  on  the  occasion  referred 
to  in  the  psalm,  when  he  was  exposed 
to  the  persecutions  of  Saul,  and  when 
he  sought  refuge  in  the  country  of 
Abimelech  or  Achish :  1  Sam.  xxi. 
The  idea  is,  that  at  that  time  he  did 
not  confide  in  his  own  wisdom,  or 
trust  to  any  devices  of  his  own,  but 
that  he  sought  the  protection  and 
guidance  of  God,  alike  when  he  fled  to 
Gath,  and  when  he  fled  from  Gath. 
%  And  delivered  me  from  all  my 
fears.  From  all  that  he  apprehended 
from  Saul,  and  again  from  all  that  he 
dreaded  when  he  found  that  Abime- 
lech would  not  harbour  him,  but  drove 
him  from  him. 

5.  They  looked  unto  him.  That  is, 
they  who  were  with  the  psalmist.  He 
was  not  alone  when  he  fled  to  Abime- 
lech ;  and  the  meaning  here  is,  that 
each  one  of  those  who  were  with  him 
looked  to  God,  and  found  light  and 
comfort  in  Him.  The  psalmist  seems 
to  have  had  his  thoughts  here  sud- 
denly turned  from  himself  to  those 
who  were  with  him,  and  to  have  called 
to  his  remembrance  how  they  all 
looked  to  God  in  their  troubles,  and 
how  they  all  found  relief.  %  And 
tee  re  lightened.  Or,  enlightened.  They 
found  light.  Their  faces,  as  we  should 
say,  brightened  up,  or  they  became 
cheerful.  Their  minds  were  made 
calm,  for  they  felt  assured  that  God 
would  protect  them.  Nothing  could 
better  express  what  often  occurs  in 
the  time  of  trouble,  when  the  heart  is 
sad,  and  when  the  countenance  is 
sorrowful, — a  dark  cloud  apparently 
having  come  over  all  things, — if  one 
thus  looks  to  God.  The  burden  is 
removed  from  the  heart,  and  the 
countenance  becomes  radiant  with 
hope  and  joy.  The  margin  here,  how- 
ever, is,  "  They  foiced  unto  him." 
The  Hebrew  wTord,  *TT3,  nahar,  means 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


289 


6  This  »  poor  man  cried,  and 
the  Lord  heard  him,  and  saved 
w  him  out  of  all  his  troubles. 

v  Ps.  iii.  4.  w  2  Sam.  xxii.  1. 


sometimes  to  flow,  to  flow  together, 
Isa.  ii.  2  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  12  ;  li.  44;  but 
it  also  means  to  shine,  to  be  bright ; 
and  thence,  to  be  cheered,  to  rejoice, 
Isa.  Ix.  5.  This  is  probably  the  idea 
here,  for  this  interpretation  is  better 
suited  to  the  connexion  in  which  the 
word  occurs.  %  And  their  faces  tvere 
not  ashamed.  That  is,  they  were  not 
ashamed  of  having  put  their  trust  in 
God,  or  they  were  not  disappointed. 
They  had  not  occasion  to  confess  that 
it  was  a  vain  reliance,  or  that  they 
had  been  foolish  in  thus  trusting  him. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Job  vi.  20 ;  Ps.  xxii. 
5  ;  Rom.  ix.  33  ;  1  John  ii.  28.  The 
idea  here  is,  that  they  found  God  to 
•be  all  that  they  expected  or  hoped 
that  he  would  be.  They  had  no  cause 
to  repent  of  what  they  had  done. 
"What  was  true  of  them  will  be  true 
of  all  who  put  their  trust  in  God. 

6.  This  poor  man  cried.  The 
psalmist  here  returns  to  his  own  par- 
ticular experience.  The  emphasis 
here  is  on  the  word  this  :  "  This  poor, 
afflicted,  persecuted  man  cried."  There 
is  something  much  more  touching  in 
this  than  if  he  had  merely  said  "  I," 
or  "I  myself"  cried.  The  language 
brings  before  us  at  once  his  afflicted 
and  miserable  condition.  The  word 
poor  here — *yp,  ani — does  not  mean. 
"  poor "  in  the  sense  of  a  want  of 
wealth,  but  "poor"  in  the  sense  of 
being  afflicted,  crushed,  forsaken, 
desolate.  The  word  miserable  would 
better  express  the  idea  than  the  word 
poor.  %  And  the  Lokd  heard  him. 
That  is,  heard  in  the  sense  of  answered. 
He  regarded  his  cry,  and  saved  him. 

7.  The  angel  of  the  Lord.  The 
angel  whom  the  Lord  sends,  or  who 
comes,  at  his  command,  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  the  people  of  God.  This 
does  not  refer  to  any  particular  angel 
as  one  who  was  specifically  called 
"  the  angel  of  the  Lord"  but  it  may 
refer  to  any  one  of  the  angels  whom 

VOL.    I. 


7  The  angel  x  of  the  Lord  en- 
campeth  round  about  them  that 
fear  him,  and  delivereth  them. 

x  Heb.  i.  14. 


the  Lord  may  commission  for  this 
purpose;  and  the  phrase  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying  that  angels  encompass 
and  protect  the  friends  of  God.  The 
word  angel  properly  means  a  mes- 
senger, and  then  is  applied  to  those 
holy  beings  around  the  throne  of  God 
Avho  are  sent  forth  as  his  messengers 
to  mankind ;  who  are  appointed  to 
communicate  his  will,  to  execute  his 
commands  ;  or  to  protect  his  people. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  xxiv.  31;  Job 
iv.  18  ;  Heb.  i.  6  ;  John  v.  4.  As  the 
word  has  a  general  signification,  and 
would  denote  in  itself  merely  a  mes- 
senger, the  qualification  is  added  here 
that  it  is  an  "  angel  of  the  Lord  " 
that  is  referred  to,  and  that  becomes 
a  protector  of  the  people  of  God. 
^f  JSncampeth.  Literally,  pitches  his 
tent.  Gen.  xxvi.  17  ;  Ex.  xiii.  20  ; 
xvii.  1.  Then  the  word  comes  to 
mean  to  defend ;  to  protect :  Zech.  ix. 
8.  The  idea  here  is,  that  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  protects  the  people  of 
God  as  an  army  defends  a  country,  or 
as  such  an  army  would  be  a  protec- 
tion. He  "  pitches  his  tent "  near 
the  people  of  God,  and  is  there  to 
guard  them  from  danger.  %  About 
them  that  fear  him.  His  true  friends, 
friendship  for  God  being  often  de- 
noted by  the  word  fear  or  reverence. 
See  Notes  on  Job  i.  1.  %  And  de- 
livereth them.  Rescues  them  from 
danger.  The  psalmist  evidently  has 
his  own  case  in  view,  and  the  general 
remark  here  is  founded  on  his  own 
experience.  He  attributes  his  safety 
from  danger  at  the  time  to  which  he 
is  referring,  not  to  his  own  art  or 
skill;  not  to  the  valour  of  his  own 
arm,  or  to  the  prowess  of  his  fol- 
lowers, but  to  the  goodness  of  God  in 
sending  an  angel,  or  a  company  of 
angels,  to  rescue  him  ;  and  hence  he 
infers  that  what  was  true  of  himself 
would  be  true  of  others,  and  that  the 
general  statement,  might  be  made 
O 


290 


PSALM   XXXIV. 


8  O  taste  y  and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good :  blessed  2  is  the 
man  that  trusteth  in  him. 

y  1  Pet.  ii.  3. 


which  is  presented  in  this  verse.  The 
doctrine  is  one  that  is  frequently  af- 
firmed in  the  Scriptures.  Nothing  is 
more  clearly  or  constantly  asserted 
than  that  the  angels  are  employed  in 
defending  the  people  of  God;  in 
leading  and  guiding  them  ;  in  com- 
forting them  under  trial,  and  sus- 
taining them  in  death ; — as  it  is  also 
affirmed,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
wicked  angels  are  constantly  em- 
ployed in  leading  men  to  ruin.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Dan.  vi.  22 ;  Heb.  i.  14. 
See  also  Genesis  xxxii.  1,  2 ;  2  Kings 
vi.  17;  Ps.  xci.  11;  Luke  xvi.  22; 
xxii.  43 ;  John  xx.  12.  It  may  he 
added  that  no  one  can  prove  that  what 
is  here  stated  by  the  psalmist  may  not 
be  literally  true  at  the  present  time; 
and  to  believe  that  we  are  under  the 
protection  of  angels  may  be  as  philo- 
sophical as  it  is  pious.  The  most 
lonely,  the  most  humble,  the  most 
obscure,  and  the  poorest  child  of  God, 
may  have  near  him  and  around  him  a 
retinue  and  a  defence  which  kings 
never  have  when  their  armies  pitch, 
their  tents  around  their  palaces,  and 
when  a  thousand  swords  would  at 
once  be  drawn  to  defend  them. 

8.  O  taste  and  see.  This  is  an  ad- 
dress to  others,  founded  on  the  ex- 
perience of  the  psalmist.  He  had 
found  protection  from  the  Lord;  he 
had  had  evidence  of  his  goodness; 
and  he  asks  now  of  others  that  they 
would  make  the  same  trial  which  he 
had  made.  It  is  the  language  of 
piety  in  view  of  personal  experience; 
and  it  is  such  language  as  a  young 
convert,  whose  heart  is  filled  with  joy 
as  hope  first  dawns  on  his  soul, 
would  address  to  his  companions  and 
friends,  and  to  all  the  world  around ; 
such  language  as  one  who  has  had 
any  special  comfort,  or  who  has  ex- 
perienced any  special  deliverance  from 
temptation  or  from  trouble,  would  ad- 
dress to  others.  Lessons,  derived  from 
our  own  experience,  we  may  properly 


9  O  fear  the  Lord,  ye  his 
saints :  for  there  is  no  want  to 
them  that  feai-  him. 


z  Ps.  ii.  12. 


recommend  to  others ;  the  evidence 
which  has  been  furnished  us  that 
God  is  good,  we  may  properly  employ 
in  persuading  others  to  come  and 
taste  his  love.  The  word  taste  here 
— Oytt,  taam — means  properly  to  try 
the  flavour  of  auything,  Job  xii.  11 ; 
to  eat  a  little  so  as  to  ascertain  what 
a  thing  is,  1  Sam.  xiv.  24,  29,  43 ; 
Jonah  iii.  7 ;  and  then  to  perceive  by 
the  mind,  to  try,  to  experience,  Prov. 
xxxi.  18.  It  is  used  here  in  the  sense 
of  making  a  trial  of,  or  testing  by 
experience.  The  idea  is,  that  by  put- 
ting trust  in  God — by  testing  the 
comforts  of  religion — one  would  .  so 
thoroughly  see  or  perceive  the  bless- 
ings of  it — would  have  so  much  hap- 
piness in  it — that  he  would  be  led  to 
seek  his  happiness  there  altogether. 
In  other  words,  if  we  could  but  get 
men  to  make  a  trial  of  religion ;  to 
enter  upon  it  so  as  really  to  under- 
stand and  experience  it,  we  may  be 
certain  that  they  would  have  the 
same  appreciation  of  it  which  we 
have,  and  that  they  would  engage 
truly  in  the  service  of  God.  If  those 
who  are  in  danger  would  look  to  him  ; 
if  sinners  would  believe  in  him;  if 
the  afflicted  would  seek  him ;  if  the 
wretched  would  cast  their  cares  on 
him;  if  they  who  have  sought -in 
vain  for  happiness  in  the  world,  would 
seek  happiness  in  him, — they  would, 
one  and  all,  so  surely  find  what  they 
need  that  they  would  renounce  all  else, 
and  put  their  trust  alone  in  God.  Of 
this  the  psalmist  was  certain;  of  this 
all  are  sure  who  have  sought  fur 
happiness  in  religion  and  in  God. 

"  Oil  make  but  trial  of  His  love ; 
Experience  will  decide 
How  bless'd  are  they— and  only  they— 
Who  in  His  truth  confide." 

%  Messed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
him.     Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  12. 

9.  Ofear  the  Lord.  Reverence  him  ; 
honour  him ;  confide  in  him.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxxi,  23.    ^  Ye  his  saints.  His  holy 


PSALM   XXX IV. 


291 


10  The   3Toung  lions  do  lack, 
and  suffer  Lunger  :  but  they  that 


ones.  All  who  profess  to  he  his  friends. 
This  exhortation  is  addressed  espe- 
cially to  the  saints,  or  to  the  pious, 
because  the  speaker  professed  to  be  a 
friend  of  God,  and  had  had  personal 
experience  of  the  truth  of  what  he  is 
here  saying.  It  is  the  testimony  of 
one  child  of  God  addressed  to  others, 
to  encourage  them  by  the  result  of 
his  own  experience.  ^  For  there  is 
no  to  ant  to  them  that  fear  him.  All 
their  wants  will  be  abundantly  sup- 
plied. Sooner  or  later  all  their  real 
necessities  will  be  met,  and  God  will 
bestow  upon  them  every  needed  bless- 
ing. The  statement  here  cannot  be 
regarded  as  absolutely  and  xmiversally 
true, — that  is,  it  cannot  mean  that 
they  who  fear  the  Lord  will  never,  in 
any  instance,  be  hungry  or  thirsty,  or 
destitute  of  raiment  or  of  a  comfort- 
able home  ;  but  it  is  evidently  in- 
tended to  be  a  general  affirmation, 
and  is  in  accordance  with  the  other 
statements  which  occur  in  the  Bible 
about  the  advantages  of  true  religion 
in  securing  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual 
blessings  from  God.  Thus,  in  1  Tim. 
iv.  8,  it  is  said,  "  Godliness  is  profit- 
able unto  all  things,  having  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that 
which  is  to  come."  Thus,  in  Isa. 
xxxiii.  16,  it  is  said  of  the  righteous 
man,  "  Bread  shall  be  given  him  ;  his 
watei's  shall  be  sure."  And  so,  in  Ps. 
xxxvii.  25,  David  records  the  result  of 
his  own  observation  at  the  end  of  a 
long  life,  "  I  have  been  young,  and 
now  am  old ;'  yet  have  I  not  seen  the 
righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  beg- 
ging bread."  But  while  these  state- 
ments should  not  be  interpreted  as 
affirming  absolutely  that  no  child  of 
God  will  ever  be  in  want  of  food,  or 
drink,  or  raiment,  or  home,  or  friends, 
yet  it  is  generally  true  that  the  wants 
of  the  righteous  are  supplied,  often  in 
an  unexpected  manner,  and  from  an 
.unexpected  source.  It  is  true  that 
virtue  and  religion  conduce  to  tem- 
poral prosperity;  and  it  is  almost 
universally  true  that  the  inmates  of 


seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any- 
good  thing. 


almshouses  and  prisons  are  neither 
the  pious,  nor  the  children  of  the 
pious.  These  houses  are  the  refuge, 
to  a  great  extent,  of  the  intemperate, 
the  godless,  and  the  profligate, — or  of 
the  families  of  the  intemperate,  the 
godless,  and  the  profligate ;  and  if  all 
such  persons  were  to  be  discharged 
from  those  abodes,  our  almshouses 
and  prisons  would  soon  become  tenant- 
less.  A  community  could  most  easily 
provide  for  all  those  who  have  been 
trained  in  the  ways  of  religion,  but 
who  are  reduced  to  poverty  by  fire,  or 
by  flood,  or  by  ill  health ;  and  they 
would  most  cheerfully  do  it.  Nothing 
can  be  more  true  than  that  if  a  man 
wished  to  do  all  that  could  be  done 
in  the  general  uncertainty  of  human 
affairs  to  secure  prosperity,  it  would 
be  an  advantage  to  him  to  be  a  vir- 
tuous and  religious  man.  God  never 
blesses  or  prospers  a  sinner  as  such, 
though  he  often  does  it  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  he  is  a  sinner;  but 
he.  does  and  will  bless  and  prosper  a 
righteous  man  as  such,  and  because  he 
is  righteous.  Compare  Notes  on  1 
Tim.  iv.  8. 

10.  The  young  lions  do  lack  aud 
suffer  hunger.  That  is,  they  often  do 
it,  as  compared  with  the  friends  of 
God.  The  allusion  is  especially  to 
the  young  lions  who  are  not  able  to  go 
forth  themselves  in  search  of  food. 
Perhaps  the  idea  is,  that  they  are  de- 
pendent on  the  older  lions — their 
parents — for  the  supply  of  their  wants, 
as  the  pious  are  dependent  on  God; 
but  that  the  result  shows  their  re- 
liance to  be  often  vain,  while  that  of 
the  pious  never  is.  The  old  lions  may 
be  unable  to  procure  food  for  their 
young ;  God  is  never  unable  to  pro- 
vide for  the  wants  of  his  children.  If 
their  wants  are  in  any  case  unsup- 
plied,  it  is  for  some  other  reason  than 
because  God  is  unable  to  meet  their 
necessities.  The  word  lack  here — 
1Eh"1,  rush — means  to  be  poor;  to 
suffer  want ;  to  be  needy  :  Prov.  xiv. 
20 ;  xviii.  23.      *j[  But  they  that  seek 


292 


PSALM    XXXIV. 


11  Come,  ye  children,  hearken 
unto  me  :  I  will  teach  you  the 
fear  of  the  Lord. 

a  1  Pet.  iii.  10,  etc. 


the  Lord.  That  seek  him  as  their 
friend ;  that  seek  his  favour ;  that 
seek  what  they  need  from  him.  To 
seek  God  is  a  phrase  which  is  often 
used  to  denote  true  piety.  It  means 
that  we  wish  to  know  him  ;  that  we 
desire  his  friendship;  and  that  we 
seek  all  our  blessings  from  him. 
%  Shall  not  want  any  good  thing. 
Any  real  good.  God  is  able  to  supply 
every  want ;  and  if  anything  is  with- 
held, it  is  always  certain  that  it  is  not 
because  God  could  not  confer  it,  but 
because  he  sees  some  good  reasons 
why  it  should  not  be  conferred.  The 
real  good ;  what  we  most  need ;  what 
will  most  benefit  us,-will  be  bestowed 
on  us ;  and  universally  it  may  be  said 
of  all  the  children  of  God  that  every  - 
thing  in  this  world  and  the  next  will 
be  granted  that  is  really  for  their 
good.  They  themselves  are  often 
not  the  best  judges  of  what  will  be 
for  their  good;  but  God  is  an  infallible 
judge  in  this  matter,  and  he  will 
certainly  bestow  what  is  best  for 
them. 

11.  Come,  ye  children.  From  per- 
sons in  general  (ver.  8), — from  the 
saints  and  the  pious  (ver.  9), — the 
psalmist  now  turns  to  children — to 
the  young, — that  he  may  state  to 
them  the  result  of  his  own  experience, 
and  teach  them  from  that  experience 
how  they  may  find  happiness  and 
prosperity.  The  original  word  here 
rendered  children  properly  means 
sons  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  psalmist  meant  to  address  the 
young  in  general.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  he  especially  designed 
what  is  here  said  for  his  own  sons. 
The  counsel  seems  to  have  been  de- 
signed for  all  the  young.  I  see  no 
reason  for  supposing,  as  Rosenmuller, 
De  Wette,  and  Professor  Alexander 
do,  tlt&t  the  word  is  here  used  in  the 
sense  of  disciples,  scholars,  learners. 
That  the  word  may  have  such  a 
meaning,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but 


12  What  a  man  is  he  that  de- 
sireth  life,  and  loveth  many  days, 
that  he  may  see  good  ? 


it  is  much  more  in  accordance  with 
the  scope  of  the  psalm  to  regard  the 
word  as  employed  in  its  usual  sense 
as  denoting  the  young.  It  is  thus  a 
most  interesting  address  from  an  aged 
and  experienced  man  of  God  to  those 
who  are  in  the  morning  of  life — 
suggesting  to  them  the  way  by  which 
they  may  make  life  prosperous  and 
happy.  %  Hearken  unto  me.  Attend 
to  what  I  have  to  say,  as  the  fruit  of 
my  experience  and  observation.  %  I 
toill  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
I  will  show  you  what  constitutes  the 
true  fear  of  the  Lord,  or  what  is  the 
nature  of  true  religion.  I  will  teach 
you  how  you  may  so  fear  and  serve 
God  as  to  enjoy  his  favour  and  obtain 
length  of  days  upon  the  earth. 

12.  What  man  is  he  that  desireth 
life  ?  That  desires  to  live  long.  All  men 
naturally  love  life;  and  all  naturally 
desire  to  live  long;  and  this  desire, 
being  founded  in  our  nature,  is  not 
wrong.  Life  is,  in  itself,  a  good, — a 
blessing  to  be  desired;  death  is  in 
itself  an  evil,  and  a  thing  to  be 
dreaded,  and  there  is  nothing  wrong, 
in  itself,  in  such  a  dread.  Equally 
proper  is  it  to  wish  not  to  be  cut 
down  in  early  life ;  for  where  one  has 
before  him  an  eternity  for  which  to 
prepare,  he  feels  it  undesirable  that 
he  should  be  cut  off  in  the  beginning 
of  his  way.  The  psalmist,  therefore, 
does  not  put  this  question  because  he 
supposes  that  there  were  any  who  did 
not  desire  life,  or  did  not  wish  to  see 
many  days,  but  in  order  to  fix  the  at- 
tention on  the  inquiry,  and  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  for  the  answer  which 
was  to  follow.  By  thus  putting  the 
question,  also,  he  has  implicitly  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  is  lawful 
to  desire  life,  and  to  wish  to  see  many 
days.  ^f  And  loveth  many  days.  , 
Literally,  loving  days.  That  is,  who 
so  loves  days,  considered  as  a  part  of 
life,  that  he  wishes  they  may  be  pro- 
longed and  multiplied.     %    That  he 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


293 


13  Keep  tliy  tongue  from  evil, 

arid  thy  lips  from  speaking  guile. 

11  Depart  b  from  evil,  and  do 


b  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
c  Matt.  v.  9. 


good;  seek  peace,  c  and  pursue 
it. 

15  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are 
upon  the  righteous,  and  his  ears 
are  open  unto  their  cry. 


may  see  good.  That  he  may  enjoy 
prosperity,  or  find  happiness.  In 
other  words,  who  is  he  that  would 
desire  to  understand  the  wray  by 
which  life  may  be  lengthened  oat  to 
old  age,  and  by  which  it  may  be 
made  happy  and  prosperous  ?  The 
psalmist  proposes  to  answer  this  ques- 
tion,— as  he  does  in  the  following 
verses,  by  stating  the  results  of  what 
he  had  experienced  and  observed. 

13.  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil. 
From  speaking  wrong  things.  Al- 
ways give  utterance  to  truth,  and 
truth  alone.  The  meaning  is,  that 
this  is  one  of  the  methods  of  length- 
ening out  life.  To  love  the  truth ; 
to  speak  the  truth  ;  to  avoid  all  false- 
hood, slander,  and  deceit,  will  con- 
tribute to  this,  or  will  be  a  means 
which  will  tend  to  prolong  life,  and  to 
make  it  happy.  %  And  thy  lips 
from  speaking  guile.  Deceit.  Do 
not  deceive  others  by  your  wrords. 
Do  not  make  any  statements  wdiich 
are  not  true,  or  any  promises  which 
you  cannot  and  will  not  keep.  Do 
not  flatter  others  ;  and  do  not  give 
utterance  to  slander.  Be  a  man 
characterised  by  the  love  of  truth; 
and  let  all  your  words  convey  truth, 
and  truth  only.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  this,  like  all  other  virtues,  would 
tend  to  lengthen  life,  and  to  make  it 
prosperous  and  peaceful.  There  is 
no  vice  wdiich  does  not  tend  to 
abridge  human  life,  as  there  is  no 
virtue  which  does  not  tend  to  lengthen 
it.  But  probably  the  specific  idea 
here  is,  that  the  way  to  avoid  the 
enmity  of  other  men,  and  to  secure 
their  favour  and  friendship,  is  to  deal 
with  them  truly,  and  thus  to  live  in 
peace  with  them.  It  is  true,  also, 
that  God  will  bless  a  life  of  virtue 
and  uprightness,  and  though  there  is 
no  absolute  certainty  that  any  one, 
however  virtuous  he  may  be,  may  not 
be  cut  off  in  early  life,  yet  it  is  also 


true  that,  other  things  being  equal, 
a  man  of  truth  and  integrity  will  be 
more  likely  to  live  long — (as  he  will 
be  more  certain  to  make  the  most  of 
life)  —  than  one  who  is  false  and 
corrupt. 

14.  Depart  from  evil.  From  all 
evil;  from  vice  and  crime  in  every 
form.  %  And  do  good.  Do  good  to 
all  men,  aud  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  If  Seek  peace.  Strive  to  live 
in  peace  with  all  the  world.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Rom.  xii.  18.  %  And  pur- 
sue it.  Follow  after  it.  Make  it  an 
object  of  desire,  and  put  forth  con- 
stant efforts  to  live  in  peace  with  all 
men.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
this  is  appropriate  advice  to  one  who 
wrishes  to  lengthen  out  his  days.  We 
have  only  to  remember  how  many  are 
cut  down  by  indulging  in  a  quarrel- 
some, litigious,  and  contentious  spirit, 
— by  seeking  revenge, — by  quarrels, 
duels,  wars,  and  strife, — to  see  the 
wisdom  of  this  counsel. 

15.  The  eyes  of  the  Loed  are  upon 
the  righteous.  This  is  another  of 
the  ways  in  which  the  psalmist  says 
that  life  will  be  lengthened  out,  or 
that  those  who  desire  life  may  find 
it.  The  Lord  will  be  the  protector 
of  the  righteous ;  he  will  watch  over 
and  defend  them.  See  Notes  on  Job 
xxxvi.  7.  %  And  his  ears  are  open 
unto  their  cry.  That  is,  when  in 
trouble  and  in  danger.  He  will  hear 
them,  and  will  deliver  them.  All 
this  seems  to  be  stated  as  the  result 
of  the  experience  of  the  psalmist  him- 
self; he  had  found  that  the  eyes  of 
God  had  been  upon  him  in  his  dan- 
gers, and  that  His  ears  had  been  open 
when  he  called  upon  Him  (ver.  6) ; 
and  now,  from  his  own  experience, 
he  assures  others  that  the  way  to  se- 
cure life  and  to  find  prosperity  is  to 
pursue  such  a  course  as  will  ensure 
the  favour  and  protection  of  God. 
The  general  thought  is,  that  virtue 


294 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


16  The  face  d  of  the  Lord  is 
against  thein  that  do  evil,  to  cut 
otf  the  remembrance  of  them 
from  the  earth. 


17  The  righteous  cry,  and  the 
Lord  heareth,  "  and  delivereth 
them  out  of  all  their  troubles. 

d  Ezek.  xiv.  7,  8.  e  Isa.  Lvv.  24. 


and  religion, — the  love  of  truth,  and 
the  love  of  peace, — the  favour  and 
friendship  of  God,  will"  tend  to 
lengthen  out  life,  and  to  make  it 
prosperous  and  happy.  All  the  state- 
ments in  the  Bible  concur  in  this,  and 
all  the  experience  of  man  goes  to 
confirm  it. 

16.  The  face  of  the  Loed.  This 
phrase  is  synonymous  with  that  in 
the  previous  verse :  "  The  eyes  of  the 
Lord."  The  meaning  is,  that  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  are  alike 
under  the  eye  of  God;  the  one  for 
protection,  the  other  for  punishment. 
Xeither  of  them  can  escape  his  no- 
tice ;  but  at  all  times,  and  in  all  cir- 
cumstances, they  are  equally  seen  by 
him.  Tj"  Is  against  them  that  do  evil. 
The  wicked ;  all  that  do  wrong.  In 
the  former  verse"  the  statement  is, 
that  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  "  upon" 
the  righteous,  that  is,  for  their  pro- 
tection ; — in  this  case,  by  a  change 
of  the  preposition  in  the  original,  the 
statement  is,  that  his  face  is  "against" 
them  that  do  evil,  that  is,  he  observes 
them  to  bring  judgment  upon  them. 
r  To  cut  off  the  remembrance  of  them 
from  the  earth.  To  cut  oft"  them- 
selves,— their  families, — and  all  me- 
morials of  them,  so  that  they  shall 
utterly  be  forgotten  among  men. 
Comp.  Ps.  cix.  13 — 15.  So,  in  Prov. 
x.  7,  it  is  said,  "  The  memory  of  the 
just  is  blessed;  but  the  name  of  the 
wicked  shall  rot."  Two  things  are 
implied  here  :  (1)  That  it  is  desirable 
to  be  remembered  after  we  are  dead. 
There  is  in  us  a  deep-rooted  principle, 
of  great  value  to  the  cause  of  virtue, 
which  prompts  us  to  desire  that  we 
may  be  held  in  grateful  recollection 
by  mankind  after  we  have  passed 
away;  that  is,  which  prompts  us  to 
do  something  in  our  lives,  the  re- 
membrance of  which  the  world  will 
not  "  willingly  let  die."  Milton. — 
(2)  The  other  idea  is,  that  there  is 
a  state  of  things  on  earth  which  has 


a  tendency  to  cause  the  remembrance 
of  the  wicked  to  die  out,  or  to  make 
men  forget  them.  There  is  nothing 
to  make  men  desire  to  retain  their 
recollection,  or  to  rear  monuments  to 
them.  Men  are  indeed  remembered 
who  are  of  bad  eminence  in  crime ; 
but  the  world  will  forget  a  wicked 
man  just  as  soon  as  it  can.  This  is 
stated  here  as  a  reason  particularly 
addressed  to  the  young  (ver.  11)  why 
they  should  seek  God,  and  pursue 
the  ways  of  righteousness.  The  mo- 
tive is,  that  men  will  gladly  retain 
the  remembrance  of  those  who  are 
good;  of  those  who  have  done  any- 
thing worthy  to  be  remembered,  but 
that  a  life  of  sin  will  make  men  de- 
sire to  forget  as  soon  as  possible  all 
those  who  practise  it.  This  is  not  a 
low  and  base  motive  to  be  addressed 
to  the  young.  That  is  a  high  and 
honourable  principle  which  makes 
us  wish  that  our  names  should  be 
cherished  by  those  who  are  to  live 
after  us,  and  is  one  of  the  original 
principles  by  which  God  keeps  up 
virtue  in  the  world, — one  of  those 
arrangements,  those  safeguards  of 
virtue,  by  which  we  are  prompted  to 
do  right,  and  to  abstain  from  that 
which  is  wrong.  It  is  greatly  per- 
verted, indeed,*  to  purposes  of  ambi- 
tion, but,  in  itself,  the  desire  not  to 
be  forgotten  when  we  are  dead  con- 
tributes much  to  the  industry,  the 
enterprise,  and  the  benevolence  of 
the  world,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
efficacious  means  for  preserving  us 
from  sin. 

17.  The  righteous  cry,  and  the 
Loed  heareth.  That  is,  one  of  the 
advantages  or  benefits  of  beiug  righ- 
teous is  the  privilege  of  crying  unto 
God,  or  of  calling  on  his  name,  with 
the  assurance  that  he  will  hear  and 
deliver  us.  Xo  one  has  ever  yet  fully 
appreciated  the  privilege  of  beiug 
permitted  to  call  upon  God ;  the  pri- 
vilege of  prayer.     There  is  no  bless- 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


295 


18  The  Lord  is  1  nigh  unto 
them  that  are  of  a  broken  heart ; 
and  saveth  -  such  as  be  of  a  con- 
trite spirit. 

19  Many  are  the  afflictions  of 


ing  conferred  on  man  in  his  present 
state  superior  to  this  ;  and  no  one  can 
fully  understand  the  force  of  the 
argument  derived  from  this  in  favour 
of  the  service  of  God.  What  a  world 
would  this  be — how  sad,  how  help- 
less, how  wretched — if  there  were  no 
God  to  whom  the  guilty,  the  suffer- 
ing, and  the  sorrowful  might  come; 
if  God  were  a  Being  who  never  heard 
prayer  at  all ;  if  he  were  a  capricious 
Being  who  might  or  might  not  hear 
prayer;  if  he  were  a  Being  governed 
by  fitful  emotions,  who  would  now 
hear  the  righteous,  and  then  the 
wicked,  and  then  neither,  and  who 
dispensed  his  favours  in  answer  to 
prayer  by  no  certain  rule  !  *ft  And 
delivereth  them  out  of  all  their  trou- 
bles. (1.)  He  often  delivers  them 
from  trouble  in  this  life  in  answer  to 
prayer.  (2.)  He  will  deliver  them 
literally  from  "  all "  trouble  in  the 
life  to  come.  The  promise  is  not, 
indeed,  that  they  shall  be  delivered 
from  all  trouble  on  earth,  but  the  idea 
is  that  God  is  able  to  rescue  them 
from  trouble  here;  that  he  often 
does  it  in  answer  to  prayer;  and  that 
there  will  be,  in  the  case  of  every 
righteous  person,  a  sure  and  com- 
plete deliverance  from  all  trouble 
hereafter.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver.  6: 
see  ver.  1 9. 

18.  The  Loed  is  nigh  unto  them 
that  are  of  a  broken  heart.  Margin, 
as  in  Hebrew,  to  the  broken  of  heart. 
The  phrase,  "  the  Lord  is  nigh," 
means  that  he  is  ready  to  hear  and  to 
help.  The  language  is,  of  course, 
figurative.  As  an  Omnipresent  Being, 
God  is  equally  near  to  all  persons  at 
all  times  ;  but  the  language  is  adapted 
to  our  conceptions,  as  we  feel  that 
one  who  is  near  us  can  help  us,  or 
that  one  who  is  distant  from  us  can- 
not give  us  aid.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxii.  11.     The   phrase,   "  them  that 


the  righteous  :  but  the  Lord  de- 
livereth him  out  of  them  all. 

20  He  keepeth  all  his  bones : 
not  one  of  them  is  broken. 

1  to  the  broken  of  heart. 

2  the  contrite  of  spirit. 


are  of  a  broken  heart/'  occurs  often 
in  the  Bible.  It  refers  to  a  condition 
when  a  burden  seems  to  be  on  the 
heart,  and  when  the  heart  seems  to 
be  crushed  by  sin  or  sorrow ;  and  it 
is  designed  to  describe  a  consciousness 
of  deep  guilt,  or  the  heaviest  kind  of 
affliction  and  trouble.  Comp.  Ps.  li. 
17 ;  Isa.  lvii.  15 ;  Ixi.  1 ;  lxvi.  2. 
%  And  saveth  sucli  as  be  of  a  contrite 
spirit.  Margin,  as  in  Hebrew,  con- 
trite  of  spirit.  The  phrase  here 
means  the  spirit  as  crushed  or  broken 
down ;  that  is,  as  in  the  other  phrase, 
a  spirit  that  is  oppressed  by  sin  or 
trouble.  The  world  abounds  with  in- 
stances of  those  who  can  fully  under- 
stand this  language. 

19.  Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous.  This  is  not  intended  to 
affirm  that  the  afflictions  of  the  righ- 
teous are  more  numerous  or  more 
severe  than  the  afflictions  of  other 
men,  but  that  they  are  subjected  to 
much  suffering,  and  to  many  trials. 
Religion  does  not  exempt  them  from 
suffering,  but  it  sustains  them  in  it ; 
it  does  not  deliver  them  from  all 
trials  in  this  life,  but  it  supports 
them  in  their  trials,  which  it  teaches 
them  to  consider  as  a  preparation  for 
the  life  to  come.  There  are,  indeed, 
sorrows  which  are  peculiar  to  the 
righteous,  or  which  come  upon  them 
in  virtue  of  their  religion,  as  the  trials 
of  persecution ;  but  there  are  sorrows, 
also,  that  are  peculiar  to  the  wicked, — 
such  as  are  the  effects  of  intemper- 
ance, dishonesty,  crime.  The  latter 
are  more  numerous  by  far  than  the 
former;  so  that  it  is  still  true  that 
the  wicked  suffer  more  than  the  righ- 
teous in  this  life.  %  But  the  Loed 
delivereth  him  out  of  them  all.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  17. 

20.  He  keepeth  all  his  bones.  That 
is,  he  preserves  or  guards  the  righ- 
teous.    %  Not  one  of  them  is  broken. 


206 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


21  Evil  shall  slay  the  wicked ; 
and  they  that  hate  the  righteous 
shall  be  *  desolate. 

1  Or,  guilty.  f  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11, 12. 


Perhaps  there  is  a  direct  and  imme- 
diate allusion  here  to  what  the  psalmist 
had  himself  experienced.  In  his 
dangers  God  had  preserved  him,  so 
that  he  had  escaped  without  a  broken 
bone.  But  the  statement  is  more 
general,  and  is  designed  to  convey  a 
truth  in  respect  to  the  usual  and 
proper  effect  of  religion,  or  to  denote 
the  advantage,  in  reference  to  per- 
sonal safety  in  the  dangers  of  this 
life,  derived  from  religion.  The  lan- 
guage is  of  a  general  character,  such 
as  often  occurs  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
it  should,  in  all  fairness,  be  so  con- 
strued. It  cannot  mean  that  the 
bones  of  a  righteous  man  are  never 
broken,  or  that  the  fact  that  a  man 
has  a  bmken  bone  proves  that  he  is 
not  righteous;  but  it  means  that,  as 
a  general  principle,  religion  conduces 
to  safety,  or  that  the  righteous  are 
under  the  protection  of  God.  Comp. 
Matt.  x.  30,  31.  Nothing  more  can 
be  demanded  in  the  fair  interpreta- 
tion of  the  language  than  this. 

21.  Evil  shall  slay  the  iviclced. 
That  is,  his  own  wicked  conduct  will 
be  the  cause  of  his  destruction.  His 
ruin  is  not  arbitrary,  or  the  mere  re- 
sult of  a  Divine  appointment;  it  is 
caused  by  sin,  and  is  the  regular  and 
natural  consequence  of  guilt.  In  the 
destruction  of  the  sinner,  there  will 
not  be  any  one  thing  which  cannot 
be  explained  by  the  supposition  that 
it  is  the  regular  effect  of  sin,  or  what 
sin  is,  in  its  own  nature,  fitted  to 
produce.  The  one  will  measure  the 
other ;  guilt  will  be  the  measure  of 
all  that  there  is  in  the  punishment. 
Tf  And  they  that  hate  the  righteous. 
Another  term  for  the  wicked,  or  a 
term  designating  the  character  of  the 
wicked  in  one  aspect  or  view.  It  is 
true  of  all  the  wicked  that  they  must 
hate  the  righteous  in  their  hearts,  or 
that  they  are  so  opposed  to  the  cha- 
racter   of  the   righteous   that   it  is 


22  The  Lord  redeemeth  the 
soul  of  his  servants ;  and  none 
/  of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall 
be  desolate. 


proper  to  designate  this  feeling  as 
hatred.  \  Shall  be  desolate.  Margin, 
shall  be  guilty.  Professor  Alexander 
and  Hengstenberg  render  this,  as  in 
the  margin,  shall  be  guilty.  De 
Wette,  shall  repent.  Rosenmuller, 
shall  be  condemned.  The  original 
word — O^JN,  asham — means  properly 
to  fail  in  duty,  to  transgress,  to  be 
guilty.  The  primary  idea,  says  Gese- 
nius  {Lex.),  is  that  of  negligence, 
especially  in  going,  or  in  gait,  as  of 
a  camel  that  is  slow  or  faltering. 
Then  the  word  means  to  be  held  or 
treated  as  faulty  .or  guilty;  and  then, 
to  bear  the  consequences  of  guilt,  or 
to  be  punished.  This  seems  to  be 
the  idea  here.  The  word  is  some- 
times synonymous  with  another  He- 
brew word —  Dii3%  y  asham — meaning 
to  be  desolate ;  to  be  destroyed ;  to 
be  laid  waste  :  Ezek.  vi.  6 ;  Joel  i. 
18;  Ps.  v.  10.  But  the  usual  mean- 
ing of  the  word  is  undoubtedly  re- 
tained here,  as  signifying  that,  in  the 
dealings  of  Providence,  or  in  the  ad- 
ministering of  Divine  government, 
such  men  will  be  held  to  be  guilty, 
and  will  be  treated  accordingly;  that 
is,  that  they  will  be  punished. 

22.  The  Lord  redeemeth  the  soul 
of  his  servants.  The  literal  meaning 
of  this  is,  that  the  Lord  rescues  the 
lives  of  his  servants,  or  that  he  saves 
them  from  death.  The  word  redeem 
in  its  primary  sense  means  to  let  go 
or  loose  ;  to  buy  loose,  or  to  ransom ; 
and  hence,  to  redeem  with  a  price,  or 
to  rescue  in  any  way.  Here  the  idea 
is  not  that  of  delivering  or  rescuing 
by  a  price,  or  by  an  offering,  but  of 
rescuing  from  danger  and  death  by 
the  interposition  of  the  power  and 
providence  of  God.  The  word  soul 
here  is  used  to  denote  the  entire  man, 
and  the  idea  is,  that  God  will  rescue 
or  save  those  who  serve  and  obey 
him.  They  will  be  kept  from  de- 
struction.    They  will  not  be  held  and 


PSALM  XXXV. 


297 


regarded  as  guilty,  and  will  not  be 
treated  as  if  they  were  wicked.  As 
the  word  redeem  is  used  by  David 
here  it  means  God  will  save  his  peo- 
ple ; — without  specifying  the  means 
by  which  it  will  be  done.  As  the 
word  redeem  is  used  by  Christians 
now,  employing  the  ideas  of  the  Xew 
Testament  on  the  subject,  it  means 
that  God  will  redeem  his  people  by 
that  great  sacrifice  which  was  made 
for  them  on  the  cross.  %  And  none 
of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall  be 
desolate.  Shall  be  held  and  treated 
as  guilty.  See  ver.  21,  where  the 
same  word  occurs  in  the  original. 
They  shall  not  be  held  to  be  guilty ; 
they  shall  not  be  punished.  This  is 
designed  to  be  in  contrast  with  the 
statement  respecting  the  wicked  in 
ver.  21.  The  psalm,  therefore,  closes 
appropriately  with  the  idea  that  they 
who  trust  the  Lord  will  be  ultimately 
safe;  that  God  will  make  a  distinc- 
tion between  them  and  the  wicked; 
that  they  will  be  ultimately  rescued 
from  death,  and  be  regarded  and 
treated  for  ever  as  the  friends  of  God. 

PSALM  XXXV. 

This  psalm  is  ascribed  to  David.  The 
title  in  the  original,  T)~I3  —  "  by 
David,"  or,  "of  David"- is'  without 
anything  to  designate  •  the  occasion  on 
which  it  was  composed,  or  anything  to 
mark  the  character  of  the  psalm,  as 
distinguished  from  others.  Occasionally 
in  the  titles  of  the  psalms  there  is  a 
special  reference  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  psalm  was  composed,  as  in 
Ps.  iii.,  vii.,  xviii.,  xxx.,  xxxiv.  ;  and, 
much  more  frequently,  there  is  some- 
thing added  in  the  title  to  distinguish 
the  character  of  the  psalm,  either  in  its 
own  nature,  or  in  its  adaptedness  to 
music,  as  in  Ps.  i\\,  v.,  vi.,  ix.,  xvi., 
xxii.  In  this  case,  however,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  title  that  furnishes  any 
information  on  either  of  these  points. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  itself 
that  will  enable  us  to  determine  with 
any  accuracy  the  occasion  on  which  it 
was  written.  By  some  it  has  been  re- 
ferred to  the  time  of  the  persecution  of 
David  by  Saul ;  by  others,  to  the  op- 
position which  he  encountered  from 
Ahithophel,  or  Shimei,  or  to  the  ingrati- 
tude of  Mephibosheth  (2  Sam.  xvi.  3) ; 


by  others  it  has  been  referred  to  the 
rebellion  of  Absalom  ;  and  others  have 
referred  it  to  the  Messiah,  as  propheti- 
cally descriptive  of  what  would  occur  to 
him.  The  psalm  can  be  intelligently 
interpreted  on  either  of  the  former  sup- 
positions, but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
it  had  any  direct  reference  to  the  Mes- 
siah. The  only  place  in  the  Xew  Testa- 
ment in  which  it  could  be  alleged  that 
any  part  of .  it  is  applied  to  Christ,  is 
John  xv.  2-5,  where  it  is  said,  "  But  this 
cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word  might  be 
fulfilled  which  is  written  in  their  law, 
They  hated  me  without  a  cause."  By 
those  who  suppose  that  the  psalm  refers 
to  the  Messiah,  it  is  said  that  this  is  a 
quotation  from  ver.  19  of  this  psalm. 
But  it  may  be  remarked  in  reaard  to  this 
(a)  that  the  language  of  the^psalm  in 
that  verse  is  different  from  that  used  in 
John,  the  language  of  the  former  being, 
"Neither  let  them  wink  with  the  eye 
that  hate  me  without  a  cause  ;"  and  (b) 
that  the  language  in  John  is  a  much 
more  literal  quotation  from  Ps.  lxix.  L 
"They  that  hate  me  without  a  cause," 
etc., — a  psalm  which  undoubtedly  has 
reference  to  the  Messiah.  De  AVette 
supposes  that  the  psalm  is  not  properly 
ascribed  to  David,  and  says  that  it  is  not 
"worthy  "  of  him.  He  supposes  that  it 
was  composed  after  the  death  of  David, 
by  an  inferior  poet.  He  furnishes,  how- 
ever, no  reason  for  this  opinion,  except 
that  which  is  derived  from  his  own 
feelings, — "  nach  meinem  Gefi'hle." 
The  time  and  occasion  on  which  the 
psalm  was  composed  are  not,  however, 
of  material  consequence.  As  it  would 
be  appropriate  to  any  of  the  occasions 
above  referred  to,  so  it  is  appropriate  to 
numerous  occasions  which  arise  in  the 
history  of  individuals  ;  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, of  so  general  a  character  that  it 
may  be  useful  in  the  church  at  all 
times. 

What  is  apparent  in  the  psalm — the 
central  idea,  and  that  which  makes  it  so 
useful — is,  that  it  was  composed  with 
reference  to  the  treatment  which  the 
author  received  from  those  who  had 
been  his  professed  friends  : — from  those 
to  whom  he  had  shown  kindness  in  their 
troubles ;  to  whom  he  had  been  a 
friend  and  a  brother,  but  who  had  now 
turned  against  him.  In  the  times  of 
prosperity  they  had  been  his  professed 
friends,  and  had  partaken  freely  and 
largely  of  his  hospitality  ;  when  they 
were  afflicted  he  had  shown  them  Sym- 
pathy and  kindness ;  but  when  reverses 
02 


298 


PSALM  XXXV. 


PSALM  XXXY. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

pLEAD  9  my  cause,  0    Lord, 


with  them  that  strive  with 
me :  fight  against  them  that 
fight  against  me. 

g  Lam.  iii.  58. 


came  upon  him.  they  forsook  him,  and 
joined  with  his  calumniators,  persecutors, 
and  accusers.  The  psalm,  therefore,  has 
a  special  applicability  to  trials  of  that 
nature.  It  expresses  the  feelings  and 
views  of  the  author  hi  regard  to  his  own 
sorrows,  as  springing  from  such  ingrati- 
tude, and  his  earnest  prayer  to  God  to 
interpose  in  his  behalf, — the  rolling  of 
the  sorrows  of  his  pained  and  oppressed 
heart  upon  the  arm  of  his  unchanging 
Friend,  the  mighty  and  merciful  God. 
As  occasions  similar  to  those  referred  to 
in  the  psalm  not  unfrequently  occur  in 
the  world,  it  was  important  that  in  the 
volume  of  inspiration  an  example  should 
be  furnished  of  the  manner  hi  which 
piety  is  to  meet  such  a  form  of  trial. 

The  psalm  consists  of  the  following 
parts  :  — 

I.  The  prayer,  vers.  1-10.  This  is 
(ff)  an  earnest  appeal  to  God  for  his 
interposition,  vers.  1-3 ;  (b)  a  solemn 
imprecation  of  Divine  vengeance  on  his 
enemies,  or  a  prayer  that  they  may 
receive  from  the  hand  of  God  just  retri- 
bution for  their  crimes,  vers.  4-8  ;  (<?) 
the  expression  of  a  determined  purpose 
on  his  part  to  triumph  in  God,  or  to  as- 
cribe praise  to  God  for  his  interposition, 
vers.  9,  10. 

II.  The  description  of  the  character 
and  conduct  of  Ms  enemies,  vers.  11-16. 
They  were  («)  false  witnesses  against 
him,  or  calumniators,  ver.  11;  (b)  they 
had  rendered  to  him  evil  for  good,  or  had 
been  guilty  of  base  ingratitude,  ver.  12  ; 
(c)  in  their  troubles  he  had  been  to  them 
as  a  brother,  vers.  13,  II ;  but  (d)  they  had 
forgotten  all  this  in  his  adversity,  and 
had  united  with  the  vile  and  the  aban- 
doned— with  revellers  and  drunkards,  in 
pouring  contempt  on  his  pame,  and  in 
reproaching  his  character,  vers.  15,  16. 

III.  An  earnest  appeal  to  God,  in  view 
of  these  circumstances,  to  interpose  and 
deliver  him ;  to  show  that  He  was  the 
patron  and  friend  of  those  who  were 
calumniated  and  injured,  vers.  17-28. 
This  appeal  is  founded  on  such  argu- 
ments as  the  following  : — (a)  That  God 
seemed  now  to  be  looking  on,  and  taking 
no  interest  in  a  righteous  cause,  or  in 
the  cause  of  one  who  was  oppressed  and 
Avronged,  ver.  17 ;  (b)  that  his  interposi- 
tion would  lead  the  psalmist  to  render 


him  praise,  ver.  18  ;  (c)  that  those  who 
had  so  much  injured  and  wronged  him 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  Divine  favour,  and 
were  at  case,  vers.  19,  20  ;  (d)  that  God 
had  seen  all  this,  and  still  saw  it,  and 
that  it  became  him  to  interpose  hi  his 
behalf,  vers.  21-23;  (e)  that  it  was  in- 
consistent for  God  to  suifer  the  wicked 
to  triumph  over  the  righteous,  or  that 
they  should  be  allowed  to  exult  as  if 
they  had  swallowed  them  up,  vers.  21- 
26 ;  and  (/)  that  it  was  desirable  that, 
under  the  government  of  God,  they  who 
were  truly  righteous  should  receive  such 
tokens  of  the  Divine  favour  and  protec- 
tion that  they  could  rejoice  in  God, 
and  render  him  appropriate  praise,  vers. 
27,  28. 

1.  Plead  my  cause,  0  Lo-kd.  The 
word  plead  means,  properly,  to  argue 
in  support  of  a  claim,  or  against  the 
claim  of  another ;  to  urge  reasons  for 
or  against ;  to  attempt  to  persuade 
one  by  argument  or  supplication  ; — 
as,  to  plead  for  the  life  of  a  criminal, 
that  is,  to  urge  reasons  why  he  should 
be  acquitted  or  pardoned;  and  then, 
to  supplicate  with  earnestness  in  any 
way.  The  original  word  here  used, 
— *2*~\,rib— meads  to  contend,  strive, 
quarrel ;  and  then,  to  contend  before 
a  judge,  to  manage  or  plead  a  cause. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  the  psalmist 
desires  that  God  would  undertake  his 
cause  against  those  who  had  risen  up 
against  him,  as  if  it  were  managed  be- 
fore a  tribunal,  or  before  a  judge,  and 
God  should  be  the  advocate.  The  same 
word  is  used,  in  another  form,  in  the 
other  member  of  the  sentence  — 
"with  them  that  strive  —  S2S"T— 
against  me."  The  idea  is,  that  they 
were  pleading  against  him,  or  were 
urging  arguments,  as  it  were,  before 
a  tribunal  or  a  judge,  why  he  should 
be  condemned.  They  were  his  bitter 
opponents,  engaged  in  bringing  all 
manner  of  false  accusations  against 
him,  and  seeking  his  condemnation. 
The  psalmist  felt*  that  he  could  not 


PSALM  XXXV. 


299 


2  Take  hold  of  shield  and 
buckler,  and  stand  up  for  mine 
help. 

3  Draw  out  also  the  spear,  and 


manage  his  own  cause  against  them ; 
and  he,  therefore,  pleads  with  God 
that  he  would  interpose,  and  stand 
up  for  him.  %  Fight  against  them 
that  fight  against  me.  The  same  idea 
substantially  occurs  here  as  in  the 
former  member  of  the  verse.  It  is  a 
prayer  that  God  would  undertake  his 
cause ;  that  he  would  exert  his  power 
against  those  who  were  opposed  to 
him. 

2.  Take  hold  of  shield  and  buckler. 
That  is,  Arm  thyself  as  if  for  the  con- 
test. It  is  a  prayer,  in  a  new  form, 
that  God  would  interpose,  and  that 
he  would  go  forth  as  a  warrior  against 
the  enemies  of  the  psalmist.  On  the 
word  shield,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  v.  12. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Eph.vi.  16.  On  the 
word  buckler,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii. 
2.  These  terms  are  derived  from  the 
armour  of  a  wai-rior,  and  the  prayer 
here  is  that  God  would  appear  in 
that  character  for  his  defence.  %  And 
stand  up  for  my  help.  As  a  warrior 
stands  up,  or  stands  firm,  to  arrest 
the  attack  of  an  enemy. 

3.  Draw  out  also  the  spear.  The 
word  here  rendered  draw  out  means 
properly  to  pour  out;  to  empty;  and  it 
is  applied  to  the  act  of  emptying  sacks, 
Gen.  xlii.  35;  to  emptying  bottles,  Jer. 
xiviii.  12 ;  to  drawing  a  sword  from 
a  sheath,  Ex.  xv.  9;  Lev.  xxvi.  33; 
Ezek.  v.  12.  It  is  applied  to  a  spear 
either  as  drawing  it  out  of  the  place 
where  it  was  kept,  or  as  stretching 
it  out  for  the  purposes  of  attack. 
The  former  probably  is  the  meaning, 
and  the  idea  is,  that  David  prayed 
God  to  arm  himself —  as  a  warrior 
does — in  order  to  defend  him.  The 
spear  was  a  common  weapon  in  an- 
cient warfare.  It  was  sometimes  so 
short  that  it  could  be  brandished  as  a 
sword  in  the  hand,  or  hurled  at  an 
enemy,  1  Sam.  xviii.  11;  xix.  10;  xx. 
33 ;  but  it  was  usually  made  as  long 
as  it  could  be  to  be  handled  conve- 
niently.    The  spear  was  a  weapon  of 


stop  the  way  against  them  that 
persecute  me  :  say  unto  my  soul, 
I  am  thy  salvation. 


attack.  The  parts  of  armour  referred 
to  in  ver.-  2  were  designed  for  de- 
fence. The  idea  of  the  psalmist  is 
that  of  a  warrior  prepared  alike  for 
attack  or  defence.  \  And  stop  the 
way  against  them  that  persecute  me. 
The  words  the  tcay  are  not  in  the 
original.  The  word  rendered  stop — 
"12D,  segor — means  properly  to  shut, 
to  close,  as  a  door  or  gate,  Job  iii. 
10 ;  1  Sam.  i.  5 ;  Gen.  xix.  6,  10. 
The  idea  here,  according  to  the  usage 
of  the  word,  is,  Shut  or  close  up  the 
way  against  those  that  persecute  me. 
So  Gesenius  renders  it.  Grotius, 
Michaelis,  De  Wette,  and  others,  how- 
ever, regard  the  word  as  a  noun,  signi- 
fying the  same  as  the  Greek — adyoLpiq 
—  a  two-edged  sword,  such  as  was 
used  by  the  Scythians,  Persians,  and 
Amazons.  Herod,  vii.  64.  See  Posen- 
miiller  in  loc.  It  is  not  so  rendered, 
however,  in  any  of  the  ancient  ver- 
sions. The  LXX.  render  it,  "  And 
shut  up  against  those  that  persecute 
me  ;"  the  Vulgate,  "  Pre- occupy 
against  those  that  persecute  me ;" 
the  Chaldee,  "  Shut  up  against  those 
that  persecute  me."  The  correct  idea 
probably  is  that  which  is  given  in  the 
common  version.  The  psalmist  prays 
that  God  would  go  forth  to  meet  his 
enemies;  that  he  would  arrest  and 
check  them  in  their  march ;  that  he 
would  hedge  up  their  way,  and  that  he 
would  thus  prevent  them  from  at- 
tacking him.  "j[  Sag  unto  my  soul, 
I  am  thy  salvation.  Say  to  me,  I 
will  save  you.  That  is,  Give  me  some 
assurance  that  thou  wilt  interpose, 
and  that  thou  wilt  guard  me  from  my 
enemies.  Man  only  wants  this  as- 
surance to  be  calm  in  respect  to  any 
danger.  When  God  says  to  us  that 
he  will  be  our  salvation;  that  he  will 
protect  us;  that  he  will  deliver  us 
from  sin,  from  danger,  from  hell,  the 
mind  may  and  will  be  perfectly  calm. 
To  a  believer  he  gives  this  assurance; 
to  all  he  is  willing  to  give  it.     The 


300 


PSALM  XXXV. 


4  Let  *  them  be  confounded 
and  put  to  shame  that  seek  after 
my  soul :  let  them  be  turned 
back  and  brought  to  confusion 
that  devise  my  hurt. 

5  Let  them  be  as  chaff  *  before 
the  wind :  and  let  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  chase  them. 


whole  plan  of  salvation  is  arranged 
with  a  view  to  furnish  such  an  as- 
surance, and  to  give  a  pledge  to  the 
.  soul  that  God  ivill  save.  Death  loses 
its  terrors  then ;  the  redeemed  man 
moves  on  calmly,  —  for  in  all  the 
future — in  all  worlds — he  has  nothing 
now  to  fear. 

4.  Let  them  be  confounded.  That 
is,  Let  them,  through  thy  gracious 
interposition  in  my  behalf,  be  so  en- 
tirely overcome  and  subdued  that 
they  shall  be  ashamed  that  they  ever 
made  the  effort  to  destroy  me;  let 
them  see  so  manifestly  that  God  is 
on  my  side  that  they  will  be  covered 
with  confusion  for  having  opposed 
one  who  was  so  entirely  the  object  of 
the  Divine  protection  and  care.  See 
Notes  on  Ps.  vi.  10 ;  xxv.  2,  3.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  vi.  20.  %  That  seek 
after  my  soul.  My  life.  That  seek 
to  destroy  me.  If  Let  them  be  turned 
back.  In  their  attempts  to  pursue 
me.  Do  thou  interpose  and  turn 
them  back,  ^f  And  brought  to  con- 
fusion. Put  to  shame ;  or  made 
ashamed, — as  they  are  who  are  dis- 
appointed and  thwarted  in  their 
schemes. 

5.  Let  them  be  as  chaff  before  the 
toind.  As  chaff  is  driven  away  in 
winnowing  grain.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
i.  4.  ^f  And  let  the  angel  of  the  Loed 
chase  them.  Drive  them  away,  or 
scatter  them.  Angels  are  often  re- 
presented in  the  Scriptures  as  agents 
employed  by  God  in  bringing  punish- 
ment on  wicked  men.  See  2  Kings 
xix.  35 ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  36 ;  1  Chron. 
xxi.  12,  30 ;  2  Sam!  xxiv.  16. 

6.  Let  their  way  be  dark.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  darkness.  That  is,  let 
them  not  be  able  to  see  where  they 
go  j  what  danger  they  incur;  what  is 


6  Let  their  way  be  l  dark  and 
slippery ;  and  let  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  persecute  them. 

7  For  without  cause  have  they 
hid  for  me  their  net  in  a  pit, 
which  without  cause  they  liave 
digged  for  my  soul. 

h  Ps.  Ixxi.  24-.  i  Ps.  i.4. 

1  darkness  and  slipperiness. 


before  them.  The  idea  is  that  of 
persons  who  wander  in  the  night,  not 
knowing  what  is  before  them,  or  what 
danger  may  be  near.  The  succession 
of  images  and  figures  here  is  terrific. 
The  representation  is  that  of  persons 
scattered  as  the  chaff  is  before  the 
wind ;  pursued  by  the  angel  seeking 
vengeance ;  and  driven  along  a  dark 
and  slippery  path,  with  no  guide,  and 
no  knowledge  as  to  the  precipices 
which  may  be  before  them,  or  the 
enemies  that  may  be  pressing  upon 
them,  •fl"  And  slippery.  Marg.,  as 
in  Heb.,  slipperiness.  This  is  a  cir- 
cumstance which  adds  increased  terror 
to  the  image.  It  is  not  only  a  dark 
road,  but  a  road  made  slippery  by 
rains;  a  road  where  they  are  in  danger 
every  moment  of  sliding  down  a  pre- 
cipice where  they  will  be  destroyed. 
^f  And  let  the  angel  of  the  Loed 
persecute  them.  Pursue  or  follow 
them.  The  word  persecute  we  use 
now  in  the  sense  of  subjecting  one  to 
pain,  torture,  or  privation,  on  account 
of  his  religious  opinions.  This  is  not 
the  meaning  of  the  word  used  here. 
It  is  simply  to  follow  or  pursue.  The 
image  is  that  of  the  avenging  angel 
following  on,  or  pursuing  them  in 
this  dark  and  slippery  way ;  a  flight 
in  a  dark  and  dangerous  path,  with  a 
destroying  angel  close  in  the  rear. 

7.  For  without  cause  have  they  hid 
for  me  their  net  in  a  pit.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  vii.  15 ;  ix.  15.  This  figure  is 
derived  from  hunting.  The  idea  is 
that  of  digging  a  pit  or  hole  for  a  wild 
beast  to  fall  into,  with  a  net  so  con- 
cealed that  the  animal  could  not  see 
it,  and  that  might  be  suddenly  drawn 
over  him  so  as  to  secure  him.  The 
reference  here  is  to  plans  that  are  laid 
to  entrap  and  ruin  others ;  plots  that 


PSALM  XXXV. 


301 


8  Lei  destruction  *  come  upon 
him  J  at  unawares ;  and  let  his 
net  that  he  hath  hid  catch  him- 
self: into  that  very  destruction 
let  him  fall. 

9  And  my  soul  shall  be  joyful 

1  which  he  hwvoeth  not  of. 

k  1  Thess.  v.  3.       I  Prow  xxii.  22,  23. 


are  concocted  so  as  to  secure  destruc- 
tion before  one  is  aware.  The  psalmist 
says  that,  in  his  case,  they  had  done 
this  without  cause,  or  without  any 
sufficient  reason.  He  had  done  them 
no  wrong ;  he  had  given  them  no 
show  of  excuse  for  their  conduct. 
\\  Which  without  cause  they  have 
digged  for  my  soul.  For  my  fife. 
That  is,  they  have  digged  a  pit  into 
which  I  might  fall,  and  into  which 
they  designed  that  I  should  fall, 
though  I  have  never  done  anything  to 
give  them  occasion  thus  to  seek  my 
destruction. 

8.  Let  destruction  come  upon  him 
at  unawares.  Marg.,  which  he  knoiceth 
oi ot  of.  So  the  Hebrew.  The  mean- 
ing is,  Let  destruction  come  upon  him 
when  he  is  not  looking  for  it,  or 
expecting  it.  %  And  let  his  net  that 
he  hath  hid  catch  himself.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  vii.  15,  16.  The  psalmist 
prays  here  that  the  same  thing  may 
occur  to  his  enemy  which  his  enemy 
had  designed  for  him.  It  is  simply  a 
prayer  that  they  might  be  treated  as 
they  purposed  to  treat  him. 

9.  And  my  soul  shall  be  joyful  in 
the  Loed.  That  is,  I  shall  be  joyful, 
or  will  rejoice.  This  is  said  in  antici- 
pation of  the  interposition  of  God  in 
destroying  his  enemies,  and  in  deliver- 
ing him  from  danger.  It  is  not  joy 
in  the  destruction  of  others ;  it  is  joy 
that  he  himself  would  be  delivered. 
Our  own  deliverance  from  the  hand  of 
our  enemies  may  involve  the  necessity 
of  their  being  cut  off.  What  we  re- 
joice in,  in  such  a  case,  is  not  their 
ruin,  but  our  own  deliverance;  and 
for  this  it  can  never  be  improper  to 
give  thanks.  The  psalmist  says  that 
he  would  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  It 
would  not   be   in  his  own   skill   or 


in  the  Lord  :  it  shall  rejoice  in 
his  salvation. 

10  All  my  bones  shall  say, 
Lord,  who  is  like  unto  thee,  which 
deliverest  '  the  poor  from  him 
that  is  too  strong  for  him,  yea, 
the  poor  and  the  needy  from  him 
that  spoileth  him  ? 


valour,  but  in  what  God  had  done  to 
save  him.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxiv.  2. 
%  It  shall  rejoice  in  his  salvation. 
For  the  salvation  or  deliverance  that 
he  brings  to  me. 

10.  All  my  bones  shall  say.  A 
similar  expression  occurs  in  Ps.  li.  8  : 
"  That  the  bones  which  thou  hast 
broken  may  rejoice."  The  bones  are 
here  put  for  the  frame;  the  whole  man. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxii.  3.  The  idea 
is,  that  he  had  been  crushed  and  over- 
borne with  trouble  and  danger,  so 
that  his  very  frame — that  which  sus- 
tained him — had  given  way.  He  says 
now  that  if  God  would  interpose  in 
the  manner  which  he  prays  for,  he 
would  be  relieved  of  the  insupportable 
burden,  and  his  whole  nature  would 
rejoice.  If  Who  is  like  unto  thee. 
Who  can  bring  deliverance  like  God. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xl.  18.  %  Which 
deliverest  the  poor,  etc.  Who  rescues 
the  poor  frooi  the  hand  of  the  mighty. 
That  is,  (a)  who  is  there  that  would 
interpose  as  God  does  in  behalf  of  the 
poor  and  the  down- trodden  ?  (b)  who 
is  there  that  could  save  them  as  he 
does  ?  In  his  power,  and  in  his 
willingness  to  aid,  there  is  no  one  like 
God.  The  word  rendered  poor  here 
rather  means  one  who  is  afflicted,  or 
crushed  by  trial,  %  Yea,  the  poor 
and  the  needy.  The  word  here  ren- 
dered poor  is  the  same  as  that  which 
occurs  in  the  former  member  of  the 
sentence.  The  word  rendered  needy 
is  that  which  is  commonly  used  to 
denote  the  poor  in  the  usual  sense  of 
the  term — one  who  is  in  want.  The 
reference  is  to  David,  who  was  afflicted 
by  persecution,  and  at  the  same  time 
was  in  want  of  the  comforts  of  life. 
*[  From  him  that  spoileth  him.  From 
him  that  would  plunder  and  rob  him. 


802 


PSALM  XXXV. 


11  l  False  witnesses  m  did  rise 
up  :  they  2  ]aid  to  my  charge 
things  that  I  knew  not. 

1.5  They  rewarded  me  evil  for 
good,  to  the  3  spoiling  of  my 
soul. 

1  witnesses  of  wrong. 


11.  False  tcitnesses  did  rise  up. 
Marg.,  witnesses  of  ivrong.  The  He- 
brew is,  "  witnesses  of  violence," 
V°Gn,  liamas.  That  is,  they  were 
persons  who,  in  what  they  said  of  me, 
were  guilty  of  injustice  and  wrong. 
Their  conduct  was  injurious  to  me  as 
an  act  of  violence  would  be.  ^[  They 
laid  to  my  charge.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
they  ashed  me.  The  word  asked  here 
seems  to  be  used  in  the  sense  of 
demand;  that  is,  they  demanded  an 
answer  to  what  was  said.  The  usage 
appears  to  have  been  derived  from 
courts,  where  the  forms  of  trial  may 
have  been  in  the  way  of  question  and 
answer, — the  mode  of  accusation 
having  been  in  the  form  of  asking  how 
a  thing  was,  or  whether  it  was  so; 
and  the  defence  being  regarded  as  an 
answer  to  such  an  inquiry.  Hence  it 
is  synonymous  with  our  expression  of 
laying  to  the  charge  of  any  one  ;  or  of 
accusing  any  one.  %  Things  that  I 
knew  not.  Of  which  I  had  no  know- 
ledge; which  never  came  into  my 
mind.  What  those  charges  were  the 
psalmist  does  not  specify ;  but  it  is 
not  uncommon  for  a  good  man  to  be 
falsely  accused,  and  we  are  certain 
that  such  things  occurred  in  the  life 
of  David. 

12.  They  rewarded  me  evil  for  good. 
They  recompensed,  or  returned  evil 
instead  of  good.  The  manner  in 
which  they  did  it  he  states  in  the 
following  verses.  %  To  the  spoiling 
of  my  soul.  Marg.,  depriving.  The 
Hebrew  word  means  the  being  for- 
saken, or  abandoned.  The  idea  is, 
that  owing  to  this  conduct  he  was 
forsaken  or  abandoned  by  all  in  whom 
he  might  have  put  confidence. 

13.  But  as  for  me.  The  psalmist 
now  contrasts  their  conduct  with  his 
own.     He  refers  to  the  recollections 


13  But  as  for  me,  when  they 
were  sick,  my  clothing  was  sack- 
cloth :  I  4  humbled  my  soul  with 
fasting  ;  and  my  prayer  returned 
into  mine  own  bosom. 

m  Ps.  xxvii.  12  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  59—61. 

3  asked  me.      3  depriving.    *  Or,  afflicted. 


of  his  past  life,  and  to  the  acts  of 
kindness  which  he  had  shown  to  them 
in  times  of  trouble,  as  more  deeply 
marking  the  evils  of  their  own  con- 
duct now.  ^f  When  they  ivere  sick. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Job  xxx.  25.  It 
would  seem  from  this  that  the  per- 
sons referred  to,  who  now  treated 
him  with  so  much  ingratitude,  were 
those  with  whom  he  had  been  for- 
merly intimately  associated,  or  whom 
he  had  regarded  as  his  personal  friends, 
since  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  this 
deep  sympathy  would  have  been 
shown  for  those  who  were  altogether 
strangers  to  him.  ^[  My  clothing  was 
sackcloth.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xxx.  11. 
The  meaning  is,  that  he  showed  the 
deepest  sympathy  in  their  distress  by 
putting  on  the  emblems  of  humilia- 
tion or  mourning.  It  was  also  with 
reference  to  prayer  in  their  behalf, 
and  to  fasting,  that  he  put  on  these 
marks  of  grief.  The  idea  is,  that  he 
did  all  that  was  understood  to  be 
connected  with  the  deepest  humilia- 
tion before  God,  and  that  would  fit 
the  mind  for  earnest  prayer  in  their 
behalf.  He  felt  that  their  restoration 
to  health — that  the  preservation  of 
their  lives — depended  on  God,  and  he 
most  earnestly  and  fervently  pleaded 
in  their  behalf.  %  I  humbled  my  soul 
with  fasting.  Marg.,  afpZicted ;  so  the 
Hebrew  properly  means.  The  wrord 
soul  here  is  equivalent  to  self;  I 
afflicted  myself.  He  subjected  him- 
self to  the  pains  of  hunger,  that  he 
might  be  better  prepared  to  offer 
fervent  and  acceptable  prayer.  Among 
the  Hebrews  fasting  and  prayer  were 
much  more  closely  connected  than 
they  are  with  Christians.  See  Dan. 
ix.  3;  Matt.  xvii.  21;  Luke  ii.  37. 
%  And  my  prayer  returned  into  mine 
otvn  bosom.    De  Wette  explains  this 


PSALM  XXXV. 


303 


f4  I   i    behaved    myself  2  as 

though  he  had  been  my  friend  or 

2  walked. 

2  as  a  friend,  as  a  brother  to  me. 


as  meaning,  "  I  prayed  with  my  head 
suiik  on  my  bosom  ; "  that  is,  with  the 
head  bowed  down,  so  that  the  prayer 
which  went  out  of  his  lips  seemed  to 
return  again  to  his  own  bosom — that 
earnest  prayer  which  one  offers  when 
the  head  is  bowed  with  sorrow.  A 
posture  somewhat  similar  to  this  is 
referred  to  in  the  case  of  Elijah,  1 
Kings  xviii.  42 :  "  And  he  cast  him- 
self down  upon  the  earth,  and  put 
his  face  between  his  knees."  The 
posture  of  prayer  with  the  head  re- 
clining towards  the  bosom  is  common 
among  the  Mohammedans,  Reland  de 
Religione  Mohammetica,  p.  87.  Jarchi 
explains  this  as  meaning  that  he 
sought  the  same  for  those  who  were 
now  his  enemies  which  he  would 
for  himself,  or  that  he  desired  that 
that  should  come  into  his  own  bosom 
which  he  sought  for  them.  Prof. 
Alexander  supposes  that  this  means, 
according  to  a  traditional  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Jews,  that  he  desired  that 
the  prayer  which  he  offered  might 
redound  to  his  own  advantage :  "  My 
prayer  shall  not  be  lost,  it  shall  return 
in  blessings  to  the  heart  which 
prompted  it."  There  can  be  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  this  is  true  in 
fact;  and  that  prayer  offered  for  others 
does  bring  back  blessings  to  those 
who  offer  it.  But  to  suppose  that 
this  was  the  motive  in  the  case  is  to 
suppose  that  the  psalmist  was  wholly 
selfish,  and  would  take  away  the  very 
point  of  his  observation  about  his 
prayer — that  it  was  dictated  by  the 
sincerest  love  for  them  and  true  sym- 
pathy for  their  sufferings.  The  most 
simple  interpretation,  therefore,  is 
that  which  supposes  that  the  prayer 
was  offered  under  such  a  burden  of 
grief  on  account  of  their  sufferings, 
that  his  head  sank  on  his  bosom  ;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  the  prayer  which 
was  offered  was  such  as  is  presented 
when  the  heart  is  most  burdened  and 
most  sad. 


brother :  I  bowed  down  heavily, 
as  one  that  mourneth  for  his 
mother. 


14.  I  behaved  myself.  Marg.,  as 
in  Heb.,  I  ivallced.  The  word  tvalk, 
in  the  Scriptures,  is  often  used  to 
denote  a  course  of  conduct ;  the  way 
in  which  a  man  lives  and  acts :  Phil. 
iii.  18;  Gal.  ii.  14;  1  Thes.  iv.  12; 
2  Thess.  iii.  11.  It  is  not  improperly 
rendered  here,  I  behaved  myself.  \ 
As  though  he  had  been  my  friend  or 
brother.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  as  a 
friend,  as  a  brother  to  me.  This  shows 
that  these  persons  were  not  his  near 
relations,  but  that  they  were  his  inti- 
mate friends,  or  were  supposed  to  be 
so.  He  felt  and  acted  towards  them 
as  though  they  had  been  his  nearest 
relations.  ^[  /  boived  down  heavily. 
Prof.  Alexander  renders  this,  ''Squalid 
I  bowed  down."  The  word  ren- 
dered "  I  bowed  down  "  refers  to  the 
condition  of  one  who  is  oppressed 
with  grief,  or  who  sinks  under  it. 
All  have  felt  this  effect  of  grief,  when 
the  head  is  bowed;  when  the  frame 
is  bent;  when  one  under  the  pres- 
sure throws  himself  on  a  couch  or 
on  the  ground.  The  word  rendered 
heavily  —  *l"Tp>  kodair  —  is  derived 
from  a  word  —  Tip,  Jcadar  —  which 
means  to  be  turbid  or  foul,  as  a 
torrent :  Job  vi.  16 ;  and  then,  to 
mourn,  or  to  go  about  in  filthy  gar- 
ments or  sackcloth  as  mourners  -.  Job 
v.  11 ;  Jer.  xiv.  2 ;  Ps.  xxxviii.  6 ; 
xlii.  9;  and  then,  to  be  of  a  dirty,  dusky 
colour,  as  the  skin  is  that  is  scorched 
by  the  sun  :  Job  xxx.  28.  It  is  ren- 
dered blade  in  Jer.  iv.  28;  viii.  21 ;  1 
Kings  xviii.  45;  Jer.  xiv.  2 ;  blackish, 
Job  vi.  16 ;  dark,  Joel  ii.  10  ;  Micah 
iii.  6 ;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7,  8 ;  darkened, 
Joel  iii.  15  ;  mourn  and  mourning , 
Job  v.  11 ;  xxx.  28 ;  Ps.  xxxviii.  6 ; 
xlii.  9 ;  xliii.  2  ;  Ezek.  xxxi.  15  ;  and 
heavily  only  in  this  place.  The  idea 
here  is  that  of  one  appearing  in  the 
usual  aspect  and  habiliments  of  mourn- 
ing. He  had  a  sad  countenance ;  he 
had  put  on  the  garments  that  were 
indicative   of    grief;    and    thus    he 


304 


PSALM  XXXV. 


15  But  in  mine  1  adversity  they 

rejoiced,  and  gathered  themselves 

yea,  the  abjects  "  ga- 

1  halting. 


together 


thered  themselves  together 
against  me,  and  I  knew  it  not; 
they  did  tear  me,  and  ceased  not. 

u  Job  xxx.  1,  8,  etc. 


walked  about.  %  As  one  that  mourn- 
eth  for  his  mother.  The  psalmist  here 
evidently  designs  to  illustrate  the 
depth  of  his  own  sorrow  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  deepest  kind  of  grief 
which  we  ever  experience.  The  sor- 
row for  a  mother  is  peculiar,  and  there 
is  no  grief  which  a  man  feels  more 
deeply  or  keenly  than  this.  We  have 
but  one  mother  to'  lose,  and  thou- 
sands of  most  tender  recollections 
come  into  the  memory  when  she  dies. 
While  she  lived  we  had  always  one 
friend  to  whom  we  could  tell  every- 
thing, — to  whom  we  could  communi- 
cate all  our  joys,  and  of  whose  sym- 
pathy we  were  certain  in  all  our  sor- 
rows, however  trivial  in  their  own 
nature  they  might  be.  Whoever  might 
be  indifferent  to  us,  whoever  might 
turn  away  from  us  in  our  troubles, 
whoever  misdit  feel  that  our  affairs 
were  not  worth  regarding,  we  were 
sure  that  she  would  not  be  the  one ; 
we  were  always  certain  that  she  would 
feel  an  interest  in  whatever  concerned 
us.  Even  those  things  which  we  felt 
could  be  scarcely  worth  a  father's 
attention  we  could  freely  communi- 
cate to  her,  for  we  were  sure  there 
was  nothing  that  pertained  to  us  that 
was  too  insignificant  for  her  to  regard, 
and  we  went  and  freely  told  all  to 
her.  And  then,  how  much  has  a 
mother  done  for  us !  All  the  ideas 
that  we  have  of  tenderness,  affection, 
self-denial,  patience,  and  gentleness, 
are  closely  connected  with  the  recol- 
lection  of  a  mother,  for  we  have,  in 
our  early  years,  seen  more  of  these 
things  in  her  than  in  perhaps  all 
other  persons  together.  Though, 
therefore,  we  weep  when  a  father 
dies,  and  though,  in  the  formation  of 
our  character,  we  may  have  been  more 
indebted  to  him  than  to  her,  yet  our 
grief  for  him  when  he  dies  is  diffe- 
rent from  that  which  we  feel  when  a 
mother  dies.  We,  indeed,  reverence 
and  honour  and  love  him,  but  we  are 


conscious  of  quite  a  different  feeling 
from  that  which  we  have  when  a 
mother  is  removed  by  death. 

15.  But  in  mine  adversity  they  re- 
joiced. Marg.,  as  in  Hebrew,  halting. 
That  is,  when  reverses  and  troubles 
came  upon  me  ;  when,  in  my  journey 
of  life,  I  seemed  to  stumble.  %  And 
gathered  themselves  together.  Not  to 
help  me,  but  to  oppose  me,  and  to 
deride  me.  ^[  Yea,  the  abjects  ga- 
thered themselves  together  against  me. 
The  word  rendered  abjects  —  D^DIJ, 
naichim  —  has  been  very  variously 
rendered.  The  LXX.  render  it 
ixdariysg,  scourges ;  so  the  Vulgate, 
jiagella.  Our  translators  evidently 
regarded  it  as  meaning  the  low,  the 
vile,  the  outcasts  of  society ;  but  this 
idea  is  not  necessarily  implied  in  the 
Hebrew  word.  The  word  used  here 
is  derived  from  a  verb — 703,  nachah — 
which  means  to  smite,  to  strike,  to 
beat ;  and  it  would  be  correctly  ren- 
dered in  this  place,  those  smiting,  or 
beating  : — the  smiters.  But  probahly 
the  allusion  is  to  the  tongue — to  those 
who,  as  it  were,  smite  or  beat  with 
the  tongue;  that  is,  who  rail  or  revile: 
those  who  are  slanderous.  Compare 
Jer.  xviii.  18;  Gesenius  {Lex.).  Others 
have  supposed  that  it  means  lame; 
that  is,  those  who  limp  or  halt — 
meaning  that  all  classes  of  persons 
gathered  themselves  together.  But 
probably  the  true  idea  is  that  which 
is  expressed  above,  that  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  slanderers  and  revilers. 
%  Arid  I  kneiv  it  not.  Hebrew,  "  I 
knew  not ;"  that  is,  I  knew  nothing 
of  what  they  accused  me  of;  I  was 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  charges  brought 
against  me.  See  Notes  on  ver.  11. 
%  They  did  tear  me.  See  Notes  on 
Job  xvi.  9.  The  idea  here  is  that  they 
tore  or  rent  with  words ;  or,  as  we  say  in 
English,  they  "  tore  him  in  pieces  ;" 
that  is,  they  railed  at,  or  reviled  him, 
tearing  his  character  in  pieces,  ^f  And 
ceased  not.     It  was  not  one  act  only; 


PSALM  XXXV. 


305 


16  With  hypocritical  mockers 
in  feasts,  they  gnashed  °  upon  ine 
with  their  teeth. 

0  Lam.  ii.  16 ;  A.cts  vii.  54. 

1  only  one. 


it  was  continuous  and  unceasing. 
They  did  it  when  alone;  and  they 
gathered  themselves  together  to  do  it ; 
they  countenanced  and  encouraged 
one  another. 

16.  With  hypocritical  moclcers  in 
feasts.  The  word  rendered  hypo- 
critical here — vpn.  hhanaiph —  pro- 
perly means  men  profane,  impious, 
abandoned.  It  refers  to  such  persons 
as  are  commonly  found  in  scenes  of 
revelry.  The  words  rendered  "mockers 
at  feasts,"  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
render  literally.  The  word  translated, 
"  mockers,"  —  j$b>  Laaig  —  means 
properly  one  who  stammers,  or  who 
speaks  a  foreign  language;  then,  a 
jester,  mocker,  buffoon.  The  word 
rendered/easfo — y\y*ft,Maog — means 
a  cake  of  bread ;  and  the  whole 
phrase  would  denote  cake-jesters ; 
table-buffoons  —  those,  perhaps,  who 
act  the  part  of  jesters  at  the  tables  of 
the  rich  for  the  sake  of  good  eating. 
Gesenius. — The  meaning  is,  that  he 
was  exposed  to  the  ribaldry  or  jesting 
of  that  low  class  of  men ;  that  those 
with  whom  he  had  formerly  been  on 
friendly  terms,  and  whom  he  had  ad- 
mitted to  his  own  table,  and  for  whom 
he  had  wept  in  their  troubles,  now 
drew  around  themselves  that  low  and 
vulgar  class  of  parasites  and  buffoons 
for  the  purpose  of  ridiculing  or  derid- 
ing him.  ^[  They  gnashed  upon  me 
with  their  teeth.  The  act  of  gnashing 
with  the  teeth  is  expressive  of  anger 
or  wrath.  See  Notes  on  Job  xvi.  9 ; 
comn.  Matt.  viii.  12;  xiii.  42,  50; 
xxii.  13;  xxiv.  51 ;  xxv.  30;  Luke 
xiii.  28.  The  meaning  here  is  that 
they  connected  the  expressions  of 
anger  or  wrath  with  those  of  deri- 
sion and  scoi-n.  The  one  is  commonly 
not  far  from  the  other. 

17.  Lord,  how  long  ivilt  thou  look 
on  ?  How  long  wilt  thou  witness  this 
without  interposing  to   deliver   me, 


17  Lord,  how  long  wilt  thou 
look  on  ?  rescue  my  soul  from 
their  destructions,  my" l  darling 
from  the  p  lions. 

p  Ps.  xxii.  20. 


and  to  punish  those  who  treat  me 
thus  ?  God  saw  it  all.  He  was  able 
to  save  him  that  was  thus  persecuted 
and  opposed.  And  yet  he  did  not  in- 
terpose. He  seemed  to  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  it.  He.  appeared  to  be  indif- 
ferent to  it.  The  psalmist,  therefore, 
asks  how  long  this  was  to  continue. 
He  did  not  doubt  that  God  would,  at 
some  time,  interpose  and  save  him; 
but  what  was  so  mysterious  to  him 
was  the  fact  that  he  looked  so  calmly 
on, — that  he  saw  it  all,  and  that  he 
did  not  interpose  when  he  could  so 
easily  do  it.  The  same  question  we 
may  now  ask,  and  may  constantly 
ask,  in  regard  to  the  wickedness  in 
the  world, — and  no  one  can  answer  it. 
No  one  can  tell  why  God,  when  he 
sees  the  state  of  things  on  earth,  is  so 
calm  (comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xviii.  4), 
and  apparently  so  indifferent ;  why 
he  does  not  hasten  to  deliver  his  peo- 
ple, and  to  punish  the  wicked.  "  Even 
so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth  good  in 
thy  sight,"  is  all  the  answer  that  can  be 
given  to  this  inquiry.  Yet  it  should 
have  occurred  to  the  psalmist,  and  it 
should  be  observed  now,  that  the  fact 
that  God  seems  to  be  indifferent  to 
the  state  of  things,  does  not  prove 
that  he  is  indifferent.  There  is  an 
eternity  to  come,  in  which  there  will 
be  ample  time  to  adjust  human  affairs, 
and  to  develop  fully  the  Divine  cha- 
racter and  counsels.  ^[  Rescue  my 
soul  from  their  destructions.  My  life 
from  the  destruction  which  they  are 
aiming  to  accomplish,  %  My  darling. 
Marg.,  my  only  one.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  xxii.  20.  The  reference  here  is  to 
his  own  soul  or  life.  It  is  the  lan- 
guage of  tenderness  addressed  to  him- 
self. He  had  but  one  soul  or  life,  and 
that  was  dear  to  him,  as  an  only  child 
is  dear  to  its  parent,  %  From  the 
lions.  Enemies,  described  as  lions ; 
having  the  fierceness  and  savage  fury 
of  lions.     In  Ps.  xxii.  20  it  is,   "from 


306 


PSALM  XXXV. 


18  I  will  give  thee  thanks  in  the 
great  congregation  :  I  will  praise 
thee  among  1  much  people. 

19  Let  not  them  that  are  mine 
enemies  2  wrongfully  rejoice  over 
me ;  neither  let  them  wink  with 

1  strong.        2  falsely.        q  John  xv.  25. 


the  power  of  the  dog."  The  idea  is 
the  same  in  both  places.  Compare 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxii.  20. 

18.  I  tvill  give  thee  thanks,  etc. 
That  is,  When  1  am  delivered  I  will 
publicly  express  my  gratitude  and 
joy.  Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  25  ;  xviii.  49. 
%  I  will  praise  thee  among  much 
people.  Marg.,  strong.  So  the  He- 
brew. The  idea  here  is,  strong  in 
respect  to  numbers ;  that  is,  when  a 
large  body  of  people  should  be  as- 
sembled together. 

19.  Let  not  them  that  are  mine 
enemies  wrongfully  rejoice  over  me. 
Marg.,  falsely.  Literally,  "My  ene- 
mies of  falsehood ;"  that  is,  who  are 

falsely  my  foes;  who  have  no  just 
cause  for  being  opposed  to  me.  Comp. 
Matt.  v.  11.  David  was  conscious 
that  he  had  done  them  no  wrong,  or 
that  he  had  given  no  occasion  for 
their  conduct  towards  him,  and  hence 
his  prayer  is  simply  a  request  that 
justice  might  be  done.  %  Neither 
let  them  ivink  with  the  eye.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  xv.  12.  See  also  Prov. 
vi.  13 ;  x.  10.  The  word  rendered 
wink  means  properly  to  tear  or  cut 
asunder ;  and  then,  to  cut  with  the 
teeth,  to  bite:  and  hence  the  phrase 
to  bite  the  lips,  as  an  expression  of 
malice,  or  mischief-making :  Prov. 
xvi.  30  ;  and  to  bite  or  pinch  the  eyes, 
that  is,  to  press  the  eyelids  together 
in  the  manner  of  biting  the  lips, — 
also  a  gesture  of  malice  or  mischief. 
So  Gesenius,  Lex.  But  perhaps  the 
more  probable  meaning  is  that  of 
winking  literally  ;  or  giving  a  signifi- 
cant wink  of  the  eyes  as  an  expres- 
sion of  triumph  over  any  one.  In 
this  sense  the  term  is  often  used  now. 
%  That  hate  me  without  a  cause.  To 
whom  I  have  given  no  occasion  for  op- 
position.  In  the  cafe  under  considera- 


the  eye  that  2  hate  me  without  a 
cause. 

20  For  they  speak  not  peace ; 
but  they  devise  r  deceitful  mat- 
ters against  them  that  are  quiet 
in  the  land. 

21  Yea,     they    opened     their 

r  Matt.  xii.  24. 


tion  the  psalmist  regarded  himself  as 
entirely  innocent  in  this  respect. 

20.  For  they  speak  not  peace.  They 
seek  a  quarrel.  They  are  unwilling 
to  be  on  good  terms  with  others,  or 
to  live  in  peace  with  them.  The  idea 
is  that  they  were  disposed  or  inclined 
to  quarrel.  Thus  we  speak  now  of 
persons  who  are  quarrelsome.  ^[  They 
devise  deceitful  matters.  Literally, 
"they  think  of  words  of  deceit." 
That  is,  they  set  their  hearts  on  mis- 
representation, and  they  study  such 
misrepresentations  as  occasions  for 
strife  with  others.  They  falsely  re- 
present my  character;  they  attribute 
conduct  to  me  of  which  I  am  not 
guilty ;  they  pervert  my  words ;  they 
state  that  to  be  true  which  never  oc- 
curred, and  thus  they  attempt  to 
justify  their  own  conduct.  Almost 
all  the  quarrels  in  the  world,  whether 
pertaining  to  nations,  to  neighbour- 
hoods, to  families,  or  to  individuals, 
are  based  on  some  misrepresentation 
of  facts,  designed  or  undesigned,  and 
could  have  been  avoided  if  men  had 
been  willing  to  look  at  facts  as  they 
are,  or  perfectly  understood  each 
other.  %  Against  them  that  are 
quiet  in  the  land.  That  are  disposed 
to  be  quiet,  or  that  are  inclined  to 
live  in  peace  with  those  around  them. 
The  word  rendered  quiet  means  lite- 
rally those  who  are  timid ;  then,  those 
who  shrink  back,  and  gather  to- 
gether from  fear;  then,  those  in 
general  who  are  disposed  to  be  peace- 
ful and  quiet,  or  who  are  indisposed 
to  contention  and  strife.  David  im- 
plicitly asserts  himself  to  be  one  of 
that  class ; — a  man  who  preferred 
peace  to  war,  and  who  had  no  dis- 
position to  keep  up  a  strife  with  his 
neighbours. 

21.  Yea,  they  opened  their  mouth 


PSALM  XXXV. 


307 


mouth  wide  against  me,  and  said, 
Alia,  s  aba !  our  eye  liath  seen  it. 

22  Th  is  thou  hast  seen,  O  Lord  ; 
keep  not  '  silence:  O  Lord,  be 
not  far  from  me. 

23  Stir  "  up  thyself,  and  awake 
to  my  judgment,  even  unto  my 
cause,  my  God  and  my  Lord. 

s  Ps.  xl.  15.        t  Ps.  1.  21 ;  Isa.  lxv.  6. 
u  Ps.  lxxx.  2. 

wide  against  me.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxii.  13.  %  And  said,  Aha,  aha ! 
See  Ps.  xl.  15  ;  lxx.  3.  The  language 
is  that  which  we  use  when  we  detect 
another  in  doing  wrong, — in  doing 
what  he  meant  to  conceal.  %  Our 
eye  hath  seen  it.  We  are  not  de- 
pendent on  the  reports  of  others. 
We  have  seen  it  with  our  own  eyes. 
We  have  found  you  out.  We  cannot 
be  mistaken  in  regard  to  it.  The  re- 
ference is  to  some  supposed  detection 
of  misconduct  on  the  part  of  David, 
and  the  joy  and  triumph  of  such  a 
supposed  detection. 

22.  This  thou  hast  seen,  O  Loed. 
Thou  hast  seen  what  they  have  done, 
as  they  profess  to  have  seen  what  I 
have  done  (ver.  21).  Thine  eye  has 
been  upon  all  their  movements,  as 
they  say  that  theirs  has  been  upon 
mine.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver.  17. 
Tf  Keep  not  silence.  That  is,  Speak  ; 
rebuke  them ;  punish  them.  God 
seemed  to  look  on  with  unconcern. 
As  we  express  it,  he  said  nothing.  He 
appeared  to  pay  no  attention  to  what 
was  done,  but  suffered  them  to  do  as 
they  pleased  without  interposing  to 
rebuke  or  check  them.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Psalm  xxviii.  1.  %  O  Lord,  be 
not  far  from  me.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Ps.  x.  1. 

23.  Stir  up  thyself  Arouse  thy- 
self as  if  from  sleep.  See  Ps.  xliv. 
23.  ^[  And  awake  to  my  judgment. 
To  execute  judgment  for  me,  or  to 
render  me  justice.  A  similar  peti- 
tion (almost  in  the  same  words)  oc- 
curs in  Ps.  vii.  6.  See  Notes  on  that 
passage.  If  Even  unto  my  cause.  In 
my  behalf;  or,  in  the  cause  which  so 
nearly  pertains  to  me. 


24  Judge  v  me,  O  Lord  my 
God,  according  to  thy  righteous- 
ness ;  w  and  let  them  not  rejoice 
over  me. 

25  Let  them  not  say  in  their 
hearts,  l  Ah,  so  would  we  have  it ; 
let  them  not  say,  We  have  swal- 
lowed him  up. 

v  1  Pet.  ii.  23.  w  2  Thess.  i.  6. 

1  ah,  all,  our  soul ! 


24.  Judge  me,  O  Loed  my  God. 
Pronounce  judgment,  or  judge  be- 
tween me  and  my  enemies.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxvi.  1.  1f  According 
to  thy  righteousness.  That  is,  rightly. 
Let  there  be  a  righteous  judgment. 
The  character  of  God,  or  the  right- 
eousness of  God,  is  the  highest 
standard  of  equity  and  justice,  and 
the  psalmist  asks  that  he  would  mani- 
fest his  real  character  as  judge  in  in- 
terposing in  behalf  of  an  injured  and 
oppressed  man,  and  doing  justice  to 
him.  When  we  are  right  in  our  own 
cause  we  may  ask  a  just  God  to  inter- 
pose and  determine  between  us  and 
our  enemies  according  to  his  own 
nature.  As  between  ourselves  and 
our  fellow-men  we  may  bring  our 
cause  with  this  plea  before  a  righteous 
God;  as  between  ourselves  and  God, 
we  can  make  no  appeal  to  his  justice, 
but  our  only  hope  is  in  his  mercy. 
%  And  let  them  not  rejoice  over  me. 
Let  them  not  carry  out  their  pur- 
poses ;  let  them  not  be  successful,  so 
that  they  can  appeal  to  the  result  as 
if  they  were  right,  and  thus  obtain  a 
triumph  over  me.     Comp.  ver.  19. 

25.  Let  them  not  say  in  their  hearts. 
Let  them  not  congratulate  themselves 
on  the  result ;  let  them  not  feel  that 
they  have  triumphed;  let  them  not, 
under  thy  government,  come  off  vic- 
torious in  doing  wrong,  ^f  Ah,  so 
would  we  have  it.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
Ah,  our  soul.  That  is,  It  is  just  as 
we  thought  it  was ;  just  as  we  desired 
it  should  be;  that  is  exactly  our  mind 
in  the  case.  God  has  permitted  us  to 
triumph,  and  he  has  showed  that  we 
are  right  in  the  matter.  He  has 
decided  the  thing  in  our  favour,  and 


303 


PSALM  xxxvr. 


26  Let  them  be  ashamed  and 
brought  to  confusion  together 
that  rejoice  at  mine  hurt :  let 
them  be  clothed  x  with  shame  and 
dishonour  that  magnify  them- 
selves against  me. 

27  Let  them  shout  for  joy,  and 

x  Ps.  cxxxii.  18.  x  righteousness, 

y  Ps.  Ixx.  4.  z  Ps.  xxxiv.  1. 


it  is  just  as  it  should  be.  If  Let  them 
not  sag,  We  have  sivalloived  him  tip. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxi.  9.  The  mean- 
ing is,  We  have  entirely  destroyed 
him, — as  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram 
were  destroyed  by  being  swallowed  up 
in  the  earth,  Num.xvi.  31-35.  Comp. 
Lam.  ii.  16. 

26.  Let  them  he  ashameds  etc.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  4.  ^f  That  magnify 
themselves  against  me.  Who  seek  to 
exalt  themselves  over  me;  to  make 
themselves  great  by  humbling  and 
destroying  me.  They  hope  to  rise  on 
my  ruin. 

27.  Let  them  shout  for  jog.  That 
is,  Let  me  be  delivered;  let  my  friends 
see  that  God  is  on  my  side,  and  that 
they  have  occasion  to  rejoice  in  his 
merciful  interposition  in  my  behalf. 
%  That  favour  mg  righteous  cause. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  mg  righteousness. 
The  reference  is  to  those  who  con- 
sidered his  cause  a  just  one,  and  who 
were  his  friends,  ^f  Yea,  let  them 
sag  continually.  Let  this  be  a  con- 
stant subject  of  grateful  reflection, — 
a  perpetual  source  of  joy  to  them, — 
that  God  has  interposed  in  my  behalf, 
and  has  shown  that  my  cause  was  a 
just  one.  ^f  Let  the  Lord  be  magni- 
fied.    Be  regarded  as  great,  exalted, 

glorious.  Let  the  effect  be  to  elevate 
their  conceptions  of  the  character  of 
God  by  the  fact  that  he  has  thus  in- 
terposed in  a  righteous  cause,  and  has 
shown  that  he  is  the  friend  of  the 
wronged  and  the  oppressed.  ^|  Wltich 
hath  pleasure  in  the  prosperity  of  his 
servant.  Who  delights  to  make  his 
friends  prosperous  and  happy.  Let 
them  see  that  this  is  the  character  of 
God,  and  let  them  thus  be  led  to 
rejoice  in  him  evermore. 

28.  And  my  tongue  slwll  speak  of 


be  glad,  that  favour  my  l  right- 
eous cause ;  yea,  let  them  v  say 
continually,  Let  the  Lord  be 
magnified,  which  hath  pleasure 
in  the  prosperity  of  his  servant. 
28  And :  my  tongue  shall  speak 
of  thy  righteousness  and  of  thy 
praise  all  the  day  long. 

thg  righteousness.  That  is,  I  will 
praise  thee  as  a  righteous  God.  \  And 
of  thg  praise.  Of  that  which  is  a 
ground  or  reason  for  praise.  I  will 
speak  continually  of  that  in  God  and 
in  his  doings  which  make  it  proper 
that  he  should  be  praised.  %  All  the 
dag  long.  Continually ;  constantly. 
Every  new  proof  of  the  kindness  of 
God  to  him  would  lead  to  new  acts  of 
praise ;  and  his  life,  as  ours  should  be, 
would  be  a  continual  expression  of 
thanksgiving. 

PSALM  XXXVI. 

The  title  to  this  psalm  is,  "To  the 
chief  Musician,  A  Psalm  of  David  the 
servant  of  the  Lord."  On  the  meaning 
of  the  phrase  "To  the  chief  Musician." 
see  Notes  on  the  title  to  Ps.  iv.  The 
words  "A  Psalm"  are  supplied  by  the 
translators.  The  original  is  simply  "of,' ' 
or  "by  David,"  as  in  Ps.  xi.,  xiv.,  xxv., 
xxvi.,  and  others,  without  indicating 
whether  it  is  a  psalm  or  a  prayer.  In 
many  instances  the  character  of  the 
psalm  is  indicated  by  the  title,  as  in  Ps. 
hi.,  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  and  othei's,  ".4  Psalm 
of  David;"  in  Ps.  vii.,  "  Shiggaion  of 
David;"  Ps.  xvi.,  "Miektam  of  David;" 
Ps.  xAii.,  "A  Prayer  of  David,"  etc. 
etc.  The  meaning  of  the  title  here  is 
simply  that  this  was  composed  by  David, 
without  indicating  anything  in  regard  to 
the  contents  or  character  of  the  psalm. 
The  addition  in  the  title,  "  The  servant 
of  the  Lord,"  occurs  also  in  the  title  to 
Ps.  xviii.  See  Notes  on  that  title.  This 
seems  to  have  been  added  here,  as  in  Ps. 
xviii.,  for  some  reason  which  rendered 
it  proper  to  remark  that  the  psalm  was 
composed  by  one  who  was  a  "  servant" 
or  a  friend  of  Jehovah,  and  who  was 
setting  forth  something  that  was  pecu- 
liarly connected  with  that  service,  or 
was  suggested  by  it ;  —  as  expressing 
either  the  feelings  of  one  who  served 
God ;  or  as  showing  the  result  of  serving 


PSALM  XXXVI. 


309 


T 


PSALM  XXXYI. 

To  the  drier  Musician.     A  Psalm  of  David 
the  servant  of  the  Lord. 

[E  transgression  of  the  wicked 


God.  In  Ps.  xviii.  the  latter  seems  to 
have  been  the  prominent  idea ;  in  the 
psalm  before  us  the  former  seems  to  be 
the  main  thought ;  and  the  psalm  is 
properly  an  expression  of  the  feelings  of 
one  who  is  truly  engaged  in  the  service 
of  God.  As  such,  its  instructions  are 
valuable  at  all  times,  and  in  all  ages. 

The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm  was 
composed  is  not  known.  There  is  no- 
thing in  the  title  to  indicate  this,  or  in 
the  psalm  itself,  and  conjecture  is  vain. 
Amyraldus  supposed  that  it  had  refer- 
ence to  the  time  of  Saul,  and  especially 
to  the  time  when  he  seemed  to  be 
friendly  to  David,  but  when  he  secretly 
harboured  malice  in  his  heart,  and 
sought  to  destroy  him,  and  to  the  fact 
that  David  saw  his  real  designs  through 
all  the  professions  of  his  friendship  and 
confidence.  See  Kosenmuller's  Introd. 
to  the  Psalms.  It  is  certainly  possible 
that  this  may  have  been  the  occasion  on 
which  the  psalm  was  composed ;  but 
there  are  no  circumstances  in  the  psalm 
which  make  this  absolutely  certain,  and 
there  were  many  occasions  in  the  life  of 
David  when  the  description  in  one  part  of 
the  psalm  (vers,  l^i)  would  have  been 
applicable  to  the  character  and  designs  of 
his  enemies,  as  the  description  in  the  re- 
mainder of  the  psalm  would  have  been 
applicable  to  his  own. 

The  psalm  consists  of  three  parts  : — 

I.  A  description  of  the  character  of 
the  wicked,  referring  doubtless  to  some 
persons  who  were,  or  who  had  been, 
plotting  the  ruin  of  the  author  of  the 
psalm ; — a  general  description  of  human 
depravity,  drawn  from  the  character  of 
those  whom  the  psalmist  had  particularly 
in  his  eye,  vers.  1-4. 

II.  A  description  of  the  mercy  of 
God,  and  an  expression  of  strong  con- 
fidence in  that  mercy ; — particularly,  a 
description  of  the  character  of  a  merci- 
ful God  as  a  refuge  in  times  when  de- 
pravity prevails,  and  in  times  of  dark- 
ness ;  an  expression  of  strong  confidence 
that  light  will  ultimately  come  forth 
from  him,  and  that  they  will  find  secu- 
rity who  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow 
of  his  wings,  vers.  5-9. 

III.  A  prayer  of  the  psalmist  that  he 
might  experience  the  mercy  of  God  in 
this  case,  and  an  expression  of  firm  con- 


saith  within  my  heart,  tliat  there 
is  no  fear  of  God  before  his 
eyes. 


viction  that  God  would  interpose  in  his 
behalf,  vers.  10-12.  He  is  so  confident 
of  this — so  certain  .that  it  would  occur — 
that  he  speaks  of  it  as  if  it  were  already 
done. 

1.  The  transgression  of  the  tvicJced. 
There  is  considerable  difficulty  in 
respect  to  the  grammatical  construc- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  in  this  verse, 
though  the  general  sense  is  plain. 
The  main  idea  undoubtedly  is,  that  the 
fair  explanation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
wicked,  or  the  fair  inference  to  be 
derived  from  that  conduct  was,  that 
they  had  no  fear  of  God  before  them ; 
that  they  did  in  no  proper  way  regard 
or  fear  God.  The  psalmist  introduces 
himself  as  looking  at  the  conduct  or 
the  acts  of  the  wicked,  and  he  says 
that  their  conduct  can  be  explained, 
in  his  judgment,  or  "in  his  heart," 
in  no  other  way  than  on  this  supposi- 
tion. The  word  "transgression"  here 
refers  to  some  open  and  public  act. 
What  the  particular  act  was  the 
psalmist  does  not  state,  though  pro- 
bably it  had  reference  to  something 
which  had  been  done  to  himself.  What 
is  here  said,  however,  with  particular 
reference  to  his  enemies,  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  general  truth  in  regard  to 
the  wicked,  to  wit,  that  their  conduct 
is  such  that  the  fair  interpretation  of 
what  they  do  is,  that  there  is  no  "  fear 
of  God  before  their  eyes,"  or  that 
they  have  no  regard  for  his  will. 
%  Saith.  This  word — DM,  neum — is 
a  participle  from  a  verb,  CK3  naam, 
meaning  to  mutter ;  to  murmur ;  to 
speak  in  a  low  voice ;  and  is  employed 
especially  with  reference  to  the  Divine 
voice  in  which  the  oracles  of  God  were 
revealed  to  the  prophets.  Comp. 
1  Kings  xix.  12.  It  is  found  most 
commonly  in  connexion  with  the  word 
Lord  or  Jehovah,  expressed  by  the 
phrase  "  Saith  the  Lord,"  as  if  the 
oracle  were  the  voice  of  Jehovah. 
Gen.  xxii.  16 ;  Num.  xiv.  28 ;  Isa.  i. 


310 


PSALM  XXXYI. 


2  For  lie  flatteretli  Himself  in 

1  lofind  his  iniquity  to  hate. 


24;  iii.  15,  et  scepe.  It  is  correctly 
rendered  here  saith  ;  or,  the  saying  of 
the  transgression  of  the  wicked  is, 
etc.  That  is,  this  is  what  their  con- 
duct says  ;  or,  this  is  the  fair  inter- 
pretation of  their  conduct.  II  Within 
my  heart.  Heh.,  in  the  midst  of  my 
heart.  Evidently  this  means  in  my 
judgment ;  in  my  apprehension ;  or, 
as  we  should  say,  "  So  it  seems  or 
appears  to  me."  My  heart,  or  my 
judgment,  puts  this  construction  on 
their  conduct,  and  can  put  no  other 
on  it.  %  That  there  is  no  fear  of 
God.  No  reverence  for  God;  no  re- 
gard for  his  will.  The  sinner  acts 
without  any  restraint  derived  from 
the  law  or  the  will  of  God.  %  Before 
his  eyes.  He  does  not  see  or  appre- 
hend God ;  he  acts  as  if  there  were  no 
God.  This  is  the  fair  interpretation 
to  he  put  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
wicked  everywhere  —  that  they  have 
no  regard  for  God  or  his  law. 

2.  For  he  Jlattereth  himself  in  his 
own  eyes.  He  puts  such  an  exalted 
estimate  on  himself;  he  so  overrates 
himself  and  his  own  ability  in  judging 
of  what  is  right  and  proper,  that  he 
is  allowed  to  pursue  a  course  which 
ultimately  makes  his  conduct  odious 
to  all  men  :  the  result  is  so  apparent, 
and  so  abominable,  that  no  one  can 
doubt  what  he  himself  is.  The  foun- 
dation or  the  basis  of  all  this  is  an 
overweening  confidence  in  himself — in 
his  own  importance ;  in  his  own  judg- 
ment ;  in  his  own  ability  to  direct  his 
course  regardless  of  God.  The  result  is 
such  a  development  of  character,  that 
it  cannot  hut  be  regarded  as  hateful 
or  odious.  There  is,  indeed,  consider- 
able obscurity  in  the  original.  A  literal 
translation  would  be,  "  For  he  has 
made  smooth  to  him  in  his  eyes  to  find 
his  iniquity  to  hate."  Theancientinter- 
pretations  throw  no  light  on  the  pas- 
sage. The  word  rendered  flatter  et  h — 
p^iT  hhalak — means  to  be  smooth ; 
then,  to  be  smooth  in  the  sense  of 
being  bland  or  flattering :  Hosea  x  2  ; 


his  own  eyes,  l  until  his  iniquity 
be  found  to  be  hateful. 


Ps.  v.  9 ;  Prov.  xxviii.  23 ;  ii.  16 ; 
vii.  5.  Here  the  meaning  is,  that  he 
commends  himself  to  himself;  he 
overestimates  himself;  he  ascribes  to 
himself  qualities  which  he  does  not 
possess, — either  (a)  by  supposing  that 
what  he  does  must  be  right  and 
proper,  or  (b)  by  overestimating  his 
strength  of  virtue,  and  his  power  to 
resist  temptation.  He  does  this  until 
God  sutlers  him  so  to  act  out  his  own 
nature,  and  to  show  what  he  is,  that 
his  course  of  life  is  seen  by  himself 
and  by  others  to  be  odious.  ^[  In  his 
own  eyes.  As  if  his  eyes  were  looking 
upon  himself,  or  his  own  conduct. 
We  act  so  as  to  be  seen  by  others; 
thus  he  is  represented  as  acting  as  if 
he  himself  'were  looking  on,  and  sought 
to  commend  himself  to  himself.  % 
Until  his  iniquity  be  found  to  be  hate- 
ful. Margin,  as  in  Hebrew,  to  find 
his  iniquity  to  hate.  Professor  Alex- 
ander renders  this,  "  As  to  (God's) 
finding  his  iniquity  (and)  hating  (it)  ;" 
that  is  (as  he  supposes  the  meaning 
to  be),  that  he  flatters  himself  that 
God  will  not  find  out  his  iniquity 
and  hate  it,  or  punish  it.  De  AVette 
renders  it,  "  that  he  does  not  find  and 
hate  his  guilt ;"  that  is,  he  so  flatters 
himself  in  what  he  does,  that  he  does 
not  see  the  guilt  of  what  he  is  doing, 
and  hate  it.  He  is  blind  to  the  real 
nature  of  what  he  is  doing.  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  true  construc- 
tion is  that  which  is  given  by  our 
translators.  The  real  difficulty  rests 
on  the  interpretation  of  the  preposi- 
tion in  the  word  S^XD^  limtzo  — 
"  until  he  find."  If  the  interpreta- 
tion proposed  by  Be  Wette  were  the 
true  one,  the  preposition  should  have 
been  73  instead  of  b, — (i^J72?2  instead 
of  S^72??).  The  preposition  here  used 
(t?)  often  has  the  sense  of  even  unto, 
until.  Comp.  Ezek.  xxxix.  19;  Isa- 
vii.  15  ;  and  this  idea  seems  best  to 
comport  with  the  connexion.  The 
idea,  according  to  this,  is  that  he 
overestimates  himself;  he  prides  him- 


PSALM    XXXVI. 


311 


3  The  words  of  his  mouth  are 
iniquity  and  deceit :  he  hath  left 
off  to  be  wise,  and  to  a  do  good. 

4  He  deviseth  i  mischief  upon 
his  b  bed ;  he  setteth  himself  in  a 

a  Jer.  iv.  22.     b  Prov.  iv.  16.     l  Or,  vanity. 


self  on  his  own  strength  and  good- 
ness, he  confides  in  his  own  wisdom 
and  power,  he  pursues  his  course  of 
conduct  trusting  in  himself,  until  he 
is  suffered  to  act  out  what  is  really  in 
his  heart, — and  his  conduct  becomes 
hateful  and  abominable, — until  he  can 
no  longer  conceal  what  he  really  is. 
God  suffers  him  to  act  out  what  he 
had  endeavoured  to  cover  over  by  his 
own  flattery.  Men  who  pride  them- 
selves on  their  own  cunning  and 
strength, — men  who  attempt  to  con- 
ceal their  plans  from  the  world, — are 
often  thus  suffered  to  develop  their 
character  so  that  the  mask  is  taken 
off,  and  the  world  is  allowed  to  see 
how  vile  they  are  at  heart. 

3.  The  words  of  his  mouth  are 
iniquity  and  deceit.  Are  false  and 
wicked.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xii.  2. 
His  words  do  not  fairly  represent  or 
express  what  is  in  his  heart.  ^[  He 
hath  left  off  to  be  icise.  To  act  wisely ; 
to  do  right.  *\\  And  to  do  good.  To 
act  benevolently  and  kindly.  This 
would  seem  to  imply  that  there  had 
been  a  change  in  his  conduct,  or  that 
he  was  not  what  he  once  professed  to 
be,  and  appeared  to  be.  This  Ian- 
guage  would  be  applicable  to  the 
change  in  the  conduct  of  Saul  towards 
David  after  he  became  envious  and 
jealous  of  him  (1  Sam.  xviii.) ;  and  it 
is  possible,  as  Amyraldus  supposed, 
that  this  may  have  had  particular  re- 
ference to  him.  But  such  instances 
of  a  change  of  feeling  and  conduct 
are  not  very  uncommon  in  the  world, 
and  it  may  doubtless  have  happened 
that  David  experienced  this  more 
than  once  in  his  life. 

4.  He  deviseth  mischief  upon  his 
Jbed.  Margin,  as  in  Hebrew,  vanity. 
That  U,  when  he  lies  down  ;  when  he 
is  wakeful  at  night ;  he  plots  some 
scheme  of  iniquity — some  vain,  wicked 
enterprise.     So  in  Prov.  iv.  16,  "  For 


way  that  is  not  good  :  he  abhor- 
reth  c  not  evil, 

5  Thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  is  in 
the  heavens,  and  thy  faithfulness 
reacheth  unto  the  clouds. 


c  Ps.  xcvii.  10. 


they  sleep  not,  except  they  have  done 
mischief;  and  their  sleep  is  taken 
away,  unless  they  cause  some  to  fall." 
%  He  setteth  himself  That  is,  he 
takes  his  stand  or  his  position  j  he 
assumes  this  attitude.  See  Ps.  ii.  2, 
"  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  them- 
selves," where  the  same  word  occurs. 
The  meaning  is  that  what  is  done  by 
him  is  the  result  of  a  calm  and  delibe- 
rate purpose.  It  is  not  the  effect  of 
passion  or  temporary  excitement,  but 
it  is  a  deliberate  act  in  which  the 
mind  is  made  up  to  do  the  thing. 
The  conduct  here  referred  to  is  thus 
distinguished  from  rash  and  hasty 
acts,  showing  that  this  is  the  settled 
character  of  the  man.  %  In  a  way 
that  is  not  good.  In  a  bad  or  wicked 
way ;  in  a  way  in  which  no  good  can 
be  found ;  in  conduct  which  allows  of 
no  redeeming  or  mitigating  circum- 
stances, and  for  which  there  can  be  no 
apology.  %  He  abhorreth  not  evil. 
He  has  no  avei*sion  to  evil.  He  is 
not  in  any  manner  deterred  from 
doing  anything  because  it  is  wrong. 
The  fact  that  it  is  sinful  is  not  allowed 
to  be  a  consideration  affecting  his 
mind  in  determining  what  he  shall  do. 
In  other  words,  the  moral  quality  of  an 
action  does  not  influence  him  at  all  in 
making  up  his  mind  as  to  how  he  shall 
act.  If  it  is  right,  it  is  by  accident, 
and  not  because  he  prefers  the  right ; 
if  it  is  wrong,  that  fact  does  not  in 
any  way  hinder  him  from  carrying 
his  purpose  into  execution.  This  is, 
of  course,  the  very  essence  of  de- 
pravity. 

5.  Thy  mercy,  O  Lokd,  is  in  the 
heavens.  This  commences  the  second 
part  of  the  psalm, — the  description 
of  the  character  of  God  in  contrast 
with  the  character  of  the  wicked  man. 
The  meaning  here  is,  evidently,  that 
the  mercy  of  God  is  very  exalted ;  to 
the   very   heavens,    as    high   as   the 


312 


PSALM    XXXVI. 


6  Thy  righteousness  is  like  the 
l  great  mountains  ;  thy  judg- 
ments  are   a  great  d   deep :     O 


highest  object  of  which  man  can  con- 
ceive. Thus  we  speak  of  virtue  as 
exalted,  or  virtue  of  the  highest  Jcind. 
The  idea  is  not  that  the  mercy  of  God 
is  manifested  in  heaven,  for,  mercy 
being  favour  shown  to  the  guilty,  there 
is  no  occasion  for  it  in  heaven ;  nor  is 
the  idea  that  mercy,  as  shown  to  man, 
has  its  origin  in  heaven,  which  is 
indeed  true  in  itself;  but  it  is,  as 
above  explained,  that  it  is  of  the  most 
exalted  nature ;  that  it  is  as  high  as 
man  can  conceive.  •([  And  tliy  faith- 
fulness. Thy  truthfulness  ;  thy  fidelity 
to  thy  promises  and  to  thy  friends. 
%  Reacheth  unto  the  clouds.  The 
clouds  are  among  the  highest  objects. 
They  rise  above  the  loftiest  trees,  and 
ascend  above  the  mountains,  and  seem 
to  lie  or  roll  along  the  sky.  The  idea 
here,  therefore,  as  in  the  first  part  ofthe 
verse,  is,  that  it  is  elevated  or  exalted. 
6.  Thy  righteousness.  Thy  justice; 
that  is,  the  justice  of  God  considered 
as  residing  in  his  own  nature;  his 
justice  in  his  laws ;  his  justice  in  his 
providential  dealings;  his  justice  in 
his  plan  of  delivering  man  from  sin  ; 
his  justice  to  the  universe  in  adminis- 
tering the  rewards  and  penalties  of 
the  law.  ^[  Is  like  the  great  moun- 
tains. Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  the  moun- 
tains of  God.  The  name  God  is  thus, 
in  the  Scriptures,  often  given  to  that 
which  is  great  or  exalted,  as  God  is 
the  greatest  Being  that  the  mind  can 
form  any  conception  of.  So  in  Ps. 
lxxx.  10  :  "  The  boughs  thereof  were 
like  the  goodly  cedars," — in  the  Heb., 
cedars  of  God.  Connecting  his  name 
with  mountains  or  cedars,  we  have  the 
idea  of  strength  or  greatness,  as  being 
peculiarly  the  work  of  the  Almighty. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  as  the  moun- 
tains are  the  most  stable  of  all  the 
objects  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
so  it  is  with  the  justice  of  God.  It  is  as 
fixed  as  the  everlasting  hills.  ^  Thy 
judgments.  The  acts  and  records 
which  are  expressive  of  thy  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  what  is  right  and 


Lord,  thou  preservest  man  and 
beast. 

1  mountains  of  God.        d  Rom.  xi.  33. 


best ;  that  judgment  as  it  is  expressed 
in  thy  law,  and  in  thy  dealings  with 
mankind.  The  judgment  of  God  in 
any  matter  may  be  expressed  either 
by  a  declaration  or  by  his  acts.  The 
latter  is  the  idea  now  most  commonly 
attached  to  the  word,  and  it  has  come 
to  be  used  almost  exclusively  to  denote 
afflictive  dispensations  of  his  Provi- 
dence, or  expressions  of  his  displeasure 
against  sin.  The  word  is  not  used  in 
that  exclusive  sense  in  the  Scriptures. 
It  refers  to  any  Divine  adjudication  as 
to  what  is  right,  whether  expressed  by 
declaration  or  by  act,  and  would  in- 
clude his  adjudications  in  favour  of 
that  which  is  right  as  well  as  those 
against  that  which  is  wrong.  %  Are 
a  great  deep.  The  word  rendered  deep 
here  means  properly  wave,  billow, 
surge;  then,  a  mass  of  waters,  a  flood, 
a  deep;  and  the  phrase  great  deep 
would  properly  refer  to  the  ocean,  its 
depth  being  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able things  in  regard  to  it.  The  idea 
here  is,  that  as  we  cannot  fathom  the 
ocean  or  penetrate  to  its  bottom,  so  it 
is  with  the  judgments  of  God.  They 
are  beyond  our  comprehension,  and 
after  all  our  efforts  to  understand 
them,  we  are  constrained,  as  in  mea- 
suring the  depths  of  the  ocean,  to 
confess  that  we  cannot  reach  to  the 
bottom  of  them.  This  is  true  in 
regard  to  his  law,  in  regard  to  the 
principles  of  his  government  as  he 
has  declared  them,  and  in  regard  to 
his  actual  dealings  with  mankind.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  in 
the  administration  of  an  infinite  God 
there  must  be  much  that  man,  in  his 
present  state,  could  not  comprehend. 
Comp.  Job  xi.  7-9 ;  Isa.  lv.  8,  9.  IF 
O  Lord,  thou  preservest  man  and 
beast.  Literally,  thou  wilt  save ;  that 
is,  thou  savest  them  from  destruc- 
tion. The  idea  is,  that  he  keeps 
them  alive;  or  that  life,  where  it 
is  continued,  is  always  continued  by 
his  agency.  The  psalmist  evidently 
sees  in  the  fact  here  stated  an  illus- 


PSALM  XXXVI. 


313 


7  How  l  excellent  is  thy  loving- 
kindness,  O  God!  therefore  the 
children  of  men  put  their  trust 
under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings. 


1  precious,  1  Pet.  ii.  7- 
e  Ps.  lxv.  4. 


tration  of  what  he  had  just  said  about 
the  greatness  of  God  iu  his  providen- 
tial agency  and  his  general  govern- 
ment. He  was  struck  with  his  great- 
ness, and  with  the  incomprehensible 
nature  of  his  power  and  agency,  in 
the  fact  that  he  kept  alive  continually 
so  many  myriads  of  creatures  upon 
the  earth — so  many  hundred  millions 
of  human  beings — so  many  thousand 
millions  of  wild  beasts,  reptiles,  fishes, 
birds,  and  insects — all  dependent  on 
him  ;  that  he  provided  for  their  wants, 
and  that  he  protected  them  in  the 
dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed. 
And  who  can  comprehend  the  ex- 
tent of  his  law,  and  the  wonderful- 
ness  of  his  Providence,  in  thus  watch- 
ing over  and  providing  for  the  multi- 
tudes of  animated  beings  that  swarm 
in  the  waters,  in  the  air,  and  on  the 
earth  ? 

7.  Sow  excellent.  Margin,  as  in 
Hebrew,  precious.  The  word  here 
used  is  one  that  would  be  applicable 
to  precious  stones  (1  Kings  x.  2,  10, 
11) ;  or  to  the  more  costly  kind  of 
stones  employed  in  building,  as  marble 
(2  Chron.  iii.  6) ;  and  then,  anything 
that  is  costly  or  valuable.  The  mean- 
ing is,  that  the  loving-kindness  of  God 
is  to  be  estimated  only  by  the  value 
set  on  the  most  rare  and  costly 
objects.  %  Is  thy  loving-kindness. 
Thy  mercy.  The  same  word  is  used 
here  which  occurs  in  ver.  5,  and  which 
is  there  rendered  mercy.  It  is  not  a 
new  attribute  of  God  which  is  here 
celebrated  or  brought  into  view,  but 
the  same  characteristic  which  is  re- 
ferred to  in  ver.  5.  The  repetition  of 
the  word  indicates  the  state  of  mind 
of  the  writer  of  the  psalm,  and  shows 
that  he  delights  to  dwell  on  this  ;  he 
naturally  turns  to  this;  his  medita- 
tions begin  and  end  with  this.  While 
he  is  deeply  impressed  by  the  "  faith- 
fulness,"  the    "  righteousness,"    and 

VOL.  I. 


8  They  e  shall  be  2  abundantly 
satisfied  with  the  fatness  of  thy 
house ;  and  thou  shalt  make  them 
drink  of  the  river  /  of  thy  plea- 


sures. 


2  watered. 


/Rev.  xxii.  17. 


the  "judgment  "  of  God,  still  it  is 
his  "mercy"  or  his  "loving-kindness" 
that  is  the  beginning  and  the  ending 
of  his  thoughts  ;  to  this  the  soul  turns 
with  ever  new  delight  and  wonder 
when  reflecting  on  the  character  and 
the  doings  of  God.  Here  our  hope 
begins ;  and  to  this  attribute  of  the 
Almighty,  when  we  have  learned  all 
else  that  we  can  learn  about  God,  the 
soul  turns  with  ever  new  delight. 
If  Therefore.  In  view  of  that  mercy  ; 
or  because  God  is  a  merciful  God.  It 
is  not  in  his  justice  that  we  can  take 
refuge,  for  we  are  sinners,  but  the 
foundation  of  all  our  hope  is  his 
mercy.  A  holy  creature  could  fly  to 
a  holy  Creator  for  refuge  and  defence ;' 
he  who  has  given  himself  to  Him,  and 
who  has  been  pardoned,  can  appeal  to 
his  "  faithfulness ;"  but  the  refuge  of 
a  sinner,  as  such,  is  only  his  mercy ; 
and  it  is  only  to  that  mercy  that  he 
can  flee.  *|f  The  children  of  men. 
Literally,  "  the  sons  of  man ;"  that  is, 
the  human  race,  considered  as  de- 
scended from  their  great  ancestor,  or 
as  one  family.  The  meaning  is  not 
that  all  the  children  of  men  actually 
do  thus  put  their  trust  in  the  mercy 
of  God — for  that  is  not  true  ;  but  (a) 
all  may  do  it  as  the  children  of  men, 
or  as  men ;  and  (b)  all  who  do  "  put 
their  trust  under  the  shadow  of  his 
wings  "  confide  in  his  mercy  alone,  as 
the  ground  of  their  hope,  ^f  Under 
the  shadow  of  thy  ivings.  As  little, 
helpless  birds  seek  protection  under 
the  wings  of  the  mother-bird.  See 
Notes  on  Matt,  xxiii.  37  ;  comp.  Deut. 
xxxii.  11, 12. 

8.  They  shall  be  abundantly  satis- 
fied. Margin,  watered.  That  is,  all 
who  thus  put  their  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God.  The  Hebrew  word — . 
n*H,  r avah — means  to    drink  to  the 

T    T 

full ;    to  be  satisfied,  or  sated  with 

drink  j  or  to  be  satisfied  or  filled  with 

P 


314 


PSALM  XXXVI. 


9  For  9  with  thee  is  the  foun-  !  tain  of  life :  in  h  thy  light  shall 

g  Jer.  ii.  13  ;  John  iv.  10,  14.    h  2  Cor.iv.  6.         we  see  light. 


water,  as  the  earth  or  fields  after  an 
abundant  rain :  Isa.  xxxiv.  7 ;  Ps. 
lxv.  10.  The  state  referred  to  by  the 
■word  is  that  of  one  who  was  thirsty, 
but  who  has  drunk  to  the  full ;  who 
feels  that  his  desire  is  satisfied  :  (a) 
he  has  found  that  which  is  adajrfed  to 
his  wants,  or  which  meets  his  wants, 
as  water  does  the  wants  of  one  who  is 
athirst ;  (b)  he  has  found  this  in 
abundance.  There  is  no  lack,  and  he 
partakes  of  it  in  as  large  measure  as 
he  chooses.  So  the  wearv  andthirstv 
traveller,  when  he  finds  in  the  desert 
a  "  new  and  untasted  spring/'  finds 
that  which  he  needs,  and  drinks 
freely  ;  and  so  the  sinner — the  dying 
man — the  man  who  feels  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  world  that  can  satisfy 
him,  (1)  finds  in  the  provisions  of  the 
gospel  that  which  exactly  meets  the 
wants  of  his  nature,  and  (2)  he  finds 
it  in  abundance.  r  With  the  fatness. 
The  word  here  used  means  properly 
fatness  or  fat :  Judges  ix.  9.  Then 
it  means,  fat  food,  or  sumptuous  food, 
Job  xxxvi.  16  ;  Isa.  Iv.  2  ;  Jer.  xxxi. 
14.  It  is  connected  here  with  the 
word  drink,  or  drink  in,  because  this 
kind  of  food  was.  sucked  in  at  the 
mouth,  and  the  mode  of  partaking 
of  it  resembled  the  act  of  drinking. 
Gesenius. — The  allusion  is  the  same 
as  that  which  so  often  occurs  in  the 
Scriptures,  where  the  provisions  of 
salvation  are  represented  as  a  feast,  or 
where  the  illustration  is  drawn  from 
the  act  of  eating  or  drinking.  *~  Of 
thy  house.  Furnished  by  thy  house, 
or  in  the  place  of  public  worship. 
God  is  represented  as  the  Head  or 
Father  of  a  family,  and  as  providing 
for  the  wants  of  his  children.  Comp. 
Ps.xxiii.6;  xxvii.4.  r  Andthoushalt 
make  them  drink.  In  allusion  to  the 
provisions  of  salvation  considered  as 
adapted  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the 
thirsty  soul.  r  Of  the  river.  The 
abundance.  Xot  a  running  fountain; 
not  a  gentle  bubbling  rivulet ;  not  a 
stream  that  would  soon  dry  up  ;  but 
a.  "river," — large;  full;  overflowing; 


inexhaustible.  ^  Of  thy  pleasures. 
Furnishing  happiness  or  pleasure  such 
as  thine  is.  The  pious  man  has  happi- 
ness of  the  same  kind  or  nature  as 
that  of  God.  It  is  happiness  in  holi- 
ness or  purity ;  happiness  in  doing 
good  ;  happiness  in  the  happiness  of 
others.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  the 
friend  of  God  partakes  of  his  pleasure 
or  happiness.  Comp.  2  Peter  i.  4. 
The  following  things,  therefore,  are 
taught  by  this  verse  : — (1)  that  God 
is  happy ;  (2)  that  religion  makes  man 
happy ;  (3)  that  his  happiness  is  of 
the  same  kind  or  nature  as  that  of 
God ;  (4)  that  this  happiness  is  satis- 
fying in  its  nature,  or  that  it  meets 
the  real  wants  of  the  soul ;  (5)  that 
it  is  abundant,  and  leaves  no  want  of 
the  soul  unsupplied;  and  (6)  that  this 
happiness  is  to  be  found  in  an  eminent 
degree  in  the  "  house  of  God,"  or  is 
closely  connected  with  the  public 
worship  of  God.  It  is  there  that  God 
has  made  provision  for  the  wants  of 
his  people ;  and  advancement  in  reli- 
gion, and  in  the  comforts  of  religion, 
will  always  be  closely  connected  with 
the  fidelity  with  which  we  attend  on 
public  worship. 

9.  For  icith  thee  is  the  fountain  of 
life.  The  fountain  or  source  from 
which  all  life  flows.  All  living  beings 
derive  their  origin  from  thee,  as 
streams  flow  from  fountains;  all  that 
is  properly  called  life  proceeds  from 
thee;  everything  which  makes  life 
real  life, — which  makes  it  desirable 
or  happy, — has  its  origin  in  thee. 
The  psalmist  evidently  meant  here  to 
include  more  than  werelife  considered 
as  animated  existence.  He  recalls 
what  he  had  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
vious verses — the  various  blessings 
which  proceeded  from  the  mercy  and 
loving-kindness  of  God,  and  which 
were  attendant  on  his  worship ;  and 
he  here  says  that  all  this — all  that 
makes  man  happy — all  that  can  pro- 
perly be  regarded  as  life — proceeds 
from  God.  Life  literally,  in  man 
and  in  all  animated  beings;  life  spi- 


PSALM  XXXVI. 


315 


10  O  !  continue  thy  loving- 
kindness  unto  them  that  know 
thee;  and  thy  righteousness  to 
the  upright  in  heart. 

11  Let  not  the  foot  of  pride 

1  draw  out  at  length. 


ritually  ;  life  here,  and  life  hereafter, 
— all  is  to  be  traced  to  God.  %  In 
tit//  light  shall  ice  see  light.  As  thou 
art  the  Source  of  light,  and  all  light 
proceeds  from  thee,  so  we  shall  be 
enabled  to  see  light,  or  to  see  what  is 
true,  only  as  we  see  it  in  thee.  By 
looking  to  thee;  by  meditating  on 
thy  character ;  by  a  right  understand- 
ing of  thyself;  by  being  encompassed 
with  the  light  which  encompasses 
thee,  we  shall  see  light  on  all  those 
great  questions  which  perplex  us,  and 
which  it  is  so  desirable  that  we  should 
understand.  It  is  not  by  looking  at 
ourselves ;  it  is  not  by  any  human 
teaching ;  it  is  not  by  searching  for 
information  away  from  thee,  that  we 
can  hope  to  have  the  questions  which 
perplex  us  solved;  it  is  only  by  coming 
to  thyself,  and  looking  directly  to  thee. 
There  is  no  other  source  of  real  light 
and  truth  but  God  ;  and  in  the  con- 
templation of  himself,  and  of  the  light 
which  encompasses  him,  and  in  that 
alone,  can  we  hope  to  comprehend  the 
great  subjects  on  which  we  pant  so 
much  to  be  informed.  All  away  from 
God  is  dark ;  all  near  him  is  light. 
If,  therefore,  we  desire  light  on  the 
subjects  which  pertain  to  our  salva- 
tion, it  must  be  sought  by  a  direct 
and  near  approach  to  him;  and  the 
more  we  can  lose  ourselves  in  the 
splendours  of  his  throne,  the  more  we 
shall  understand  of  truth.  Compare 
1  John  i.  5 ;  Rev.  xxi.  23 ;  xxii.  5  ; 
1  Pet.  ii.  9. 

10.  O  continue.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb., 
draiv  out  at  length.  The  Hebrew 
word  means  to  draiv ;  hence,  to  draw 
out,  in  the  sense  of  continuing  or  pro- 
longing. Comp.  Ps.  lxxxv.  5;  cix.  12 ; 
Jer.  xxxi.  3.  The  desire  of  the 
psalmist  here  is,  that  God  would  make 
the  manifestation  of  his  loving-kind- 
ness continuous  or  perpetual  to  his 
people;  that  it  might  not  be  fitful 


come  against  me,  and  let  not  the 
hand  of  the  wicked  remove  me. 

12  There  are  the  workers  of 
iniquity  fallen :  they  are  cast 
down,  and  shall  not  be  able  to 
rise. 


and  interrupted,  but  always  enduring, 
or  constant.  It  is  the  utterance  of  a 
prayer  that  his  favour  might  always 
be  manifested  to  his  friends.  %  Thy 
loving-kindness.  Thy  mercy,  vers.  5, 
7.  ^f  Unto  them  that  know  thee. 
That  are  thy  friends.  The  word  know 
is  often  used  to  denote  true  religion : 
John  xvii.  3  ;  Phil.  iii.  10 ;  Eph.  iii. 
19;  2  Tim.  i.  12.  1  And  thy  right- 
eousness. Thy  favour ;  thy  protec- 
tion. That  is,  show  to  them  the 
righteousness,  or  the  glory  of  thy 
character.  Deal  with  them  according 
to  those  just  principles  which  belong 
to  thy  character.  Comp.  Notes  on  1 
John  i.  9.  If  To  the  upright  in  heart. 
Those  who  are  pure  and  holy  in  their 
intentions  or  their  purposes.  Comp. 
Ps.  vii.  10.  All  true  uprightness  has 
its  seat  in  the  heart,  and  the  psalmist 
prays  that  God  would  show  his  con- 
tinued favour  to  those  whom  he  sees 
to  be  true  in  heart  to  himself. 

11.  Let  not  the  foot  of  pride  come 
against  me.  The  foot  of  the  proud 
man.  The  word  rendered  "  come 
against  me "  more  properly  means, 
"  come  not  upon  me ;"  and  the  mean- 
ing is,  Let  me  not  be  trampled  down 
as  they  who  are  vanquished  in  battle 
are  trodden  down  by  their  conquerors. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii.40.  ^f  And 
let  not  the  hand  of  the  wicked  remove 
me.  Let  no  efforts  of  the  wicked  do 
this.  The  hand  is  the  instrument 
by  which  we  accomplish  anything, 
and  the  reference  here  is  to  the 
efforts  which  the  wicked  might  make 
to  destroy  him.  The  prayer  is,  that 
he  might  be  firm  and  unmoved  amid 
all  the  attempts  which  might  be  made 
to  take  his  life. 

12.  There  are  the  tvorkers  of  iniquity 
fallen.  The  meaning  of  this  seems  to 
be,  that  the  psalmist  saw  his  prayer 
answered  already.  He  speaks  as  if 
that  which  he  desired  and  had  prayed 


31G 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


for  was  already  done,  and  as  if  he 
himself  saw  it.  He  was  so  certain 
that  it  would  be  done,  he  had  such  an 
assurance  that  his  prayer  would  he 
answered,  that  he  seemed,  by  faith,  to 
see  the  events  already  occurring  before 
his  own  eyes,  and  felt  that  he  might 
speak  of  what  he  prayed  for  as  if  it 
were  already  granted.  Such  is  the 
nature  of  faith;  and  such  strong  con- 
fidence in  God,  and  in  his  faithfulness 
to  his  promises,  may  all  have  who 
pray  in  faith.  It  is  remarkable,  as 
has  been  observed  already  in  reference 
to  the  Psalms,  how  often  a  psalm 
begins  in  depression  and  ends  in  tri- 
umph ;  how  often  the  author  is  de- 
sponding and  sad  as  he  surveys,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  psalm,  the  troubles 
which  surround  him,  and  how  in  the 
progress  of  the  psalm  the  clouds  dis- 
perse ;  the  mind  becomes  calm  ;  and 
the  soul  becomes  triumphant.  %  They 
are  cast  down,  and  shall  not  he  able 
to  vise.  They  are  utterly  overthrown. 
Their  discomfiture  is  complete.  They 
shall  never  be  able  to  rally  again.  So 
faith  looks  on  all  enemies  of  truth  and 
righteousness  a?  hereafter  to  be  utterly 
overthrown,  and  it  regards  this  as  so 
certain  that  it  may  speak  already  in 
the  exulting  language  of  victory.  So 
certainly  will  all  the  spiritual  foes  of 
those  who  trust  in  God  be  vanquished, 
— so  certainly  will  the  righteous  tri- 
umph, — that,  on  the  wings  of  faith, 
they  may  look  beyond  all  conflicts 
and  struggles,  and  see  the  victory 
won,  and  break  forth  into  songs  of 
exulting  praise.  Faith  often  converts 
the  promises  into  reality,  and  in  the 
bright  anticipations  and  the  certain 
hopes  of  heaven  sings  and  rejoices  as 
if  it  were  already  in  our  possession, — 
anticipating  only  by  a  few  short  days, 
weeks,  or  years,  what  will  certainly  be 
ours. 

PS  ATM  XXXV11. 
This  psalm    is    entitled  simply   "of 
David,"'    or   "by    David "  —  TYT?.     In 

the  original  title  there  is  no  intimation, 
as  in  Ps.  iii.,  iv.,  vii..  xvL,  xvii., 
whether  it  is  a  psalm  or  some  other 
species   of  composition,  but  the  idea  is  i 


merely  that  it  is  a  composition  of  David, 
or  that  David  was  its  author. 

This  is  one  of  the  alphabetical  psalms: 
see  introd.  to  Ps.  xxv.  In  this  psalm 
the  peculiarity  of  the  composition  is, 
that  the  successive  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet occur  at  the  beginning  of  every 
other  verse,  the  first,  the  third,  the  fifth, 
etc.  The  exceptions  are  at  vers.  7,  20, 
29,  34.  In  ver.  29  the  letter  Z—tzaddi 
— occurs  instead  of  y,  ain  ; — and  in  vers. 
7,  20,  and  34,  the  letter  introduces  only 
a  single  verse.  It  is  not  possible  now  to 
account  for  these  irregularities  in  the 
structure  of  the  psalm.  J.  J.  Beller- 
mann  (hi  dem  Versuch  fiber  die  Metrik 
der  Hebr'aer,  p.  117,  seq.)  endeavoured 
from  conjecture  to  restore  the  regular 
series  of  verses  by  changing  a  portion  of 
them ;  but  there  is  no  authority  for  this 
from  the  manuscripts,  and  the  proba- 
bility is,  that  the  author  of  the  psalm 
did  not  observe  entire  accuracy  in  this 
respect,  but  that  he  made  use  of  the 
successive  Hebrew  letters  only  as  a 
general  guide  in  controlling  the  mode  of 
the  composition.  In  this  psalm  the  suc- 
cession of  letters  does  not  in  any  way 
denote  a  succession  or  a  variety  of 
subjects. 

The  occasion  on  which  the  psalm  was 
composed  is  not  mentioned  in  the  title, 
nor  is  there  anything  in  the  psalm  itself 
to  fix  it  to  any  particular  period  of  the 
life  of  David."  Like  Ps.  lxxiii.,  it  seems 
to  have  been  suggested  by  a  contempla- 
tion of  the  character  and  designs  of  the 
wicked,  and  especially  of  the  fact  that 
they  are  permitted  to  live,  and  that  they 
enjoy,  under  the  Divine  administration, 
so  much  prosperity.  The  psalm  is  de- 
signed to  meet  and  remove  the  per- 
plexity arising  from  that  fact,  not  (it 
would  seem)  as  a  personal  matter  in  the 
case  of  the  psalmist,  or  because  the  author 
of  the  psalm  was  himself  suffering  any 
wrong  from  the  wicked,  but  as  a  perplex- 
ity often  arising  from  the  general  fact. 
This  fact  has  perplexed  and  embarrassed 
reflecting  men  in  all  ages,  and  it  has 
been  an  object  of  earnest  solicitude 
to  find  a  solution  of  it,  or  a  method  of 
reconciling  it  with  the  administration  of 
a  pure  and  righteous  God.  The  purpose 
of  this  psalm  seems  to  have  been  to  fur- 
nish in  some  degree  a  solution  of  the 
difficulty,  or  to  calm  down  the  mind  in 
its  contemplation.  The  psalm  begins, 
therefore,  with  the  general  com 
"  Fret  not  thyself  becau- 
neither   be    thou  c.  inst  the 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


317 


PSALM  XXXYII. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

"DRET  '  not  thyself  because  of 
-*-     evil-doers,   neither    be    thou 


workers  of  iniquity,"  ver.  1.  This  may 
be  regarded  either  as  counsel  addressed 
to  some  one,— either  a  real  or  an  imagi- 
nary person, — whose  mind  was  thus  agi- 
tated, or  who  was  disposed  to  fret  and 
murmur  on  account  of  this, — and,  on  that 
supposition,  the  drift  of  the  psalm  is  to 
calm  down  such  a  mind ;  or  it  may  be 
regarded  as  the  address  or  counsel  of 
God  directed  to  the  psalmist  himself  in 
his  state  of  perplexity  and  embarrass- 
ment on  the  subject.  From  some  things 
in  the  psalm  (vers.  25,  35,  36)  it  seems 
most  probable  that  the  former  is  the  true 
supposition. 

The  points  in  the  psalm  are  the 
following :  — 

I.  The  main  subject  of  the  psalm, — 
the  exhortation  not  to  "fret"  or  be 
troubled  on  account  of  evil-doers  and 
the  workers  of  iniquity ;  not  to  allow 
the  mind  to  be  anxious  in  regard  to  the 
fact  that  there  are  such  persons,  or  in 
regard  to  their  plans,  or  to  their  pros- 
perity in  the  world, — for  they  are  soon 
to  be  cut  down  and  pass  away,  vers.  1,  2. 

II.  The  state  of  mind  which  should 
be  cherished  in  such  cases, — calm  con- 
fidence in  God  in  the  faithful  perform' 
ance  of  duty,  vers.  3-8.  "We  are  to 
trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good,  ver.  3 ; 
to  find  our  happiness  in  God,  ver.  4 ;  to 
commit  our  way  to  him  in  all  our  per- 
plexities and  troubles,  vers.  5,  6;  to  rest 
secure  in  him,  waiting  patiently  for  his 
interposition,  ver.  7  ;  and  to  cease  from 
all  wrathful  or  revengeful  feelings  in 
reference  to  the  wicked,  ver.  8. 

III.  The  reasons  for  this  state  of  mind, 
vers.  9-10. 

These  reasons,  without  being  kept 
entirely  distinct,  are  two  in  number, — 

(1.)  The  future  doom  of  the  wicked, 
vers.  9-15.  The  general  idea  here  is, 
that  they  will  be  cut  off,  and  soon  pass 
away ;  that  they  will  not  secure  ulti- 
mate success  and  prosperity,  but  that 
their  wicked  conduct  will  recoil  on  them- 
selves, and  overwhelm  them  in  destruc- 
tion. 

(2.)  The  ultimate  prosperity  of  the 
righteous,  vers.  16-40.  This  is  illus- 
trated from  various  points  of  view,  and 
with  special  reference  to  the  experience 
of  the  psalmist.  After  some  general 
statements  in  regard  to  the  happy  lot  of 


envious  *  against  the  workers  of 
iniquity. 

i  1  Sam.  i.  6;  Prov.  xxiv.  19. 
k  Ps.  lxxiii.  3. 


the  righteous  (vei*s.  16-21),  he  refers  to 
his  own  observation,  during  a  long  life, 
respecting  the  comparative  effects  of  a 
wicked  and  a  righteous  course.  This  is 
shown  in  two  respects  : — 

(a)  The  protection  and  care  of  Provi- 
dence over  the  righteous,  vers.  25,  26. 
He  says  that  he  had  been  young,  and 
that  he  was  then  an  aged  man,  but  that 
in  his  long  life  he  had  never  seen  the 
righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  children  beg- 
ging bread. 

(b)  The  providence  of  God  as  against 
the  wicked,  vers.  35,  36.  He  says  that 
he  had  seen  the  wicked  man  in  great 
power,  and  flourishing  like  a  tree,  but  he 
soon  passed  away,  and  could  no  more  be 
found  upon  the  earth. 

The  general  argument  in  the  psalm, 
therefore,  is  that  righteousness,  the  fear 
of  God,  religion,  has  a  tendency  to  pro- 
mote ultimate  happiness,  and  to  secure 
length  of  days  and  real  honour  upon 
the  earth;  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
wickfd  is  temporary,  and  that  however 
prosperous  and  happy  they  may  seem  to 
be,  they  will  be  ultimately  cut  off  and 
made  miserable. 

It  remains  only  to  add  that  this  psalm 
was  composed  Avlieit  David  was  an  old 
man  (ver.  25)  ;  and  apart,  therefore, 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  work  of  an 
inspired  writer,  it  has  special  value  as 
expressing  the  result  of  the  observa- 
tions of  a  long  life  on  a  point  which  per- 
plexes the  good  in  every  age. 

1.  Fret  not  thyself.  The  Hebrew 
word  here  means  properly  to  burn,  to 
be  kindled,  to  be  inflamed,  and  is  often 
applied  to  anger,  as  if  under  its  influ- 
ence we  become  heated :  Gen.  xxxi. 
36  ;  xxxiv.  7 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  11 ;  2  Sam. 
xix.  43.  Hence  it  means  to  fret 
oneself,  to  he  angry,  or  indignant. 
Comp.  Prov.  xxiv.  19.  "We  should 
perhaps  express  the  same  idea  by  the 
word  worrying  or  chafing.  The  state 
of  mind  is  that  where  we  are  worried, 
or  envious,  because  others  are  pros- 
perous and  successful,  and  we  are  not. 
The  idea  is,  therefore,  closely  allied 
with  that  in  the  other  part  of  the 
verse,   "  neither    he    thou    envious." 


318 


PSALM  XXX VII. 


2  For  they  shall  soon  be  cut 
down  like  the  grass,  and  wither 
as  the  green  herb. 

1  in  truth  or  stableness. 


^[  Because  of  evil-doers.  "Wicked 
men  : —  (a)  at  the  fact  that  there  are 
wicked  men,  or  that  God  suffers  them 
to  live  ;  (b)  at  their  numbers ;  (c)  at 
their  success  and  prosperity.  %  Neither 
be  thou  envious.  Envy  is  pain,  morti- 
fication, discontent,  at  the  superior 
excellence  or  prosperity  of  others, 
accompanied  often  with  some  degree 
of  malignant  feeling,  and  with  a  dis- 
position to  detract  from  their  merit. 
It  is  the  result  of  a  comparison  of 
ourselves  with  others  who  are  more 
highly  gifted  or  favoured,  or  who  are 
more  successful  than  we  are  ourselves. 
The  feeling  referred  to  here  is  that 
which  springs  up  in  the  mind  when 
we  see  persons  of  corrupt  or  wicked 
character  prospered,  while  we,  en- 
deavouring to  do  right,  are  left  to 
poverty,  to  disappointment,  and  to 
tears. 

2.  For  they  shall  soon  be  cut-  ioivn 
like  the  grass.  As  the  grass  in  the 
field  is  cut  down  by  the  mower;  that 
is,  however  prosperous  they  may  seem 
to  be  now,  they  ar^  like  the  grass  in 
the  meadow  which  is  so  green  and 
luxuriant,  but  which  is  soon  to  fall 
under  the  scythe  of  the  mower.  Their 
prosperity  is  only  temporary,  for  they 
will  soon  pass  away.  The  idea  in  the 
word  rendered  soon — niHTOj  mehairah 
— is  that  of  haste  or  speed  :  Ps.  cxlvii. 
15;  Num.  xvi.  46;  Deut.  xi.  17.  The 
thought  is  not  that  it  will  be  done 
immediately,  but  that  when  it  occurs 
it  will  be  a  quick  and  rapid  operation, 
— as  the  grass  falls  rapidly  before  the 
mower.  *[  And  wither  as  the  green 
herb.  When  it  is  cut  down.  That 
is,  not  as  the  dry  and  stinted  shrub 
that  grows  in  the  desert  of  sand,  but 
like  the  herb  that  grows  in  a  garden, 
or  in  a  marsh,  or  by  the  river,  that  is 
full  of  juices,  and  that  needs  abundant 
water  to  sustain  it — like  the  nag  or 
rush  (comp.  Job  viii.  11) — and  that 
withers  almost  instantly  when  it  is 
cut  down.     The  rapidity  with  which 


3  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do 
good  :  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the 
land,  and  l  verily  thou  shalt  be 
fed. 


things  wilt  is  in  proportion  to  the 
rapidity  of  their  growth,  so  the  pros- 
perity of  a  sinner  is  suddenly  blasted, 
and  he  passes  awa}r.  Comp.  Ps.  xc. 
5,  6. 

3.  Trust  in  the  Loud.      Confide  in 
him  ;  rest  on  him.     Instead  of  allow- 
ing the  mind  to  be  disturbed  and  sad, 
because  there  are  wicked  men  upon 
the   earth ;    because   they   are   pros- 
perous and  apparently  happy ;  because 
they  may  injure  you  in  your  person 
or  reputation    (ver.  6),    calmly  con- 
fide in  God.      Leave  all  this  in  his 
hands.     Feel  that  he  rules,  and  that 
what  he  permits  is  wisely  permitted ; 
and    that    whatever    may    occur,    it 
will  all  be  overruled  for  his  own  glory 
and  the  good  of  the  universe.  %  And 
do  good.     Be  engaged  always  in  some 
work  of  benevolence,  {a)  If  there  are 
wicked  men  in  the  world,  if  wicked- 
ness abounds  around  us,  there  is  the 
more  reason  for  our  endeavouring  to 
do  good.      If  others  are  doing  evil, 
we  should  do  good ;  if  they  are  wicked, 
we  cannot  do  a  better  work  than  to 
do  good  to  them,  for  the  best  way  of 
meeting  the  wickedness  of  the  world 
is  to  do  it  good.      (b)  The  best  way 
to  keep  the  mind  from  murmuring, 
chafing,  and  fretting,  is  to  be  always 
engaged  in  doing  good;  to  have  the 
mind  always   occupied  in  something 
valuable  and  useful.    Each  one  should 
have  so  much  of  his  own  to  do  that  he 
will  have  no   time  to   murmur  and 
complain,  to  allow  the  mind  to  prey 
on  itself,  or  to  corrode  for  want  of 
employment.     %  So  shalt  thou  dwell 
in   the  land.      This  would   be   more 
correctly  translated  as  a  command  : 
"  Dwell  in  the  land."     That  is,  abide 
safely  or  securely  in  the  land, — refer- 
ring, perhaps,  to  "  the  land "  as  the 
laud  of  promise — the   country  given 
to  the  people  of  God.     The  idea  is, 
that  they  should  abide  there  calmly 
and  securely;    that  they  should  not 
worry  themselves  because  there  were 


PSALM  XXXVIL 


319 


4  Delight  « thyself  also  in  the 
Lord  ;  and  he  shall  give  thee 
the  desires  of  thine  heart. 

5  x  Commit  thy  way  mito  the 

l  Isa.  lviii.  14. 


wicked  men  upon  the  earth,  and  be- 
cause they  were  successful,  but  that 
they  should  be  thankful  for  their  in- 
heritance, and  partake  gratefully  of 
the  bounties  which  they  receive  from 
the  hand  of  God.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Matt.  v.  5.  If  And  verily  thou  shalt 
be  fed.  Marg.,  in  truth  or  stableness. 
The  literal  meaning  would  be,  "  Feed 
on  truth."  The  word  rendered/erf  is 
here  in  the  imperative  mood.  It  pro- 
perly means  to  feed,  as  a  flock ;  and 
then,  to  feed  upon  anything  in  the 
sense  of  delighting  in,  or  taking  plea- 
sure in  anything,  as  if  we  found  our 
support  or  sustenance  in  it ;  and 
here  it  means,  doubtless,  Feed  on 
truth ;  that  is,  seek  after  truth;  find 
delight  in  it ;  let  it  be  the  food  of 
your  souls.  The  word  here  rendered 
verily  means,  as  in  the  margin,  truth  : 
and  the  meaning  is,  that  they  should 
seek  after  truth,  and  find  their  sup- 
port and  comfort  in  that.  There  are, 
then,  in  this  verse,  four  things  pre- 
scribed as  duty,  in  order  to  keep  the 
mind  calm  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
wickedness  abounds  in  the  world  :  (1) 
to  confide  in  God;  (2)  to  be  actively 
employed  in  doing  good;  (3)  to  abide 
calmly  and  gratefully  in  the  land 
which  God  has  given  us ;  (4)  to  seek 
after  truth,  or  a  true  view  of  the 
character  and  government  of  God  as 
the  great  Ruler.  If  men  would  do 
these  things,  there  would  be  little 
murmuring  and  fretting  in  the  world. 
4.  Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Loed. 
The  word  rendered  delight  means  pro- 
perly to  live  delicately  and  effemi- 
nately; then,  to  be  tender  or  delicate; 
then,  to  live  a  life  of  ease  or  pleasure; 
then,  to  find  delight  or  pleasure  in 
anything.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
we  should  seek  our  happiness  in  God 
—in  his  being,  his  perfections,  his 
friendship,  his  love.  %  And  he  shall 
give  thee  the  desires  of  thine  heart. 
Literally,  the  asJcings,  or  the  requests 


Lord  ;  trust  also  in  him,  and  he 
shall  bring  it  to  pass  : 

6  And  '"  he   shall   bring  forth 

1  roll  thj  way  upon,  Ps.  xxii.  8. 
m  Mic.  vii.  8,  9. 


of  thy  heart.  What  you  really  desire 
will  be  granted  to  you.  That  is,  (a) 
the  fact  that  you  seek  your  happiness 
in  him  will  regulate  your  desires,  so 
that  you  will  be  disposed  to  ask  only 
those  things  which  it  will  be  proper 
for  him  to  grant ;  and  (b)  the  fact 
that  you  do  find  your  happiness  in 
him  will  be  a  reason  why  he  will 
grant  your  desires.  The  fact  that  a 
child  loves  his  father,  and  finds  his 
happiness  in  doing  his  will,  will  do 
much  to  regulate  his  own  wishes  or 
desires,  and  will  at  the  same  time  be 
a  reason  why  the  father  will  be  dis- 
posed to  comply  with  his  requests. 

5.  Commit  thy  toay  unto  the  Loed. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  Roll  thy  toay  upon 
the  Lord.  Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xxii. 
8,  where  the  marg.,  as  the  Heb.,  is, 
He  rolled  himself  on  the  Lord.  See 
also  1  Pet.  v.  7.  The  idea  is  that  of 
rolling  a  heavy  burden  from  ourselves 
on  another,  or  laying  it  upon  him,  so 
that  he  may  bear  it.  The  burden 
which  we  have  not  got  strength  to 
bear  we  may  lay  on  God.  The  term 
way  means  properly  the  act  of  tread- 
ing or  going;  then,  a  way  or  path; 
then,  a  course  of  life,  or  the  manner 
in  which  one  lives ;  and  the  reference 
here  is  to  the  whole  course  of  life,  or 
all  that  can  affect  life ;  all  our  plans 
or  conduct;  all  the  issues  or  results 
of  those  plans.  It  is  equivalent  here 
to  lot  or  destiny.  Everything,  in  re- 
gard to  the  manner  in  which  we  live, 
and  all  its  results,  are  to  be  com- 
mitted to  the  Lord.  ^[  Trust  also  in 
him.  See  ver.  3.  *[f  And  lie  shall 
bring  it  to  pass.  Heb.,  He  shall  do 
it.  That  is,  He  will  bring  it  to  a 
proper  issue ;  He  will  secure  a  happy 
result.  He  will  take  care  of  your 
interests,  and  will  not  permit  you  to 
suffer,  or  to  be  ultimately  wronged. 
The  thing  particularly  referred  to 
here,  as  appears  from  the  next  verse, 
is  reputation  or  character. 


320 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


thy  righteousness  as  the  light, 
and  thy  judgment  as  the  noon- 
day. 

7  l  Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait 

1  be  silent  to. 

n  Prov.  xx.  22;  Lam.  iii.  25,  2G. 


6.  And  lie  shall  bring  forth  thy 
righteousness  as  the  light.  That  is,  if 
you  are  slandered ;  if  your  character 
is  assailed,  and  seems  for  the  time  to 
be  under  a  cloud ;  if  reproach  comes 
upon  you  from  the  devices  of  wicked 
men  in  such  a  way  that  you  cannot 
meet  -it, — then,  if  you  will  commit 
the  case  to  God,  he  will  protect  your 
character,  and  will  cause  the  clouds 
to  disperse,  and  all  to  be  as  clear  in 
reference  to  your  character  and' the 
motives  of  your  conduct  as  the  sun 
without  a  cloud.  There  are  numerous 
cases  in  which  a  man  cannot  meet 
the  assaults  made  on  his  reputation, 
in  which  he  cannot  trace  to  its  source 
a  slanderous  accusation,  in  which  he 
cannot  immediately  explain  the  cir- 
cumstances which  may  have  served  to 
give  the  slanderous  report  an  appear- 
ance of  probability,  but  in  which  he 
may  be  perfectly  conscious  of  inno- 
cence ;  and,  in  such  cases,  the  only 
resource  is  to  commit  the  whole  matter 
to  God.  And  there  is  nothing  that 
may  be  more  safely  left  with  him; 
nothing  that  God  will  more  certainly 
protect  than  the  injured  reputation 
of  a  good  man.  Under  his  adminis- 
tration things  will  ultimately  work 
themselves  right,  and  a  man  will  have 
all  the  reputation  which  he  deserves 
to  have.  But  he  who  spends  his  life 
in  the  mere  work  of  defending  him- 
self, will  soon  have  a  reputation  that  is 
not  much  worth  defending.  The  true 
way  for  a  man  is  to  do  his  duty — to 
do  right  always— and  then  commit 
the  whole  to  God.  %  And  thy  judg- 
ment. Thy  just  sentence.  That  is, 
God  will  cause  justice  to  be  done  to 
your  character.  %  As  the  noon-day. 
The  original  word  here  is  in  the  dual 
form,  and  means  properly  double- 
light;  that  is,  the  strongest,  brightest 
light.  It  means  noon,  because  the 
light  is  then  most  clear  and  bright. 


»  patiently  f-or  him  :  fret  not  thy- 
self because  of  him  who  prosper- 
eth  in  his  way,  because  of  the 
man  who  bringeth  wicked  devices 
to  pass. 


The  idea  is,  that  he  will  make  your 
character  perfectly  clear  and  bright. 
No  cloud  will  remain  on  it. 

7.  Rest  in  the  Lord.  Marg.,  Be 
silent  to  the  Lord.  The  Hebrew  word 
means  to  be  dumb,  silent,  still :  Job 
xxix.  21 ;  Lev.  x.  3 ;  Lam.  iii.  28. 
Hence  to  be  silent  to  any  one ;  that 
is,  to  listen  to  him  in  silence;  and  the 
idea  in  the  phrase  here,  "  be  silent  to 
Jehovah,"  is  that  of  waiting  in  silent 
patience  or  confidence  for  his  inter- 
position ;  or,  in  other  words,  of  leaving 
the  whole  matter  with  him  without 
being  anxious  as  to  the  result.  \  And 
tvait  patiently  for  him.  For  his 
bringing  the  matter  to  a  proper  issue. 
He  may  seem  to  delay  long ;  it  may 
appear  strange  that  he  does  not  inter- 
pose ;  you  may  wonder  that  he  should 
suffer  an  innocent  man  to  be  thus 
accused  and  calumniated ;  but  you 
are  not  to  be  anxious  and  troubled. 
God  does  not  always  interpose  in  behalf 
of  the  innocent  at  once ;  and  there 
may  be  valuable  ends  to  accomplish  in 
reference  to  yourself, — in  the  disci- 
pline of  your  own  spirit ;  in  bringing 
out  in  your  case  the  graces  of  gentle- 
ness, patience,  and  forgiveness;  and 
in  leading  you  to  examine  yourself 
and  to  understand  your  own  character, 
— which  may  make  it  proper  that  he 
should  not  interpose  immediately.  It 
may  be  added  that,  however  impor- 
tant time  seems  to  us,  it  is  of  no  con- 
sequence to  God;  nullum  tempi's  occur- 
rit  (as  the  lawyers  say),  to  him ;  and 
more  important  results  may  be  secured 
by  delay  than  would  be  gained  by  an 
immediate  interposition  in  correcting 
the  evil  and  redressing  the  wrong. 
All  that  the  promise  implies  is  that 
justice  wilt  be  done,  but  whether 
sooner  or  later  must  be  left  to  him ; 
and  that  our  character  will  be  finally 
safe  in  his  hands.  %  Fret  not  thyself. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  1.     ^[  Because  of 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


321 


8  Cease  from  anger,  and  for- 
sake wrath ;  fret  not  thyself  in 
any  Avise  to  do  evil. 

9  For  evil-doers  shall  be  cut 


Mm  who  'prosper eth  in  his  way.  Be- 
cause a  wicked  man  has  a  prosperous 
life,  or  is  not  at  once  dealt  with  as  he 
deserves.  %  Because  of  the  man  toho 
hrhigeth  ivicked  devices  to  pass.  Be- 
cause the  man  is  allowed  to  accomplish 
his  purposes  of  wickedness,  or  is  not 
arrested  at  once  in  his  schemes  of 
guilt. 

8.  Cease  from  anger.  That  is,  in 
reference  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
wicked  men,  and  that  they  are  per- 
mitted to  carry  out  their  plans.  Do 
not  allow  your  mind  to  be  excited 
with  envious,  fretful,  wrathful,  or 
murmuring  feelings  against  God  be- 
cause he  bears  patiently  with  them, 
and  because  they  are  allowed  a  tem- 
porary prosperity  and  triumph.  Be 
calm,  whatever  may  be  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  world.  The  supreme  direc- 
tion belongs  to  God,  and  he  will  dis- 
pose of  it  in  the  best  way.     %  And 

forsake  wrath.  That  is,  as  above,  in 
regard  to  the  existence  of  evil,  and  to 
the  conduct  of  wicked  men.  f[  Fret 
not  thyself  in  any  ivise.  See  ver.  1. 
Let  the  mind  be  entirely  calm  and 
composed.  %  To  do  evil.  So  as  to 
lead  you  to  do  evil.  Do  not  allow 
your  mind  to  become  so  excited  that 
you  will  indulge  in  harsh  or  malignant 
remarks ;  or  so  as  to  lead  you  to  do 
wrong  to  any  man,  however  wicked 
he  may  be.  See  always  that  you  are 
right,  whatever  others  may  be,  and  do 
not  allow  their  conduct  to  be  the 
means  of  leading  you  into  sin  in  any 
form.  Look  to  your  own  character 
and  conduct  first. 

9.  For  evil-doers  shall  be  cut  off. 
See  ver.  2.  This  will  be  the  termi- 
nation of  their  course.  They  shall 
not  ultimately  prosper.  God  will 
order  all  things  in  equity,  and  though 
such  men  now  seem  to  be  prosperous, 
and  to  be  the  objects  of  the  Divine 
favour,  yet  all  this  is  temporary. 
The  day  of  retribution  will  certainly 
come,  and  they  will  be  dealt  with  as 


off :  but  those  that  wait  upon  the 
Lord,  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth. 

10  For  yet  a  little  while,  and 


they  deserve.  The  reference  here 
probably  is  to  judgment  in  this  life, 
or  to  the  fact  that  God  will,  as  a 
general  law,  show  his  disapprobation 
of  the  course  of  the  wicked  by  judg- 
ments inflicted  on  them  in  this  world. 
See  Ps.  lv.  23,  "  Bloody  and  deceitful 
men  shall  not  live  out  half  their  days." 
Pror.  x.  27,  "  The  years  of  the  wicked 
shall  be  shortened."  Comp.  Job  xv. 
32.  The  idea  here  is  that  wicked  men 
will  be  cut  down  before  they  reach 
the  ordinary  term  of  human  life,  or 
before  they  would  be  cut  off  if  they 
were  not  wicked.  Comp.  vers.  35, 36. 
This  is  not  indeed  universally  true, 
but  there  are  instances  enough  of  this 
kind  to  establish  it  as  a  general  rule. 
Intemperance,  voluptuousness,  the  in- 
dulgence of  violent  passions,  and  the 
crimes  proceeding  therefrom,  shorten 
the  lives  of  multitudes  who,  but  for 
these,  mTght  have  lived  long  on  the 
earth.  As  it  is  a  general  rule  that 
virtue,  piety,  the  fear  of  God,  tem- 
perance, honesty,  and  the  calmness  of 
spirit  which  results  from  these,  tend 
to  lengthen  out  life,  so  it  is  certain 
that  the  opposites  of  these  tend  to 
abridge  it.  Neither  virtue  nor  piety 
indeed  make  it  absolutely  certain  that 
a  man  will  live  to  be  old ;  but  vice 
and  crime  make  it  morally  certain 
that  he  will  not.  At  all  events,  it  is 
true  that  the  wicked  are  to  live  but  a 
little  while  upon  the  earth ;  that  they 
soon  will,  like  other  men,  be  cut  down 
and  removed ;  and  therefore  we  should 
not  fret  and  murmur  in  regard  to 
those  who  are  so  soon  to  pass  away. 
Comp.  Ps.  lxxiii.  \  But  those  that 
ivait  upon  the  Lord.  The  pious ;  they 
who  fear  God  and  serve  him.  \  They 
shall  inherit  the  earth.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ver.  3.     See  also  vers.  11,  22,  25. 

10.  For  yet  a  little  ivhile,  and  the 
ivicked  shall  not  be.  The  time  will 
soon  come  when  they  shall  pass  away. 
The  language  "  shall  not  be  "  cannot 
mean  that  tliey  will  cease  to  exist  alto- 
P2 


322 


PSALM    XXXVII. 


the  wicked  shall  not  be;  yea, 
thou  shalt  diligently  consider  his 
place,  and  it  shall  not  be. 

11  But  °  the  meek  shall  inherit 
the  earth,  and  shall  delight  them- 
selves in  the  abundance  of  peace. 

o  Matt.  v.  5. 


12  The  wicked  i  plotteth against 
the  just,  and  gnasheth  upon  him 
with  his  teeth. 

13  The  Lord  shall  laugh  at 
him  ;  for  he  seeth  that  his  day  is 


coming. 


1  Or,  practiseth. 


gether,  for  the  connexion  does  not 
demand  this  interpretation.  All  that 
is  intended  is  that  they  would  be  no 
longer  on  the  earth ;  they  would  no 
longer  live  to  give  occasion  for  anxious 
thoughts  and  troubled  feelings  in  the 
hearts  of  good  men.  ^  Yea,  iliou 
shalt  diligently  consider  his  place. 
The  place  where  he  lived ;  the  house 
in  which  he  dwelt ;  the  office  which 
he  filled ;  the  grounds  which  he  cul- 
tivated. Tf  And  it  shall  not  be.  Or 
rather,  perhaps,  as  in  the  former 
member  of  the  verse,  he  is  not.  That 
is,  you  will  not  see  him  there.  His 
seat  at  the  table  is  vacant ;  he  is  seen 
no  more  riding  over  his  grounds  ;  he 
is  no  more  in  the  social  circle  where 
he  found  his  pleasure,  or  in  the  place 
of  business  or  of  revelry  : — you  are 
impressed  with  the  feeling  that  he  is 
gone.  You  look  where  he  was,  but  he 
is  not  there ;  you  visit  every  place 
where  you  have  been  accustomed  to 
see  him,  but  he  is  gone.  Alas  !  where 
has  he  gone  ?     Comp.  Job  xiv.  10. 

11.  JBut  the  meek  shall  inherit  the 
earth.  See  Notes  on  ver.  3.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  rendered 
meek,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  12-,  where  it 
is  rendered  humble.  The  word  pro- 
perly denotes  those  who  are  afflicted, 
distressed,  needy ;  then,  those  who 
are'of  humble  rank  in  life  ;  then,  the 
mild,  the  gentle,  the  meek.  The  term 
here  is  a  general  one  to  denote  those 
who  are  the  friends  of  God,  considered 
as  meek,  mild,  gentle,  humble,  in 
contradistinction  from  the  wicked  who 
are  proud  and  haughty ;  perhaps  also, 
in  this  connexion,  in  contrast  with 
the  wicked  as  prosperous  in  life.  It 
was  probably  tins  passage  that  the 
Saviour  quoted  in  Matt.  v.  5.  *"  And 
shall  delight  themselves,  (a)  Shall 
prefer  what  is  here  referred  to  as  the 


source  of  their  happiness,  or  as  in 
accordance  with  the  desires  of  their 
hearts ;  (b)  shall  find  actual  delight 
or  happiness  in  this.  Though  not 
rich  and  prospered  in  this  world  as 
the  wicked  often  are,  yet  they  will 
have  their  own  sources  of  enjoyment, 
and  will  find  happiness  in  that  which 
they  prefer,  ^f  In  the  abundance  of 
peace.  In  abundant  peace.  In  the 
tranquillity  and  quietness  in  which 
they  spend  their  lives,  in  contrast 
with  the  jealousies,  the  contentions, 
and  the  strifes  which  exist  among  the 
wicked  even  when  prosperous.  They 
will  have  peace  with  God  (Ps.  xxix. 
11;  lxxxv.  8;  cxix.  165;  Rom.  v.  1); 
they  will  have  peace  in  their  own 
consciences ;  they  will  have  peace  in 
the  calmness  of  a  quiet  and  contented 
spirit ;  they  will  have  peace  with 
those  around  them,  as  they  have  no 
passions  to  gratify,  and  no  object  to 
secure,  which  will  excite  the  envy,  or 
stir  up  the  wrath,  of  others. 

12.  The  wicked  plotteth  against  the 
just.  Marg.,  practiseth.  The  Hebrew 
word  means  to  plot ;  to  lie  in  wait ; 
to  plan;  to  purpose;  to  devise.  See 
Ps.  xxxi.  13.  The  meaning  is,  that 
wicked  men  lay  their  plans  against 
the  righteous,  but  that  they  will  not 
be  able  to  carry  them  out,  or  accom- 
plish them,  for  they  will  be  cut  off, 
and  the  Lord  will  protect  his  friends. 
^  And  gnasheth  upon  him  with  his 
teeth.  An  expression  of  rage  or  anger. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxv.  16. 

13.  The  Loed  shall  laugh  at  him. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  ii.  4.  That  is,  he 
will  regard  all  his  attempts  as  vain — 
as  not  worthy  of  serious  thought  or 
care.  The  language  is  that  which  we 
use  when  there  is  no  fear  or  appre- 
hension felt.  It  is  not  that  God  is 
unfeeling,  or  that  he  is  disposed  to 


PSALM   XXXVII. 


323 


14  The  wicked  have  drawn  out 
the  sword,  and  have  bent  their 
bow,  to  cast  down  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  to  slay  l  such  as  be 
of  upright  conversation. 

1  the  upright  ofv;ay.        p  Prov.  xv.  16. 


deride  man,  but  that  he  regards  all 
such  efforts  as  vain,  and  as  not  de- 
manding notice  on  the  ground  of  any- 
thing to  he  apprehended  from  them. 
If  For  he  seeth  that  his  day  is  coming. 
The  day  of  his  destruction  or  over- 
throw. He  sees  that  the  wicked  man 
cannot  be  ultimately  successful,  hut 
that  destruction  is  coming  upon  him. 
There  is  nothing  ultimately  to  be 
apprehended  from  his  designs,  for  his 
overthrow  is  certain. 

14.  The  toicked  have  draivn  out  the 
sword.  That  is,  they  have  prepared 
themselves  with  a  full  purpose  to 
destroy  the  righteous.  %  And  have 
bent  their  bow.  Literally,  "  have 
trodden  the  bow,"  in  allusion  to  the 
method  by  which  the  bow  was  bent : 
to  wit,  by  placing  the  foot  on  it,  and 
drawing  the  string  back.  %  To  cast 
down  the  poor  and  needy.  To  cause 
them  to  fall.  ^f  And  to  slay  such  as 
be  of  upright  conversation.  Marg.,  as 
in  Heb.,  the  upright  of  way.  That  is, 
those  who  are  upright  in  their  manner 
of  life,  or  in  their  conduct. 

15.  Their  sword  shall  enter  into 
their  own  heart.  Their  purposes  will 
recoil  on  themselves;  or  they  will 
themselves  suffer  what  they  had  de- 
vised for  others.  See  the  same  senti- 
ment expressed  in  Ps.  vii.  15,  16;  ix. 
15;  comp.  Esther  vii.  10.  %  And 
their  bows  shall  be  broken.  They  will 
be  defeated  in  their  plans.  God  will 
cut  them  off,  and  not  suffer  them  to 
execute  their  designs. 

16.  A  little  that  a  righteous  man 
hath.  Literally,  Good  is  a  little  to 
the  righteous,  more  than,  etc.  Our 
translation,  however,  has  expressed 
the  sense  with  sufficient  accuracy. 
There  are  two  things  implied  here  : 
(a)  that  it  happens  not  unfrequently 
that  the  righteous  have  little  of  the 
wealth  of  this  world;    and  (b)  that 


15  Their  sword  shall  enter 
into  their  own  heart,  and  their 
bows  shall  be  broken, 

16  A  p  little  that  a  righteous 
man  hath  is  better  than  the  riches 
of  many  wicked. 


this   little   is  to  them  of  more  real 
value,    accompanied,    as   it    is,    with 
higher  blessings,  than  the  more  abun- 
dant wealth  which  the  wicked  often 
possess.      It   is   better   to   have    but 
little  of  this  world's  goods  toith  righ- 
teousness,   than    it    is   to   have   the 
riches  of  many  wicked  men — or  the 
wealth  which  is  often  found  in  the 
possession  of  wicked  men — with  their 
ungodliness.     It  is  not  always  true, 
indeed,  that  the  righteous  are  poor; 
but  if  they  are  poor,  their  lot  is  more 
to  be  desired  than  that  of  the  wicked 
man,  though  he  is  rich.     Comp.  Luke 
xvi.    19 — 31.     ^f  Is    better   than    the 
riches   of   many    tvieJced.     Of    many 
wicked  men.     The  small  property  of 
one  truly  good  man,  with  his  character 
and  hopes,  is  of  more  value  than  would 
be  the  aggregate  wealth  of  many  rich 
wicked  men  with  their  character  and 
prospects.     The  word  rendered  riches 
here — "jiTOTT,  hamon — means  properly 
noise,  sound,  as  of  rain  or  of  a  multi- 
tude of  men ;    then,  a  multitude,   a 
crowd  of  people ;    and  then,  a  multi- 
tude of  possessions ;  that  is,  riches  or 
wealth.     The  allusion  here  is  not,  as 
Professor  Alexander  supposes,  to  the 
tumult  or  bustle  which  often  attends 
the  acquisition  of  property,  or  to  the 
disorder  and  disquiet  which  attends 
its    possession,    but    simply    to    the 
amount   considered   as    large,    or    as 
accumulated  or  brought  together.     It 
is  true  that  its  acquisition  is   often 
attended  with  bustle  and  noise  ;  it  is 
true  that  its  possessor  has  not  often 
the  peace  and  calmness  of  mind  which 
the  man  has  who  has  a  mere  compe- 
tence ;  but  the  simple  thought  here  is 
that,  in  reference  to  the  amount,  or 
the  actual  possession,  it  is  better,  on 
the  whole,  to  have  what  the    poor, 
pious  man   has,  than   to  have  what 
many  wicked  men  have,  if  it  were  all 


321- 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


17  For  the  arms  9  of  the 
Tricked  shall  be  broken:  but  the 
Lord  upholdeth  the  righteous. 

IS  The  Lord  knoweth  the  days 
of  the  upright ;  and  their  inheri- 
tance r  shall  be  for  ever. 


19  They  shall  not  be  ashamed 
in  the  evil  time ;  and  in  the  days 
of  famine  they  shall  be  satisfied. 

20  But  the  wicked  shall  perish, 
and   the   enemies   of  the   Lord 

q  Ezek.  xxx.  21,  etc.       r  1  Pet.  i.  3,  4. 


gathered  together.  It  does  more  to 
make  a  man  happy  on  earth ;  it  furnishes 
a  better  prospect  for  the  life  to  come. 

17.  For  the  arms  qftlie  wicked  shall 
be  broken.  See  Xotes  on  Ps.  x.  15. 
The  arm  is  the  instrument  by  which 
we  accomplish  a  purpose;  and  the 
meaning  here  is,  that  that  will  be 
broken  on  which  the  wicked  rely,  or, 
in  other  words,  that  their  plans  will 
fail,  and  that  they  will  be  disappointed, 
— as  a  man  is  rendered  helpless  whose 
arms  are  broken.  Compare  Xotes  on 
Job  xxxviii.  15.  e~  But  the  Lord 
upholdeth  the  righteous.  The  Lord 
will  sustain  and  strengthen  him. 
While  the  plans  of  the  wicked  will 
be  defeated,  while  they  themselves 
will  be  overthrown,  and  fail  to  accom- 
plish their  purposes  of  wickedness,  the 
Lord  will  uphold  the  righteous,  and 
enable  them  fully  to  carry  out  their 
plans.  Their  great  scheme  or  purpose 
of  life,  the  promotion  of  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  salvation  of  their  own 
souls,  will  be  fully  accomplished, — for 
in  that  purpose  God  will  be  their 
helper  and  friend. 

18.  The  Loed  knoweth  the  days  of 
the  upright.  See  Xotes  on  Ps.  i.  6. 
He  knows  how  long  they  will  live, 
and  all  that  will  happen  to  them.  He 
sees  their  whole  course  of  life ;  he  sees 

end.  It  is  implied  here  that  his 
£ye?  are  on  all  the  allotted  days  of 
their  life ;  on  all  that  has  been  or- 
dained for  them  in  the  whole  course 
of  their  life;  and  that  nothing  can 
shorten  the  days  appointed  to  them. 
The  wicked  expect  to  live,  hope  to  live, 
make  their  arrangements  to  live ; 
but  their  eyes  cannot  rest  on  the 
future,  and  they  cannot  see  the  end, — 
cannot  tell  precisely  when  they  will 
be  cut  off.  Some  unexpected  cala- 
mity— something  which  they  cannot 
foresee — may  come  upon  them,  and 
cut  short  their  days  long  before  the 


expected  time ;  but  this  cannot  happen 
in  respect  to  Him  whose  eyes  are  on 
the  righteous.  Xothing  can  prevent 
their  reaching  the  time  which  he  has 
fixed  as  the  termination  of  their  lives. 
* 'Add  their  inheritance  shall  be  for 
ever.  Shall  be  permanent,  enduring. 
Perhaps  all  that  was  implied  in  this 
language,  as  it  was  used  by  the 
psalmist,  was  that  they  would  con- 
tinue, or  would  not  be  cut  off  as  the 
wicked  are ;  that  is,  that  righteous- 
ness would  contribute  to  length  of 
days  upon  the  earth  (conrp.  ver.  9) , 
yet  the  language  suggests  a  higher 
idea,  and  is  applicable  to  the  righteous 
in  respect  to  the  promise  that  they 
will  be  put  in  everlasting  possession  of 
that  which  they  "'inherit"  from  God  ; 
that  is,  that  they  will  be  literally 
blessed  for  ever.  They  will  have  a 
sure  inheritance  on  earth,  and  it  will 
endure  to  all  eternity  in  another  world. 

19.  They  shall  not  be  ashamed  in 
the  evil  time.  In  times  of  calamity 
and  trouble.  The  word  ashamed  here 
refers  to  disappointment ;  as  when 
one  goes  to  a  fountain  or  stream  for 
water  and  finds  it  dried  up.  See 
Xotes  on  Job  vi.  20,  and  Ps.  xxv.  2,  3. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  when  times  of 
trouble  and  calamity  come,  in  seasons 
of  famine  or  want,  they  will  find  their 
expectations,  arising  from  confidence 
in  God,  fully  met.  Their  wants  wil] 
be  supplied,  and  they  will  find  him  to 
be  their  friend.     %  And  in  the  days  of 

famine  they  shall  be  satisfied.  Their 
wants  shall  be  supplied.  God  will 
provide  for  them.  See  ver.  25.  This 
is  in  accordance  with  the  general 
promises  which  are  made  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  God  will  provide  for  the 
wants  of  those  that  trust  in  him.  See 
Xotes  on  ver.  3. 

20.  Hut  the  wicked  shall  perish. 
The  general  sentiment  here  is  the 
same  as  in  Ps.  i.,  that  the  righteous 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


325 


shall  he  as  the  1  fat  of  lambs : 
they  shall  consume ;  into  smoke 
shall  they  consume  away. 


precwusness. 


shall  he  prospered  arid  saved,  and  that 
the  wicked  shall  perish.     See  Notes 
on  Ps.  i.  4,  5.     The  word  perish  here 
would  be  applicable  to  any  form  of 
destruction, — death    here,    or    death 
hereafter, — for  it  is  equivalent  to  the 
idea    that    they    shall   be   destroyed. 
Whether  the  psalmist  means  here  to 
refer  to  the  fact  that  they  will  be  cut 
off  from  the  earth,  or  will  be  punished 
hereafter  in  the  world  of  woe,  cannot 
be  determined  from  the  word  itself. 
It  is  most  probable,  as  appears  from 
other  parts  of  the  psalm,  that  he  refers 
particularly  to  the  fact  that  they  will 
be  cut  down  in  their  sins ;  that  their 
lives  will  be  shortened  by  their  crimes ; 
that  they  will  by  their  conduct  expose 
themselves  to  the  displeasure  of  God, 
and  thus  be  cut  off.     The  word  used, 
however,  would  also  express  the  idea 
of  destruction  in  the  future  world  in 
any  form,  and  may  have  a  significance 
beyond  anything  that  can  befall  men 
in  this  life.     Cpmp.  2   Thess.  i.    8  ; 
Matt.  xxv.  46.     ^[  And  the  enemies  of 
the  Loed.     All  the  enemies  of  God  ; 
all  who  can  properly  be  regarded  as 
his  foes.     %  Shall  be  as   the  fat  of 
lambs.     Marg.,    the   preciousness   of 
lambs.  Gesenius  renders  this,  Wee  the 
beauty    of    the    pastures.      Professor 
Alexander,  like  the  precious  (part)  of 
lambs ;  that  is,  the  sacrificial  parts,  or 
the  parts  that  were  consumed  in  sacri- 
fice.    De  Wette,  as  the  splendour  of 
the  pasture.     The  Vulgate   and  the 
LXX.  render  it,  "  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord,  as  soon  as  they  are  honoured 
and  exalted,  shall  fail  as  if  they  were 
smoke."     Rosenmuller  renders  it  as 
it  is  in  our  common  version.    It  is  not 
easy  to  determine  the  meaning.     The 
word   rendered  fat  —  1p^,   yakar — 
means  properly  that  which  is  precious, 
costly,    weighty,   as   precious   gems ; 
then,  anything  dear,  beloved,  or  valu- 
able ;  then,  that  which  is  honoured, 
splendid,  beautiful,  rare.     It  is  in  no 


21  The  wicked  borroweth,  and 
payeth  not  again  :  but  the  righ- 
teous showeth  mercy,  and  giveth. 


other  instance  rendered  fat ;  and  it 
cannot  be  so  rendered  here,  except  as 
fat  was  considered  valuable  or  pre- 
cious.   But  this  is  a  forced  idea.    The 
word   *13,    kar,    properly   and   com- 
monly means  a  lamb ;  but  it  also  may 
mean  the  pasture  or  meadow  where 
lambs    feed.      Psa.   lxv.    13:    "The 
pastures — D^S,    karim — are   clothed 
with  flocks."     Isa.  xxx.  23,  "  In  that 
day   shall   thy  cattle    feed   in   large 
pastures"  —  where    the    same    word 
occurs.     It    seems  to   me,  therefore, 
that  the  interpretation  of  Gesenius, 
De  Wette,  and  others,  is  the  correct 
interpretation,  and  that  the  idea  is, 
that  the  wicked  in  their  pride,  beauty, 
and  wealth,  shall  be  like  the  meadow 
covered  with  grass  and  flowers,  soon 
to  be  cut  down  by  the  scythe  of  the 
mower,  or   by   the  frosts   of  winter. 
This  image  often  occurs :  Matt.  vi.  30 ; 
Ps.  xc.  5,  6 ;    Isa.  xl.  6-8 ;    James  i. 
10 ;  1  Pet.  i.  24.      %  They  shall  con- 
sume. The  word  here  used  means  to  he 
completed  or  finished;  to  be  consumed 
or  spent,  as  by  fire,  or  in  any  other 
manner;    to  pine  away  by  weeping, 
Lam.  ii.  11 ;  to  vanish  as  a  cloud  or 
smoke,  Job  vii.  9.    *j[  Into  smoke.    The 
meaning  here   is  not  that  they  will 
vanish  as  the  fat  of   lambs  does    in 
sacrifice,  but    simply  that  they  will 
pass   away   as    smoke    entirely    dis- 
appears.    All  that  there  was  of  them 
— their  wealth,  their  splendour,  their 
power — shall    utterly    vanish    away. 
This  is  spoken  in  contrast  with  what 
would  be  the  condition  of  the  righ- 
teous. 

21.  The  wicked  borroweth,  and 
payeth  not  again.  This  is  probably 
intended  here,  not  so  much  to  de- 
scribe the  character  as  the  condition 
of  the  wicked.  The  idea  is,  that  he 
will  be  in  such  a  condition  of  want 
that  he  will  be  under  a  necessity  of 
borrowing,  but  will  not  have  the 
means  of  repaying  what  he  has  bor- 


326 


PSALM  xxxvir. 


22  For  such  as  be  blessed  of  him 
shall  inherit  the  earth  ;  and  they 
that  be  cursed  of  him  shall  be  cut 
off. 


rowed,  while  the  righteous  will  not 
only  have  enough  for  himself,  but  will 
have  the  means  of  showing  mercy  to 
others,    and  of  giving  to  them  what 
they   need.     The   ability  to   lend   to 
others  is  referred  to  as  a  part  of  the 
promise  of  God  to  his  people,  and  as 
marking   their   condition  as    a  pros- 
perous one,  in  Deut.   xv.  6  :    "  And 
thou  shalt   lend  unto  many  nations, 
and  shalt  not  borrow."      Comp.  ch. 
xxviii.  12,  44.    It  is  true,  however,  as 
a  characteristic  of  a  wicked  man,  that 
he  will  often  be  disposed  to  borrow  and 
not  pay  again ;    that  he  will  be  reck- 
less  about   borrowing    and    careless 
about  pacing;  and  that  it  is  a  charac- 
teristic of  a  good  or  upright  man  that 
he  will  not  borrow  when  he  can  avoid 
it,  and  that  he  will  be  punctual  and 
conscientious  in  paying  what  he  has 
borrowed.    %  But  the  righteous  show- 
eth  mercy,   and  giveth.     That   is,   in 
this  connexion,  he  is  not  under  the 
necessity  of  borrowing  of  others  for 
the  supply  of  his  wants.     He  has  not 
only  enough  for  himself,  but  he  has 
the  means  of  aiding  others,  and  has 
the  disposition  to  do  it.    It  is  his  cha- 
racter to  show  favours,  and  he  has 
the  means  of  gratifying  this  desire. 
V  And    giveth.     Imparts    to    others. 
He  has  enough  for  himself,  and  has 
also  that  which  he  can  give  to  others. 
Of  course  all  this  is  designed  to  be 
general.     It  does  not  mean  that  this 
will  universally  be  the  case,  but  that 
the  tendency  of  a  life  of  piety  is  to 
make  a  man  prosperous  in  his  worldly 
affairs ;  to  give  him  what   he  needs 
for  himself,  and  to  furnish  him  with 
the  means,  as  he  has  the  disposition,  to 
do  good  to  others.  Other  things  being 
equal,    the   honest,  temperate,  pure, 
pious  man  will  be  the  most  prosperous 
in  the  world  :    for  honesty,  temper- 
ance, purity,   and  piet}*  produce  the 
industry,  economy,  and  prudence  on 
which  prosperity  depends. 


23  The  steps  «  of  a  good  man 
are  *  ordered  by  the  Lord  ;  and 
he  delighteth  in  his  way. 

s  Pj-ov.  xvi.  9.  1  Or,  established. 


22.  For  such  as  be  blessed  of  him. 
They  who  are  his  true  friends.  %  Shall 
inherit  the  earth.  See  ver.  9.  ^f  And 
they  that  be  cursed  of  him.  His 
enemies.  %  Shall  be  cut  off :  ver.  9. 
This  verse  suggests  a  thought  of 
great  importance,  in  advance  of  that 
which  had  been  suggested  before.  It 
is  that,  after  all,  the  difference  in  the 
ultimate  condition  of  the  two  depends 
on  the  question  whether  they  have, 
or  have  not,  the  favour  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  not  on  the  mere  fact  of  their  own 
skill,  but  it  is  on  the  fact  that  the  one 
has  secured  the  Divine  favour,  and 
that  the  other  has  not.  It  is  not  by 
mere  human  virtue,  irrespective  of 
God,  that  the  result  is  determined; 
but  it  is  that  one  is  the  friend  of  God, 
and  the  other  not.  This  consideration 
will  be  found  in  the  end  to  enter 
essentially  into  all  the  distinctions  in 
the  final  condition  of  mankind. 

23.  The  steps  of  a  good  man  are 
ordered  by  the  Loed.  Marg.,  estab- 
lished. The  word  rendered  ordered 
means  to  stand  erect ;  to  set  up ;  to 
found;  to  adjust,  fit,  direct.  The  idea 
here  is,  that  all  which  pertains  to  the 
journey  of  a  good  man  through  life 
is  directed,  ordered,  fitted,  or  arranged 
by  the  Lord.  That  is,  his  course  of 
life  is  under  the  Divine  guidance  and 
control.  The  word  good  has  been 
supplied  here  by  our  translators,  and 
there  is  nothing  corresponding  to  it 
in  the  original.  It  is  simply  there, 
"  the  steps  of  man  are  ordered,"  etc. 
Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  good 
or  pious  man  is  particularly  referred 
to,  for  the  connexion  demands  this  in- 
terpretation. The  word  steps  here 
means  his  course  of  life ;  the  way  in 
which  he  goes.  f[  And  he  delighteth 
in  his  way.  In  his  course  of  life  ;  and, 
therefore,  he  blesses  him.  The  general 
idea  is  that  he  is  the  object  of  the 
Divine  favour,  and  is  under  the  care 
of  God. 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


327 


24  Though  '  he  fall,  he  shall 
not  be  utterly  cast  down  :  for  the 
Lord  upholdeth  him  ivith  his 
hand. 

t  Mic.  vii.  8. 


•  25  I  have  been  young,  and  now 
am  old ;  yet  «  have  I  not  seen 
the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his 
seed  begging  bread. 

u  Isa.  xxxiii.  16 ;  Heb.  xiii.  5,  6. 


24.  Though  he  fall.  That  is,  though 
he  is  sometimes  disappointed;  though 
he  is  not  always  successful ;  though  he 
may  he  unfortunate, — yet  this  will 
not  he  final  ruin.  The  word  here  does 
not  refer  to  his  falling  into  sin,  hut 
into  misfortune,  disappointment,  re- 
verses, calamities.  The  image  is  that 
of  a  man  who  is  walking  along  on  a 
journey,  hut  who  stumhles,  or  falls  to 
the  earth — a  representation  of  one  who 
is  not  always  successful,  but  who  finds 
disappointment  spring  up  in  his  path. 
%  He  shall  not  be  utterly  cast  down. 
The  word  here  used — 2} to,  tul  — 
means  to  throiv  down  at  full  length, 
to  prostrate ;  then,  to  cast  out,  to 
throio  away.  Comp.  Isa.  xxii.  17; 
Jer.  xvi.  13  ;  xxii.  26;  Jonah  i.  5,  15, 
Here  it  means  that  he  would  not  be 
utterly  and  finally  prostrated ;  he 
would  not  fall  so  that  h  3  could  not 
rise  again.  The  calamity  would  be 
temporary,  and  there  would  be  ulti- 
mate prosperity.  ^f  For  the  Lord 
upholdeth  him  with  his  hand.  It  is 
by  no  power  of  his  own  that  he  is 
recovered,  but  it  is  because,  even 
when  he  falls,  he  is  held  up  by  an 
invisible  hand.  God  will  not  sutler 
him  to  sink  to  utter  ruin. 

25.  I  have  been  young.  The  idea 
in  this  whole  passage  is,  "  I  myself 
have  passed  through  a  long  life.  I 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  obser- 
vation, wide  and  extended.  When  I 
was  a  young  man  I  looked  upon  the 
world  around  me  with  the  views  and 
feelings  which  belong  to  that  period 
of  existence ;  when  in  middle  fife,  I 
contemplated  the  state  of  things  with 
the  more  calm  and  sober  reflections 
pertaining  to  that  period,  and  to  the 
opportunities  of  wider  observation ; 
and  now,  in  old  age,  I  contemplate 
the  condition  of  the  world  with  all  the 
advantages  which  a  still  wider  obser- 
vation and  a  longer  experience  give 
me,  and  with  the  impartial  judgment 


which  one  has  who  is  about  to  leave 
the  world.  And  the  result  of  all  is  a 
conviction  that  religion  is  an  advan- 
tage to  man ;  that  God  protects  his 
people;  that  he  provides  for  them; 
that  they  are  more  uniformly  and  con- 
stantly blessed,  even  in  their  worldly 
affairs,  than  other  men,  and  that  they 
do  not  often  come  to  poverty  and 
want."  There  is  a  sad  land  of  feel- 
ing which  a  man  has  when  he  is  con- 
strained to  say,  "I  have  been  young;" 
for  it  suggests  the  memory  of  joys, 
and  hopes,  and  friends,  that  are  now 
gone  for  ever.  But  a  man  may  have 
some  claim  to  respect  for  his  opinions 
when  he  is  constrained  to  say  it ;  for 
he  can  bring  to  the  coming  generation 
such  results  of  his  own  experience 
and  observation  as  may  be  of  great 
value  to  those  who  are  "  young."  ^f 
And  now  am  old.  This  demonstrates 
that  this  psalm  was  one  of  the  later 
productions  of  its  author;  and  the 
psalm  has  an  additional  value  from 
this  circumstance,  as  stating  the  re- 
sults of  a  long  observation  of  the  course 
of  affairs  on  the  earth.  Yet  there  is 
much  that  is  solemn  when  a  man  is 
constrained  to  say,  "  I  am  old."  Life 
is  nearly  ended.  The  joys,  the  hopes, 
the  vigour  of  youth,  are  all  gone. 
The  mature  strength  of  manhood  is 
now  no  more.  The  confines  of  life 
are  nearly  reached.  The  next  remove 
is  to  another  world,  and  that  now 
must  be  near  ;  and  it  is  a  solemn  thing 
to  stand  on  the  shores  of  eternity  ;  to 
look  out  on  that  boundless  ocean,  to 
feel  that  earth,  and  all  that  is  dear  on 
earth,  is  soon  to  be  left  for  ever.  % 
Yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  for- 
saken.  Forsaken  by  God ;  so  forsaken 
that  he  has  not  a  friend  ;  so  forsaken 
that  he  has  nothing  with  which  to 
supply  his  wants,  %  Nor  his  seed 
begging  bread.  Nor  his  children  beg- 
gars. This  was  a  remarkable  testi- 
mony ;    and    though   it    cannot    be 


328 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


26  He  is  l  ever  merciful,   and 
lendeth ;  and  his  seed  is  blessed. 

1  all  Ike  day. 


affirmed  that  the  psalmist  meant  to 
say  literally  that  he  had  never,  in  any 
instance,  met  with  such  a  case — for 
the  language  may  have  heen  intended 
as  a  general  statement, — yet  it  may 
have  been  true  to  the  letter.     In  the 
course  of  a  long  life  it  may  have  oc- 
curred that  he  had  never  met  with 
such  a  case, — and  if  so,  it  was  a  re- 
markable proof  of  the  correctness  of 
the  general  remarks  which    he   was 
making  about  the  advantage  of  piety. 
It  is  not  now  universally  true  that 
the  "righteous"  are  not  "forsaken/' 
in  the  sense  that  they  do  not  want,  or 
in  the  sense  that  their  children  are 
not  constrained  to   beg  their  bread, 
but  the  following  things,  are  true : 
(a)  that  religion  tends  to  make  men 
industrious,  economical,  and  prudent, 
and   hence   tends   to   promote    pros- 
perity,  and  to  secure  temporal  com- 
forts;  (h)  that  religion  of  itself  im- 
poverishes no  one,  or  makes  no  one 
the  poorer;    (c)   that   religion   saves 
from    many  of  the  expenses  in  life 
which  are  produced  by  vicious  indul- 
gence ;  and  (d)  that,  as  a  general  rule, 
it  saves  men  and  their  children  from 
the  necessity  of  public  begging,  and 
from  the  almshouse.      Who  are  the 
inmates   of  the   poor-houses   in   the 
land  ?     Who  are  the  beggars  in  our 
great  cities  ?     Here  and  there,  it  may 
be,  is  one  who  is  the  child  of  pious 
parents,  reduced  by  sickness. or  mis- 
fortune, or  a  want  of  practical  good 
sense, — for  religion  does  not  alter  the 
constitution  of  the  mind,   and    does 
not  impart  the  skill  or  talent  on  which 
so  much  of  the  success  in  life   de- 
pends; but  the  great  mass  of  persons 
in  our  almshouses,  and  of  beggars  in 
the  streets,  are  themselves  intempe- 
rate, or  are  the  wives  and  children  of 
the  intemperate.  They  consist  of  those 
whom  religion,  as  it  would  have  made 
them  virtuous  and  industrious,  would 
have  saved  from  rags  and  beggary. 
It  may  not  now  be  literally  true  that 
any  one  who  has  been  young,  and  who 


27  Depart  from  evil,   and  du 
good ;  and  dwell  for  evermore. 


is  become  old,  could  say  that  he  had 
not  once  seen  the  righteous  forsaken 
nor  his  seed  begging  bread ;  but  the 
writer  of  these  lines,  who  has  this 
day — the  day  on  which  he  pens  them 
(Dec.  1, 1859) — reached  the  sixty-first 
year  of  his  life,  and  who  is  constrained 
to  say  "  I  have  heen  young,"  though 
he  may  feel  a  reluctance  to  add,  "but 
now  am  old,"  can  say,  as  the  result 
of  his  own  observation  in  the  world, 
that,  as  a  great  law,  the  children  of 
the  pious  are  not  vagrants  and  beg- 
gars. As  a  great  law,  they  are  sober, 
industrious,  and  prosperous.  The  va- 
grants and  the  beggars  of  the  world 
are  from  other  classes ;  and  whatever 
may  be  the  bearing  of  religion  on  the 
destinies  of  men  in  the  future  world, 
in  this  world  the  effect  is  to  make 
them  virtuous,  industrious,  prudent, 
and  successful  in  their  worldly  affairs, 
so  that  their  children  are  not  left  to 
beggary  and  want,  but  to  respecta- 
bility and  to  competence. 

26.  He  is  ever  merciful.  Marg.,  as 
in  Heb.,  all  the  day.  That  is,  it  is 
his  character ;  he  is  constantly  in  the 
habit  of  showing  kindness.  He  does 
not  do  it  at  intervals,  or  only  occa- 
sionally, but  it  is  this  that  marks  the 
character  of  the  man.  He  is  known 
by  this.  The  word  merciful  here  means 
kind,  compassionate,  benignant, — and 
particularly  in  this  respect,  that  he 
is  willing  to  lend  to  others  when  he 
has  the  means.  %  And  lendeth.  The 
wicked  man  borrows,  but  does  not 
pay  again  (ver.  21) ;  the  righteous 
man  lends  to  his  neighbour.  %  And 
his  seed  is  blessed.  His  children;  his 
posterity,  as  the  result  of  this  con- 
duct on  his  part.  The  effect  of  what 
he  does  passes  over  from  him  to  them, 
conveying  rich  blessings  to  them. 

27.  Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good. 
This  is  the  sum  of  all  that  is  said  in 
the  psalm ;  the  great  lesson  inculcated 
and  enforced  by  all  these  references 
to  the  effects  of  good  and  evil  con- 
duct.   All  these  results — all  that  men 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


329 


28  For  » the  Lord  lovetli  judg- 
ment, and  forsaketli  not  his 
saints  ;  they  are  preserved  w  for 
ever  :  but  *  the  seed  of  the  wicked 
shall  be  cut  off. 

29  The  righteous  shall  inherit 
the  land,  and  dwell  therein  for 


ever. 

v  lsa.  xxx.  18. 


to  1  Pet.  i.  5. 


30  The  v  mouth  of  the  right- 
eous speaketh  wisdom,  and  his 
tongue  talketh  of  judgment. 

31  The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his 
z  heart :  none  of  his  i  steps  shall 
slide. 

32  The   wicked  watcheth    the 

x  lsa.  xiv.  20.  y  Matt.  xii.  35. 

2  Dent.  vi.  6 ;  lsa.  li.  7-       *  Or,  goings. 


experience  themselves,  and  all  the 
effects  of  their  conduct  on  their  pos- 
terity, enforce  the  great  practical 
lesson  that  we  should  do  good  and 
avoid  evil.  These  results  of  conduct 
are  among  the  means  which  God  em- 
ploys to  induce  men  to  do  right,  and 
to  abstain  from  what  is  wrong.  ^ 
And  dwell  for  evermore.  That  is, 
dwell  in  the  land :  meaning  (in  ac- 
cordance with  the  general  drift  of  the 
psalm)  that  righteousness  will  be  con- 
nected with  length  of  days  and  with 
prosperity;  that  its  effects  will  be 
permanent  on  a  family,  descending 
from  one  generation  to  another.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  3. 

28.  For  the  Loed  loveth  judgment. 
That  is,  God  loves  that  which  is  right; 
he  loves  to  do  right.  The  idea  is, 
that  such  a  recompense  as  is  here  ad- 
verted to, — that  on  the  one  hand,  in 
rewarding  with  prosperity  a  pure  and 
upright  life — and  that,  on  the  other, 
in  cutting  off  the  wicked — is  right 
and  proper  in  itself;  and  that  as  God 
loves  to  do  right,  these  consequences 
respectively  may  be  expected  to  follow 
in  regard  to  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked.      Comp.  Ps.   xi.  7.      ^f  And 

forsaketh  not  his  saints.  He  mani- 
fests his  sense  of  that  which  is  right, 
by  not  forsaking  his  saints,  ^f  They 
are  preserved  for  ever.  They  are 
ever  under  his  paternal  eye,  and  he 
will  keep  them.  It  will  be  literally 
true  that  they  will  be  preserved  for 
ever,  that  they  will  never  be  suffered 
to  perish.  \  But  the  seed  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  cat  off.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xxi.  10.     Comp.  ver.  22. 

29.  The  righteous  shall  inherit  the 
land.  See  ver.  3.  The  word  inherit 
suggests  the  idea  that  they  are  heirs, 


and  that  God  will  treat  them  as  his 
children.  %  And  dwell  therein  for 
ever.     Vers.  3,  18,  27. 

30.  The  mouth  of  the  righteous 
speaketh  wisdom.  That  is,  It  is  a  cha- 
racteristic of  the  righteous  to  speak 
wise  things ;  not  to  utter  folly.  His 
conversation  is  serious,  earnest,  t^ue, 
pure;  and  his  words  are  faithful, 
kind,  and  just.  This,  as  a  part  of 
human  conduct,  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  God  will  bless  him  with  pros- 
perity and  length  of  days.  ^[  And 
his  tongue  talketh  of  judgment  That 
is,  of  just  or  righteous  things.  See 
Matt.  xii.  35. 

31.  The  laiv  of  his  God  is  in  his 
heart.  That  is,  he  loves  it ;  he  thinks 
of  it ;  he  makes  it  the  inward  rule  of 
his  conduct :  Deut.  vi.  6 ;  Ps.  xl.  8. 
The  word  law  here  is  a  general  term 
for  the  truth  of  God, — for  all  that  he 
has  revealed  to  guide  men.  As  long 
as  that  truth  is  in  the  heart ;  as  long 
as  it  is  the  object  of  love;  as  long  as 
it  is  suffered  to  guide  and  control  us, 
so  long  will  our  words  and  conduct  be 
right.  *f[  None  of  his  steps  shall 
slide.  Marg.,  goings.  The  idea  is, 
that  his  course  will  be  firm  and 
steady.  He  will  not  fall  into  sin,  and 
his  life  will  be  prosperous  and  happy. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  the  general 
sentiment  in  the  psalm,  that  religion 
tends  to  promote  prosperity,  happi- 
ness, and  length  of  days  on  the  earth. 

32.  The  iviciced  watcheth  the  right- 
eous, etc.  Observes  closely ;  looks 
out  for  him ;  has  his  eye  on  him, 
seeking  an  opportunity  to  slay  him. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  x.  8,  9.  The  sense 
is,  that  the  wicked  are  the  enemies  of 
the  righteous,  and  seek  to  do  them 
wrong.     It  is  a  characteristic  of  the 


330 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


righteous,   and  seeketh   to   slay 
him. 

33  The  Lord  «  will  not  leave 
him  in  his  hand,  nor  condemn 
*»  him  when  he  is  judged. 

a  2  Pet.  ii.  9.  b  Rom.  viii.  1,  34. 


wicked  that  they  seek  to  destroy  the 
righteous.  This  was  manifested  in 
the  case  of  the  prophets;  in  the  case 
of  the  apostles ;  in  the  case  of  the 
Saviour;  and  it  has  been  so  manifest 
in  the  deaths  of  the  martyrs,  and  all 
the  persecutions  which  the  Church 
has  suffered,  as  to  justify  the  general 
declaration  that  it  is  one  of  the  cha- 
racteristics of  a  wicked  world  that  it 
desires  to  do  this. 

33.  The  Loed  will  not  leave  him 
in  his  hand.  Comp.  2  Peter  ii.  9. 
That  is,  He  will  rescue  him  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  wicked;  he  will  not  leave 
him,  so  that  the  wicked  shall  ac- 
complish his  purpose.  The  psalmist 
here  undoubtedly  means  to  refer 
mainly  to  what  will  occur  in  the  pre- 
sent life — to  the  fact  that  God  will 
interpose  to  deliver  the  righteous 
from  the  evil  designs  of  the  wicked, 
as  he  interposes  to  save  his  people 
from  famine  and  want.  The  meaning 
is  not  that  this  will  universally  occur, 
for  that  would  not  be  true;  but  that 
this  is  the  general  course  of  things  ; 
this  is  the  tendency  and  bearing  of 
the  Divine  interpositions  and  the 
Divine  arrangements.  Those  inter- 
positions and  arrangements  are,  on 
the  whole,  favourable  to  virtue,  and 
favourable  to  those  who  love  and  serve 
God  ;  so  much  so  that  it  is  an  ad- 
vantage even  in  the  present  life  to 
serve  God.  But  this  will  be  abso- 
lutely and  universally  true  in  the 
future  world.  The  righteous  will  be 
tcholly  and  Jo  r  ever  placed  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  wicked.  %  Nor  condemn 
him  when  he  is  judged.  Literally,  He 
will  not  regard  or  hold  him  to  be 
guilty  when  he  is  judged.  He  will 
regard  and  treat  him  as  a  righteous 
man.  This  may  refer  either  (a)  to  a 
case  where  a  judgment  is  pronounced 
on  a  good  man  by  his  fellow -men,  by 


34  "Wait «  on  the  Lord,  and 
keep  his  way,  and  he  shall  exalt 
thee  to  inherit  the  land :  when 
the  wicked  are  cut  off,  thou  shalt 
see  it. 

c  ver.  7- 


which  he  is  condemned  or  adjudged 
to  be  guilty — meaning  that  God  will 
not  so  regard  and  treat  him  ;  or  (b) 
to  the  final  judgment,  when  the  cause 
comes  before  God — meaning  that 
then  he  will  regard  and  treat  him  as 
righteous.  Both  of  these  are  true; 
but  it  seems  probable  that  the  former 
is  particularly  referred  to  here.  De 
Wette  understands  it  in  the  latter 
sense ;  Kosenmiiller  in  the  former. 
Rosenmuller  remarks  that  the  idea 
is,  that  the  wicked,  when  he  is  not 
permitted  to  assail  the  righteous  by 
violence,  makes  his  appeal  to  the 
courts,  and  seeks  to  secure  his  con- 
demnation there,  but  that  God  will 
not  permit  this.  As  he  has  saved  him 
from  violence,  so  he  will  interpose  and 
save  him  from  an  unrighteous  con- 
demnation in  the  courts.  This  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  true  idea.  Of  course, 
this  is  to  be  understood  only  in  a 
general  sense,  or  as  marking  the 
general  course  of  things  under  the 
Divine  administration.  On  this  sub- 
ject, comp.  Dr.  Taylor's  Lectures  on 
Moral  Government;  vol.  i.,  pp.  252 
— 262.  See  also  Butler's  Analogy, 
passim. 

34.  Wait  on  the  Loed.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  9.  Let  your  hope  be  from 
the  Lord  ;  depend  wholly  upon  him  ; 
have  such  confidence  in  him  as  to  ex- 
pect his  gracious  interposition  in  your 
behalf.  *j[  And  keep  his  way.  Or, 
walk  in  the  path  which  he  commands. 
Do  not  turn  from  that  at  any  time. 
Do  not  allow  any  temptation,  or  any 
opposition,  to  cause  you  to  swerve 
from  that  path.  %  And  he  shall 
exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land.  See 
vers.  3,  9,  18.  ^[  When  the  wicked 
are  cut  off,  thou  shalt  see  it.  This  im- 
plies that  they  would  certainly  be  cut 
off,  and  that  the  righteous  would  be 
permitted  to  see  the  result  of  a  course 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


331 


35  I <l  have  seen  the  wicked  in 
great  power,  and  spreading  him- 
self like  a  l  green  bay  tree. 

d  Job  v.  3;  Isa.  xiv.  W — 19. 


36  Yet  he  passed  away,  and, 
lo,  he  ivas  not :  yea,  I  sought  him, 
but  he  could  not  be  found. 

1  Or,  tree  that  groweth  in  his  oxen  soil. 


of  righteousness  and  one  of  wicked- 
ness. It  is  not  necessarily  implied  that 
they  would  have  any  satisfaction  in  see- 
ing the  punishment  of  the  wicked ;  but 
the  meaning  is,  that  they  would  be 
permitted  to  live  so  as  to  see  that  one 
course  of  life  tended  to  secure  the 
favour  of  God,  and  another  to  incur 
his  displeasure;  that  there  was  an 
advantage  in  virtue  and  religion  in 
this  life ;  and  the  certainty  that  they 
would  see  this  is  adverted  to  as  a 
motive  for  leading  a  life  of  piety.  The 
result  is  so  sure  that  a  man  may,  if 
he  live  long,  see  it  himself;  and  the 
fact  that  this  is  so  should  be  an  in- 
ducement for  his  leading  a  holy  life. 
The  psalmist  proceeds,  in  vers.  35, 
36,  to  illustrate  this  idea  from  his  own 
observation. 

35.  I  have  seen.  I  have  had  an 
opportunity,  in  my  long  life  (ver.  25), 
of  witnessing  the  accuracy  of  the  state- 
ment just  made,  that  a  righteous  man 
may  live  to  see  a  confirmation  of  the 
truth  that  wickedness,  however  pros- 
perous the  wicked  man  may  be,  will 
lead  to  ultimate  ruin, — as  I  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  (vers.  25,  26) 
the  effect  of  a  course  of  righteousness 
on  the  ultimate  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness of  its  possessor.  The  same  ex- 
perience, with  the  same  result,  is 
referred  to  in  Job  v.  3.  %  In  great 
'power.  The  word  here  used — V"*"^, 
aritz — means  properly  terrible  ;  in- 
spiring terror.  It  is  applied  to  God 
in  Jer.  xx.  11 ;  and  to  powerful 
nations,  Isa.  xxv.  3.  It  is  also  used  in 
a  bad  sense,  as  denoting  violent,  fierce, 
lawless,  or  a  tyrant,  Isa.  xiii.  11 ; 
xxv.  4,  5;  Job  xv.  20;  xxvii.  13. 
Here  it  may  be  used  in  the  sense  of 
one  who  was  prosperous  and  mighty, 
and  as  referring  to  a  man  who  wielded 
vast  power  ;  but  there  is  connected 
with  that  aho,  undoubtedly,  the  idea 
that  that  power  was  wielded,  not  for 
purposes  of  benevolence,  but  for  injus- 


tice, oppression,  and  wrong.  It  was 
a  wicked  man  that  was  thus  powerful. 
■j[  And  spreading  himself.  The  word 
here  used  means  properly  to  be  naked ; 
to  make  naked ;  to  empty ;  then,  to 
pour  oneself  out ;  and  then,  to  spread 
oneself  abroad.  It  is  applied  here  to 
a  tree  that  seems  to  pour  itself  out, 
or  to  spread  itself  out  in  every  direc- 
tion,— sending  its  limbs  aloft,  and  its 
branches  far  on  every  side.  ^  Like 
a  green  hay  tree.  Marg.,  a  green  tree 
that  groiceth  in  its  own  soil.  The 
bag  tree  is  a  species  of  laurel,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  original 
word  here  refers  particularly  to  this, 
or  specifically  to  any  other  tree.  The 
original  word—  i"HT>J>  ezrahh — is  de- 
rived from  TTT?,  zarahh,  to  rise ;  and 
then,  to  spring  up  as  a  plant  does, 
and  it  properly  means  here,  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  margin,  a  native  tree  ; 
that  is,  a  tree  that  grows  in  its 
own  soil,  or  that  has  not  been  trans- 
planted. Then,  also,  it  comes  to  de- 
note a  native;  one  born  in  the  country, 
not  a  foreigner:  Lev.  xvi.  29;  xviii. 
26,  et  al.  The  idea  here  is  that  a  tree 
which  thus  remains  in  its  own  soil  is 
more  vigorous,  and  will  attain  to  a 
larger  growth,  than  one  which  is  trans- 
planted ;  and  thus  the  figure  becomes 
an  emblem  of  a  prosperous  and  mighty 
man.  Perhaps,  also,  there  is  included 
here,  respecting  the  man,  the  idea 
that  he  has  grown  up  where  he  is  ; 
that  he  has  not  been  driven  from 
place  to  place ;  that  he  has  had  uni- 
form prosperity ;  that  on  the  very 
soil  which  gave  him  birth  he  has  risen 
to  rank,  to  wealth,  to  power.  His 
life  has  been  spent  in  tranquil  scenes, 
where  everything  seemed  to  be  stable 
and  secure ;  what  his  end  will  be,  the 
psalmist  states  in  the  next  verse. 

36.  Yet  he  passed  away.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  xx.  5.  The  allusion 
here,  of  course,  is  to  the  man,  and  not 
to  the  tree,  though  the  grammatical 


332 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


37  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and 


c  Prow  xiw  32. 


behold  the  upright :  for  the  end 
c  of  that  man  is  peace. 


construction  might  refer  to  either. 
The  idea  is  that  he  passed  out  of  view 
— he  teas  gone ;  he  had  no  permanent 
ahode  on  earth,  but  with  all  his  pomp 
and  splendour  he  had  disappeared. 
Neither  his  prosperity,  his  greatness, 
nor  his  wealth,  could  secure  him  a 
permanent  abode  on  earth.  It  might 
be  said,  also,  in  reply  to  this,  that  the 
good  man  passes  away  and  is  not. 
That  is  true.  But  the  meaning  here 
is,  that  this  occurs  so  much  more  fre- 
quently in  the  case  of  a  wicked  man, 
or  that  wickedness  is  followed  so  often 
in  this  life  by  the  judgment  of  God  in 
cutting  him  off,  as  to  show  that  there 
is  a  moral  government,  and  that  that 
government  is  administered  in  favour 
of  the  righteous,  or  that  it  is  an 
advantage  in  this  life  to  be  righteous. 
It  cannot  be  meant  that  this  is  univer- 
sally so  here,  but  that  this  is  the 
general  rule,  and  that  it  is  so  constant 
as  to  show  that  God  is  on  the  side  of 
virtue  and  religion.  %  And  lo,  he 
was  not.  He  was  no  more ;  there  was 
no  longer  any  such  person.  The  word 
"  lo "  implies  that  there  was  some 
degree  of  surprise,  or  that  what  had 
occurred  was  not  looked  for  or  ex- 
pected. The  observer  had  seen  him 
in  great  power,  flourishing,  rich, 
honoured;  and,  to  his  astonishment, 
he  soon  passed  entirely  away.  %  Yea, 
I  sought  him,  but  he  could  not  be 
found.  This  is  intended  to  confirm 
what  had  been  just  said,  or  to  show 
how  completely  he  had  disappeared. 
It  might  be  supposed,  perhaps,  that 
his  removal  was  only  temporary — that 
he  was  still  somewhere  upon  the 
earth ;  but  the  psalmist  says  that 
after  the  most  diligent  search,  he 
could  not  find  him.  He  had  disap- 
peared entirely  from  among  men. 

37.  Mark  the  perfect  man.  In 
contract  with  what  happens  to  the 
wicked.  The  word  perfect  here  is 
used  to  designate  a  righteous  man, 
or  a  man  who  serves  and  obeys  God. 
See  Notes  on  Job  i.  1.  The  word 
mark  here  means  observe,  take  notice 


of.  The  argument  is,  "  Look  upon 
that  man  in  the  end,  in  contrast  with 
the  prosperous  wicked  man.  See  how 
the  close  of  life,  in  his  case,  differs 
from  that  of  a  wicked  man,  though 
the  one  may  have  been  poor  and 
humble,  and  the  other  rich  and  hon- 
oured." The  point  of  the  psalmist's 
remark  turns  on  the  end,  or  the  ter- 
mination of  their  course;  and  the 
idea  is,  that  the  end  of  thfe  two  is 
such  as  to  show  that  there  is  an 
advantage  in  religion,  and  that  God 
is  the  friend  of  the  righteous.  Of 
course  this  is  to  be  understood  in 
accordance  with  the  main  thought  in 
the  psalm,  as  affirming  what  is  of 
general  occurrence,  %  And  behold 
the  upright.  Another  term  for  a  pious 
man.  Religion  makes  a  man  upright; 
and  if  a  man  is  not  upright  in  his 
dealings  with  his  fellow-man,  or  if 
what  he  professes  does  not  make  him 
do  right,  it  is  the  fullest  proof  that  he 
has  no  true  piety,  1  John  iii.  7, 8.  %  For 
the  end  of  that  man  is  peace.  De  Wette 
renders  this,  Denn  Nachkommen  hat 
der  Mann  Friedens  ; — "  For  a  future 
has  the  man  of  peace."  So  it  is  ren- 
dered by  the  Latin  Vulgate  :  Sunt  re- 
liquiae homini  pacifico.  So  the  LXX. 
So  also  Hengstenberg,  Rosenmiiller, 
and  Prof.  Alexander.  Tholuck  renders 
it,  as  in  our  version,  "  It  shall  go  well 
at  last  to  such  a  man."  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  connexion  demands  this 
construction,  and  the  authority  of 
Tholuck  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the 
Hebrew  will  admit  of  it.  The  word 
rendered  end  —  nsTTTN,  ahharith  — 
means  properly  the  last  or  extreme 
part ;  then,  the  end  or  issue  of  any- 
thing,— that  which  comes  after  it ; 
then,  the  after  time,  the  future,  the 
hereafter :  Isa.  ii.  2 ;  Micah  iv.  1 ; 
Gen.  xlix.  1 ;  Dan.  x.  14.  It  may, 
therefore,  refer  to  anything  future; 
and  would  be  well  expressed  by  the 
word  hereafter; — the  hereafter  of 
such  a  man.  So  it  is  rendered  my  last 
end  in  Num.  xxiii.  10;  latter  end, 
Num.  x.xiv.  20 ;  their  end,  in  Ps.  lxxiii. 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


333 


38  But/  the  transgressors  shall 
be  destroyed  together :  the  end 
of  the  wicked  shall  be  cut  off. 

39  But  the  salvation  of  the 
righteous  is  of  the  Lord  ;  he  is 
their  strength  in  the  time  of 
trouble. 


40  And  the  Lord  shall  help 
them,    and     deliver    them ;    he 

shall  deliver  them  from  the 
wicked,  and  save  them,  because 
they  trust  in  him. 

/  Matt.  xiii.  30. 
(/  Dan.  iii.  17—28. 


17.  It  might,  therefore,  refer  to  all 
the  future.  The  connexion — the  con- 
trast with  what  happens  to  the  wicked, 
vers.  36,  38 — would  seem  to  imply 
that  it  is  used  here  'particularly  and 
especially  with  reference  to  the  close 
of  life.  The  contrast  is  between  the 
course  of  the  one  and  that  of  the 
other,  and  between  the  termination 
of  the  one  course  and  "of  the  other. 
In  the  one  case,  it  is  ultimate  disaster 
and  ruin  ;  in  the  other,  it  is  ultimate 
peace  and  prosperity.  The  one  issues 
id,  or  .is  followed  by  death  and  ruin; 
Ihe  other  is  succeeded  by  peace  and 
salvation.  Hence  the  word  may  be 
extended  without  impropriety  to  all 
the  future, — the  whole  hereafter.  The 
word  peace  is  often  employed  in  the 
Scriptures  to  denote  the  effect  of  true 
religion,  (a)  as  implying  reconciliation 
with  God,  and  (b)  as  denoting  the 
calmness,  the  tranquillity,  and  the 
happiness  which  results  from  such 
reconciliation,  from  his  friendship,  and 
from  the  hope  of  heaven.  See  John 
xiv.  27  ;  xvi.  33  ;  Rom.  v.  1;  viii.  6; 
Gal.  v.  22 ;  Phil.  iv.  7.  The  meaning 
here,  according  to  the  interpretation 
suggested  above,  is,  that  the  future 
of  the  righteous  man — the  whole 
future — would  be  peace ;  (a)  as  a 
general  rule,  peace  or  calmness  in 
death  as  the  result  of  religion;  and 
(b)  in  the  coming  world,  where  there 
will  be  perfect  and  eternal  peace.  As 
a  usual  fact  religious  men  die  calmly 
and  peacefully,  sustained  by  hope  and 
by  the  presence  of  God ;  as  a  universal 
fact,  they  are  made  happy  for  ever 
beyond  the  grave. 

38.  But  tlie  transgressors.  Sinners; 
violators  of  the  law  of  God.  %  Shall 
be  destroyed  together. '  The  word  to- 
gether here — *\1T]1,  yahhdav — means 
properly  a  union  of  them ;  then,  toge- 


ther — either  (a)  in  one  place,  Gen. 
xiii.  6, — or  (b)  at  one  time,  Ps.  iv.  8; 
or  (c)  all  as  one,  Ps.  xiv.  3, — or  (d) 
mutually  with  one  another,  as  v.rhen 
men  strive. together,  Deut.  xxv.  11. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  one  would  be 
destroyed  as  well  as  another  ;  that 
there  would  be  no  exception ;  that 
they  would  go  to  the  same  ruin.  They 
might  be  destroyed  at  different  times, 
or  in  different  modes,  but  it  would  be 
the  same  destruction  in  the  end.  ^[ 
The  end  of  the  ivicked.  The  future 
of  the  wicked.  The  same  word  is 
used  here  which  occurs  in  ver.  37,  as 
applied  to  the  righteous.  The  mean- 
ing is,  that  while  the  future  of  the 
one  wrould  be  peace,  the  future  of  the 
other  would  be  a  cutting  off,  or  de- 
struction. %  Shall  be  cut  off.  That 
is,  they  shall  be  cut  off;  or,  there 
will  be  a  cutting  off.  This  means 
here,  evidently,  (a)  that  as  an  ordi- 
nary fact  they  would  be  cut  down 
before  they  had  reached  the  full  limit 
of  their  course,  vers.  35,  36 ;  (b)  in 
the  future  world  they  would  be  cut 
off  from  hope  and  happiness  for  ever. 

39.  But  the  salvation  of  the  righte- 
ous is  of  the  Loed.  Or,  salvation  comes 
to  the  righteous  from  the  Lord.  While 
the  wicked  are  cut  off,  the  righteous 
shall  be  safe.  There  are  evidently 
two  ideas  here :  (1)  that  there  will  be 
salvation  to  the  righteous,  while  the 
wicked  are  cut  off ;  (2)  that  this  comes 
from  the  Lord,  and  not  from  them- 
selves. It  is  not  owing  to  any  powrer 
of  their  own  that  they  are  safe,  but 
is  solely  because  they  are  kept  by  the 
Lord.  ^[  He  is  their  strength  in  the 
time  of  trouble.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
ix.  9;  xviii.  2. 

40.  And  the  Loed  shall  help  them. 
He  will  interpose  to  defend  them  when 
they  are  in  danger  and  in  trouble. 


334 


PSALM    XXXVIII. 


%  And  delicer  them.  Rescue  them  from 
their  dangers,  and  from  the  power  of 
the  wicked.    %  He  shall  deliver  them 
from  the  wicJced.  From  all  the  attempts 
of  the  wicked  to  destroy  them.  %  And 
save  them.     Or,  preserve  them.     He 
will  keep  them    to   everlasting   lite. 
%  Because  they  trust  in  him.      They 
rely  on  him,  and  not  on  themselves. 
This   verse  is  a  summing  up  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  psalm,  and  is  de- 
signed to  confirm  the  main  thought 
which  runs  through  it,  to  wit,  that 
we  should  not  fret,  or  murmur,    or 
repine  at  the   prosperity  of  wicked 
men,  ver.  1.     The  reason  ultimately 
assigned   for   this   is,  that  whatever 
may  be  the  danger  of  the  righteous 
from  the  designs  of  wicked  men,  they 
will  in  the  end  be  safe.     It  will  go 
well   with   them,  for  the    Lord  will 
keep  them.     The  general  course    of 
thought  in  the  psalm  is,  that,  what- 
ever prosperity  the  wicked  now  have, 
it  is  temporary,  for  they  will  soon  be 
cut  off;  and  that  whatever  troubles 
now  come  upon  the  righteous,  they 
too    are    temporary,    and  that    their 
hereafter  —  their  futurity  —  will    be 
blessedness  and   peace.      There  is  a 
moral  government :  God  is  the  friend 
of  the  righteous ;  along  the  path  of  the 
present  life  there  are  proofs  that  he 
is  so,  and  beyond  the  present  life  he 
will  show  himself  to  be  so  in  their 
eternal  peace.  He  is  the  enemy  of  the 
wicked;  there  are  evidences  in   the 
present  life  that  he  is  so,  and  this 
will  be  fully  and  finally  manifested 
in   their    destruction   in    the    future 
world.     The  argument  in  the  psalm, 
indeed,    is   mainly    drawn   from    the 
present  life, — from  what  there  is  to 
encourage  virtu 3  and  goodness  in  the 
blessings   which  religion  scatters  on 
earth,  and  by  the  peaceful  termination 
of  the  course — as  well  as  from  what 
there  is  to  discourage  wickedness  and 
vice,  in  the  fact  that  the  wicked  will 
be  cut  down  and  pass  away.      The 
argument  is,  that  if  this  life  were  all, 
there  are  encouragements  here  to  vir- 
tue and  goodness.  In  Ps.  lxxiii.,  which 
in  some  respects  resembles  this  psalm, 
the  argument  which  satisfied  the  mind 


of  the  troubled  psalmist  —  troubled 
at  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  —  is 
drawn  mainly  from  the  future  world. 
Here  it  is  drawn  chiefly  from  the 
present  life;  and  the  main  thought 
here — the  practical  lesson  from  the 
psalm — is,  that  even  with  reference 
to  the  life  that  now  is — to  its  security, 
to  its  peace,  to  its  blessedness,  and  to 
its  happy  close — it  is  an  advantage  to 
be  righteous.  It  is  better  to  have 
God  for  our  friend  in  life,  and  our 
support  in  death,  than  to  have  all  the 
external  prosperity  of  wicked  men. 

PSALM  XXXYIII. 

I.  Author  of  the  psalm. — The  psalm 
purports  to  have  been  written  by  David, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it 
was  composed  by  him.  There  is  no  tra- 
dition to  the  contrary,  and  there  is  no- 
thing in  the  psalm  inconsistent  with 
such  a  supposition. 

II.  The  title.— The  psalm  is  said  in 
the  title  to  be  designed  "  to  bring  to  re- 
membrance." The  same  title  occurs  in 
Ps.  lxx.,  though  there  is  no  resemblance 
between  the  two,  except  that  they  both 
have  reference  to  the  attempts  and  pur- 
poses of  the  enemies  of  David,  and  to 
trials  in  different  forms  winch  bad  come 
from  them.  The  Latin  Vulgate  renders 
this,  "A  Psalm  of  David,  for  remem- 
brance concerning  the  Sabbath."  The 
Septuagint  renders  it  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  Arabic  :  "  In  winch  there  is 
a  mention  of  the  sabbath."  Whence 
these  allusions  to  the  sabbath  were  de- 
rived is  unknown,  as  there  is  nothing  in 
the  Hebrew  corresponding  with  them. 
The  Chaldee  Paraphrase  has  prefixed, 
"  For  a  good  memorial  concerning  Is- 
rael." The  Hebrew  term  used — *V2"trp> 
lehazkir — means  simplj*  for  bringing  to 
remembrance,  or  for  reminding.  The 
meaning  is,  that  it  is  a  record  for 
the  purpose  of  reminding ;  that  is,  of 
keeping  up  the  remembrance  of  some- 
thing which  had  occurred  in  his  own 
experience,  and  which  might  be  use- 
ful to  himself  or  to  others;  the  re- 
cord of  some  valuable  lessons  which  had 
been  learned  from  what  he  had  ex- 
perienced in  the  trials  referred  to.  .  Comp. 
Gen.  xl.  14  ;  1  Kings  xvii.  18  ;  Ezek. 
xxi.  24.  Gesenius  {Lex.)  renders  it,  "To 
bring  to  remembrance,  sc,  oneself  with 
God."  Grotius  says  of  it,  "This  psalm 
is  designed  to   inculcate   the   perpetual 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


335 


remembrance  of  David  and  his  sin,  and 
of  the  pardon  that  was  granted."  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  psalm  had  this 
design  of  making  a  permanent  record  of 
an  important  event  in  the  life  of  the 
author,  or  of  Ms  experience  in  a  time  of 
great  calamity  ;  but  why  this  title  was 
affixed  only  to  this  psalm  and  to  Ps. 
lxx.  is  wholly  unknown.  There  are 
many  other  psalms  to  which,  it  would 
seem,  the  title  might  have  been  prefixed 
with  equal  propriety,  as  containing  im- 
portant reminiscences  of  trials,  and  of 
religious  experience  under  those  trials. 

III.  Occasion  of  the  psalm.  —  The 
particular  time  or  occasion  on  which  the 
psalm  was  composed  is  unknown.  There 
are  no  recorded  events  in  the  life  of 
David  to  which  this  psalm  would  be 
particularly  applicable,  though,  in  a  life 
of  trial  and  suffering  such  as  his  was, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  may 
have  been  many  such  occasions.  It  is 
impossible  now,  however,  to  fix  the  exact 
time  or  occasion  with  any  degree  of  ac- 
curacy or  probability.  What  is  known 
is,  that  it  was  with  reference  to  sickness 
(vers.  3-8,  10,  11),  and  to  the  neglect 
which  was  evinced,  and  the  cruel  treat- 
ment which  he  received,  in  sickness 
(vers.  11,  12,  19,  20). 

IV.  The  contents  of  the  psalm. 

(1.)  The  psalm  describes  the  condition 
of  one  who  was  suffering  from  sickness, 
vers.  2,  3,  5,  7,  8,  10,  11.  Some  have 
supposed  that  this  is  merely  figurative 
language,  and  that  it  is  designed  to  re- 
present calamity,  trouble,  sorrow,  heavily 
pressing  upon  him  as  if  he  were  sick ; 
others  have  supposed  that  it  is  intended 
to  refer,  not  to  David,  but  to  the  people 
of  Israel  as  afflicted  and  persecuted,  re- 
presented under  the  image  of  one  suf- 
fering from  disease ;  but  the  most  na- 
tural and  obvious  interpretation  is  to 
regard  it  as  a  literal  description  of  one 
who  was  suffering  under  some  form  of 
disease.  There  were  doubtless  occasions 
in  the  long  life  of  David  when  this 
actually  occurred ;  and  there  are  oc- 
casions in  the  lives  of  the  people  of  God 
of  a  similar  kind,  sufficiently  numerous 
to  make  it  proper  that  an  inspired  record 
of  the  experience  of  a  good  man  thus 
suffering  should  be  preserved,  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  proper  spirit  to  be  mani- 
fested in  sickness.  What  was  the  cha- 
racter or  nature  of  that  sickness  may 
appear  in  the  examination  of  the  par- 
ticular expressions  in  the  record. 

(2.)  The  condition  of  the  sufferer  as 
aggravated  by  two  tilings  : 


(a)  By  the  neglect  of  his  friends, — by 
their  turning  away  from  him  in  Ins  trials, 
ver.  11 ; 

(b)  By  the  efforts  of  Ins  enemies, — 
taking  advantage  of  his  sickness,  and 
bringing  against  him  accusations  which 
he  was  not  then  able  to  meet,  ver.  12. 

(3.)  He  himself  traces  all  these  trials, 
arising  either  from  his  disease  or  from  the 
attacks  of  his  enemies,  to  his  own  sins, 
and  regards  *them  all  as  the  expression 
of  the  Divine  displeasure  against  his 
transgressions,  vers.  3,  4,  5,  18.  The 
effect  of  his  suffering  from  sickness  was 
to  bring  his  sins  to  remembrance — an 
effect  not  uncommon,  and,  under  the 
Providence  of  God,  not  undesigned  — 
though  he  may  have  erred,  as  the  af- 
flicted often  do,  in  supposing  that  his 
sickness  was  a  specific  punishment  for 
sin,  or  Avas  intended  to  correct  him  for 
some  particular  transgression. 

(4.)  His  own  calmness  and  meekness 
in  respect  to  the  charges  which,  amid 
his  other  trials,  his  enemies  brought 
against  him,  vers.  13,  14.  He  says  that 
he  was  like  a  deaf  man  that  did  not 
hear,  and  like  a  dumb  man  that  did  not 
open  his  mouth.  He  seemed  not  to  hear 
anything  that  was  said  to  his  disadvan- 
tage, and  he  was  as  silent  as  though  he 
had  been  dumb. 

(5.)  His  earnest  prayer  for  the  inter- 
position of  God  in  these  circumstances 
of  sickness  and  trial,  vers.  15-22.  He 
says  that  his  only  help  is  in  God,  ver. 
15  ;  he  prays  that  God  will  not  allow  his 
enemies  to  triumph  over  him,  ver.  16  ; 
he  says  that  he  is  ready  to  halt,  or  that 
his  strength  is  nearly  exhausted,  and  he 
fears  that  Ins  patience  will  utterly  give 
way,  ver.  17  ;  he  says  that  he  will  con- 
fess all  his  sin,  ver.  18  ;  he  refers  to  the 
fact  that  his  enemies  are  "lively,"  and 
are  on  the  alert  for  his  fall,  vers.  19,  20 ; 
and  in  view  of  all  this,  he  earnestly 
calls  on  God  to  save  him,  vers.  21,  22. 

There  is  a  striking  resemblance  be- 
tween this  psalm  and  Ps.  vi.,  in  the 
general  structure,  and  in  some  of  the 
particular  expressions.  Both  appear  to 
have  been  composed  in  a  time  of  sick- 
ness, though  not  probably  in  the  same 
sickness  ;  and  both  express  substantially 
the  same  feelings.  The  forty-first  psalm, 
also,  appears  to  have  been  composed  on  a 
similar  occasion.  In  a  revelation  adapted 
to  mankind,  and  designed  to  be  appli- 
cable in  its  instructions  and  promises  to 
the  various  conditions  in  which  men  are 
placed  on  the  earth,  it  was  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  there  would  be  a  not  un- 


336 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 

A  Psalm  of  David  to  bring  to  h  remembrance. 

f\  LORD,  rebuke  nie  not  in  thy 

wrath  ;  neither  chasten  me  in 
thy  hot  displeasure. 

2  For  thine  arrows  '  stick  fast 

h  Ps.  lxx.,  title.  i  Job  yi.  4. 


frequent  reference  to  the  sick  bed — to  the 
trials  on  a  couch  of  languishing.  And 
in  an  inspired  book  of  devotion,  like  the 
book  of  Psalms,  designed  to  illustrate  the 
nature  of  piety  in  the  various  and  diversi- 
fied situations  of  life,  the  object  of  a 
revelation  could  not  be  fully  accom- 
plished without  an  illustration  of  the 
feelings  of  piety  in  the  time  of  sickness, 
and  in  the  prospect  of  death, — for  such 
scenes  must  occur  in  the  world,  and  it  is 
eminently  in  such  scenes  that  we  desire 
to  know  what  is  the  proper  feeling  to  be 
cherished  ;  what  true  religion  is  at  such 
a  time  ;  what  it  will  do  to  sustain  and 
comfort  the  soul.  The  book  of  Psalms, 
therefore,  would  not  have  been  complete 
without  such  an  illustration  of  the  na- 
ture of  piety ;  and  hence  it  was  every 
way  probable  that  psalms  like  this  would 
be  composed,  and  every  way  improbable 
that  no  such  psalms  would  be  found  in  a 
book  of  inspired  devotion.  It  seems  to 
me,  therefore,  unnatural,  and  not  de- 
manded by  any  proper  views  of  interpre- 
tation, to  regard  this  psalm,  and  the 
other  similar  psalms,  as  Pe  "Wette,  Heng- 
stenberg,  Rosenm  tiller  and  others  do,  and 
as  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase  and  Jarchi  do, 
as  descriptive  of  general  calamity,  Z'n- 
gliick ; — or  of  calamity  coming  upon  a 
people  — rather  than  a  particular  afflic- 
tion in  the  form  of  sickness  coming  upon 
an  individual.  The  great  value  of  the 
book  of  Psalms  consists  in  the  fact  that 
it  furnishes  illustrations  of  the  nature 
and  power  of  true  religion  in  all  the 
varied  circumstances  of  the  lives  of  indi- 
vidual friends  of  God. 

1.  O  Loed,  rebuke  me  not  in  thy 
wrath.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  vi.  1,  where 
the  same  language  occurs,  except  in 
the  change  of  a  single  Hebrew  word, 
i.  e.,  wrath,  though  expressing  the 
same  idea.  ^[  Neither  chasten  me  in 
thy  hot  displeasure.  See  Notes  on 
Ps.  vi.  1.  The  Hebrew  in  both  is  the 
same,  except  that  in  this  place  the 
negative  particle  is  omitted,  but 
without  affecting   the   sense.      It  is 


in  me,  and  thy  hand  presseth  me 
sore. 

3  There  is  no  soundness  in  my 
flesh,  because  of  thine  anger; 
neither  is  there  any  l  rest  in  my 
bones,  k  because  of  my  sin. 

1  peace,  or,  health.  k  Ps.  li.  8. 


not  improbable  that  the  one  was 
copied  from  the  other,  or  that  this 
was  composed  with  the  language  of 
the  former  in  the  memory.  Thus  we 
often  use  language  with  which  we  are 
familiar,  as  being  well  adapted  to  ex- 
press our  ideas. 

2.  For  thine  arroivs  stick  fast  in 
vie.  See  Notes  on  Job  vi.  4.  The 
word  rendered  stick  fast — JiTO,  nah- 
hath — means  properly  to  go  or  come 
down ;  to  descend ;  and  the  literal 
idea  here  would  be,  "thine  arrows 
come  down  upon  me."  It  is  not  so 
much  the  idea  of  their  sticking  fast 
when  in  the  wound  or  flesh;  it  is 
that  they  come  down  upon  one,  and 
pierce  him.  The  meaning  is,  that  he 
was  afflicted  as  if  God  had  wounded 
him  with  arrows,  —  arrows  which 
pierced  deep  in  his  flesh.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Ps.  xlv.  5.  The  allusion  is 
to  the  disease  with  which  he  was 
afflicted.  %  And  thy  hand  presseth 
me  sore.  The  same  word  is  here  used 
which  in  the  former  part  of*the  verse 
is  rendered  stick  fast.  The  idea  is, 
that  the  hand  of  God  had  descended 
or  come  dozen  upon  him,  prostrating 
his  strength,  and  laying  him  on  a  bed 
of  pain. 

3.  There  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh. 
There  is  no  sound  place  "m  my  flesh ; 
there  is  no  part  of  my  body  that  is 
free  from  disease.  The  word  here 
used — DhTp,  methom — occurs  only  in 
Judges  xx.  48,  where  it  is  rendered 
men;  in  Isa.  i.  6,  and  in  this  place, 
where  it  is  rendered  soundness.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  6.  It  means  that  the 
body  was  wholly  diseased ;  but  what 
was  the  nature  of  the  disease  we  are 
not  informed.  It  would  seem,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  some  cutaneous 
disease,  or  some  disease  that  pro- 
duced outward  and  loathsome  erup- 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


337 


4  For  mine  iniquities  are  gone 
over  mine  l  head ;    as  an  heavy 


tions  that  made  his  friends  withdraw 
from  him,  vers.  7,  11 ;  coinp.  Ps.  xli. 
8.     %  Because  of  thine  anger.     That 
is,  he  regarded  this  as  a  punishment 
for  sin;    a  specific   manifestation  of 
the  Divine  displeasure  on  account  of 
some    particular    offence    or    act   of 
transgression.      He    does   not  refer, 
however,  to  the  particular  sin  which 
he  regarded  as  the  cause  of  his  sick- 
ness, and  it  is  probable  that  this  is 
just  an  instance  of  that  state  of  mind, 
often  morbid,  in  which  we  consider  a 
particular  calamity  that  comes  upon 
us  as  a  special  proof  of  the  Divine 
displeasure.     There  are,  undoubtedly, 
cases  when  sickness  may  be  properly 
thus    regarded; — but    it    should   be 
observed  that,  as  this  is  not  the  uni- 
versal rule  in  regard  to  sickness  and 
other  trials, — as  they  come  upon  us 
under  general  laws,  and  because  in 
sweeping    over    a    community   they 
often  fall  upon  the  righteous  as  well 
as  the  wicked, — we  should  not  infer 
at  once  when  ice  are  sick  or  otherwise 
afflicted,  tnat  it  is  for  any  particular 
sin,  or  that  it  is  proof  of  any  special 
displeasure  of  God  against  us.     It  is 
undoubtedly  right  to  regard  all  afflic- 
tion as  having  a  close  connexion  with 
sin,   and   to    allow   any  calamity   to 
suggest  to  us  the  idea  of  our  depra- 
vity, for  sin  is  the  original  cause  of 
all    the   wretchedness    and   woe    on 
earth ;  but    under   this   general   law 
we  cannot  always  determine  the  par- 
ticular reason  why  calamity  comes  on 
us.     It  may  have  other  purposes  and 
ends  than   that   of  being  a  specific 
punishment  for  our  offences.    %  Neither 
is  there  any  rest  in  my  hones.    Marg., 
peace  or  health.     The  Hebrew  word 
means  peaces    The  idea  is,  that  there 
was  no  comfort ;  no  rest.     His  bones 
were  filled  with  constant  pain.     The 
flesh    and    the   bones    constitute  the 
entire   man ;    and  the   idea   here  is, 
that    he    was    universally    diseased. 
The  disease  pervaded  every  part  of 
the  body.    *§  Because  of  my  sin.    Re- 
VOL.   I. 


burden  they  are  too  heavy   for 
me. 

I  Ezra  ix.  6. 


garding  his  sin  as  the  immediate 
cause  of  his  suffering.  In  a  general 
sense,  as  has  been  remarked  above,  it 
is  not  wrong  to  regard  sin  as  the 
cause  of  all  our  misery,  and  we  may 
allow  our  suffering  to  be,  in  some 
degree,  a  measure  or  gauge  of  the 
evil  of  sin.  The  error  consists  in  our 
regarding  a  .particular  form  of  trial  as 
the  punishment  of  a  particular  sin. 
Tbe  effect  in  the  case  of  the  psalmist 
was  undoubtedly  to  bring  to  remem- 
brance his  sins ;  to  impress  his  mind 
deeply  with  a  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin ; 
to  humble  him  at  the  recollection  of 
guilt.  This  effect  is  not  improper  or 
undesirable,  provided  it  does  not  lead 
us  to  the  conclusion,  often  erroneous, 
that  our  affliction  has  come  upon  us 
on  account  of  a  particular  transgres- 
sion. That  may  be  so  indeed ;  but 
the  idea  that  that  is  the  universal 
rule  in  regard  to  affliction  is  one 
which  we  are  not  required  to  enter- 
tain.    See  Notes  on  Luke  xiii.  1-5. 

4.  For  mine  iniquities  are  gone 
over  mine  head.  This  is  merely  an 
enlargement  of  the  idea  suggested  in 
the  last  verse — tbat  his  present  sick- 
ness was  to  be  traced  to  his  sin,  and 
that  he  was  suffering  the  punishment 
for  sin.  The  idea  is  here  that  his  sins 
were  very  numerous  and  very  aggra- 
vated. They  had  risen  up  around 
him,  or  had  so  accumulated  that  the 
mass  rose,  like  waves  of  the  sea,  above 
his  head.  A  somewhat  similar  idea — 
though  the  thought  there  refers  rather 
to  the  number  of  sins  than  the  degree 
of  guilt — occurs  in  Ps.  xl.  12  :  "  Mine 
iniquities  ....  are  more  than  the 
hairs  of  my  head."  ^f  As  an  heavy 
burden,  etc.  That  is,  they  are  so  heavy 
that  I  cannot  bear  them,  and  my 
frame  has  sunk  under  them.  This 
might  mean  either  that  the  sense  of 
sin  was  so  great  that  he  could  not 
bear  up  under  it,  but  had  been  crushed 
by  it  (comp.  Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4) ;  or  that 
on  account  of  sin,  as  if\t  were  a  heavy 
weight,  he  had  been  crushed  bv  disease. 

Q 


338 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


5  My  wounds  ■  stink,  and  are 
corrupt  because  of  my  foolish- 
ness. 

6  I  am  !  troubled ;  I  am  bowed 

M  Isa.  i.  5,  6.  *  tvearied. 


The  general  idea  is,  that  the  real  cause 
of  his  sickness  was  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  great  sinner,  and  that  God  was 
punishing  him  for  it. 

5.  My  wounds  stink.  The  word 
rendered  wounds  here  means  properly 
the  selling  or  wales  produced  by 
stripes.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  6 ;  liii. 
5.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  he  was 
under  chastisement  for  his  sin  ;  that 
the  stripes  or  blows  on  account  of  it 
had  not  only  left  a  mark  and  produced 
a  swelling,  but  that  the  skin  itself  had 
been  broken,  and  that  the  flesh  had 
become  corrupt,  and  the  sore  offensive. 
Many  expositors  regard  this  as  a  mere 
figurative  representation  of  the  sorrow 
produced  by  the  consciousness  of  sin ; 
and  of  the  loathsome  nature  of  sin, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  whole 
connexion  rather  requires  us  to  under- 
stand it  of  bodily  suffering,  or  of  dis- 
ease. %  And  are  corrupt.  The  word 
here  used — pj>'!2,  maJcak — means  pro- 
perly to  melt ;  to  pine  away ;  and 
then,  to  flow,  to  run,  as  sores  and 
ulcers  do.  The  meaning  here  is,  My 
sores  run;  to  wit,  with  corrupt  matter. 
*f  Because  of  my  foolishness,  Be- 
cause of  my  sin,  regarded  as  folly. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  xiv.  1.  The 
Scripture  idea  is  that  sin  is  the  highest 
folly.  Hence  the  psalmist,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  confesses  his  sin,  acknow- 
ledges also  its  foolishness.  The  idea 
of  sin  and  that  of  folly  become  so 
blended  together, — or  they  are  so 
entirely  synonymous, — that  the  one 
term  may  be  used  for  the  other. 

6.  I  am  troubled.  Marg.,  wearied. 
The  Hebrew  word  means  to  bend,  to 
curve ;  then,  to  be  distorted,  to  writhe 
with  pain,  convulsions,  and  spasms. 
In  Isa.  xxi.  3,  the  same  word  is  ren- 
dered, "I  teas  boiced  down  at  the 
hearing  of  it;5'  that  is,  Sorrow  so  took 
hold  of  him,  that  at  the  intelligence 
he  writhed  with  pain  as  a  woman  in 


down  greatly ;  I  go  mourning  all 
the  day  long. 

7  For  my  loins  are  filled  with 
a  loathsome  disease ;  and  there  is 
no  soundness  in  my  flesh. 


travail.  So  here  it  means  that  he 
was  bent,  or  bowed  down,  or  that  he 
writhed  in  pain  as  the  result  of  his 
iniquities.  %  I  am  boived  down 
greatly.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  14.  The 
word  means  properly  to  bow  down  ; 
then,  to  be  brought  low;  to  be  de- 
pressed with  pain,  grief,  sorrow  :  Ps. 
x.  10;  Isa.  ii.  11.  ^  I  go  mourning 
all  the  day  long.  Constantly  ;  with- 
out any  intermission.  On  the  word 
rendered  go  mourning — T\p,kadar — 
see  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxv.  14.  The  idea 
here  is,  that,  on  account  of  sin,  he 
was  crushed  and  bowed  down  as  a 
mourner  is  with  his  sorrows,  and  that 
he  appeared  constantly  as  he  walked 
about  with  these  badges  of  grief  and 
heavy  sorrow,,  The  disease  which  ho 
had,  and  which  was  so  offensive  to 
himself  (ver.  5), and  to  others  (ver.  11), 
was  like  the  filthy  and  foul  garments 
which  mourners  put  on  as  expressive 
of  their  sorrow.  See  Notes  on  Job 
i.  20 ;  ii.  8. 

7.  For  my  bones  are  filled  with  c 
loathsome  disease.  This  would  seem 
to  indicate  the  seat  of  the  disease, 
though  not  its  nature.  The  word 
here  used,  according  to  Gesenius 
{Lex.),  properly  denotes  the  internal 
muscles  of  the  loins  near  the  kidneys, 
to  which  the  fat  adheres.  The  word 
rendered  loathsome — the  word  disease 
being  supplied  by  our  translators — is 
derived   from  T\bT>,    kalah,    a    word 

T  It 

which  means  to  roast,  to  parch,  as 
fruit,  grain,  etc. ;  and  then,  in  the 
form  used  here,  it  means  scorched, 
burned;  hence,  a  burning  or  inflam- 
mation ;  and  the  whole  phrase  would 
be  synonymous  with  an  inflammation 
of  the  kidneys.  The  word  here  used 
does  not  imply  that  there  was  any 
eruption,  or  ulcer,  though  it  would 
seem  from  ver.  5  that  this  was  fche 
fact,  and  that  the  inflammation  had 
produced  this  effect.     ^  And  there  is 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


339 


8  I  am  feeble  and  sore  broken : 
I  have  "  roared  by  reason  of  the 
disquietness  of  my  heart. 

9  Lord,  all  my  desire  is  before 
0  thee :  and  my  groaning  is  not 
hid  from  thee. 

10  My    heart     panteth,     my 

n  Ps.  xxxii.  3.     o  Ps.  cxlv.  19.    p  Lam.  v.  17. 
1  not  icith.    q  Matt.  xxvi.  56 ;  Lukex.  31,  32. 


no  soundness  in  my  flesh.  See  ver.  3. 
His  disease  was  so  deep-seated  and  so 
pervading,  that  there  did  not  seem  to 
be  any  soundness  in  his  flesh.  His 
whole  body  seemed  to  be  diseased. 

8.  I  am  feeble.  The  word  here 
used  means  properly  to  be  cold,  or 
without  warmth ;  and  then,  to  be 
torpid  or  languid.  Comp.  Gen.  xlv. 
26.  Would  not  this  be  well  repre- 
sented by  the  idea  of  a  "  chill "  ? 
%  And  sore  hrolcen.  This  word  means 
to  break  in  pieces ;  to  beat  small ;  to 
crush;  and  then  it  may  be  used  tQ 
denote  being  broken  in  spirit,  or 
crushed  by  pain  and  sorrow  :  Isa.  lvii. 
15;  liii.  5;  xix.  10.  %  I  have  roared. 
I  have  cried  out  on  account  of  my 
suffering.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxii.  1. 
^f  By  reason  of  the  disquietness  of  my 
heart.  The  word  here  rendered  dis- 
quietness means  properly  a  roaring,  as 
of  the  sea  :  Isa.  v.  30 ;  and  then,  a 
groaning,  or  roaring,  as-of  the  afflicted. 
Here  the  heart  is  represented  as  roar- 
ing or  crying  out.  The  lips  only  gave 
utterance  to  the  deeper  groanings  of 
the  heart. 

9.  Lord,  all  my  desire  is  before  thee. 
That  is,  Thou  knowest  all  that  1 
would  ask  or  that  I  need.  This  is 
the  expression  of  one  who  felt  that  his 
only  hope  was  in  God,  and  that  He  fully 
understood  the  case.  There  was  no 
need  of  repeating  the  request.  He 
was  willing  to  leave  the  whole  case 
with  God.  ^[  And  my  groaning  is  not 
hid  from  thee.  My  sighing  ;  the  ex- 
pression of  my  sorrow  and  anguish. 
As  God  certainly  heard  these  sighs, 
and  as  He  wholly  understood  the  case, 
David  hoped  that  He  would  merci- 
fully interpose  in  his  behalf. 

10  My  heart  panteth.  The  word 
rendered  panteth,  in  its  original  form, 


strength  faileth  me :  as  for  the 
light  p  of  mine  eyes,  it  also  is 
l  gor.e  from  me. 

11  My  lovers  and  my  friends 
stand  aloof  «  from  my  2  sore ; 
and  my  3  kinsmen  stand  »•  afar 
off. 


2  stroke. 


3  Or,  my  neighbours. 
r  Luke  xxiii.  49. 


means  properly  to  go  about ;  to  travel 
around ;  and  then,  to  travel  around  as 
a  merchant  or  pedlar,  or  for  purposes 
of  traffic  :  Gen.  xxiii.  16 ;  xxxvii.  28 ; 
xlii.  34.  Applied  to  the  heart,  as  it 
is  here,  it  means  to  move  about  rapidly; 
to  palpitate ;  to  beat  quick.  It  is  an 
expression  of  pain  and  distress,  indi- 
cated by  a  rapid  beaflng  of  the  heart. 
^f  My  strength  faileth  me.  It  is 
rapidly  failing.  He  regarded  himself 
as  rapidly  approaching  death.  %  As 
for  the  light  of  mine  eyes.  My  vision ; 
my  sight.  ^[  It  also  is  gone  from  me. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  is  not  ivith  me. 
This  is  usually  an  indication  of  ap- 
proaching death  ;  and  it  would  seem 
from  all  these  symptoms  that  he 
appeared  to  be  drawing  near  to  the 
end  of  life.  Comp.  Ps.  xiii.  3  ;  vi.  7 ; 
xxxi.  9. 

11.  My  lovers.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxxi.  11.  The  reference  here  is  to 
those  who  professed  to  be  his  friends. 
%  And  my  friends.  The  word  here  used 
means  properly  an  acquaintance,  a 
companion,  a  friend,  Job  ii.  11;  xix. 
21 ;  then,  a  lover,  a  friend,  a  neigh- 
bour. The  phrase  here  would  be 
synonymous  with  our  word  kinsmen. 
^f  Stand  aloof.  They  are  unwilling 
to  come  near  me;  they  leave  me  to 
suffer  alone.  %  From  my  sore.  Marg., 
stroke.  The  Hebrew  word  means 
properly  a  stroke,  a  blow,  Deut.  xvii. 
8 ;  xxi.  5 ;  then  a  stroke  in  the  sense 
of  calamities  or  judgments,  such  as 
God  brings  upon  men  :  Gen  xii.  17; 
Ex.  xi.  1.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
they  stand  aloof  from  him,  or  refuse 
to  come  near  him,  as  if  he  wTere  af- 
flicted with  some  contagious  disease. 
If  And  my  kinsmen.  Marg.,  neigh- 
bours. The  Hebrew  word  here  used 
— 2i~lp,  karob — means  properly  near, 


340 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


12  They  also  that  seek  after 
my  life  lay  snares  for  me  :  and 
they  that  seek  my  hnrt  speak 
mischievous  things,  and  imagine 
deceits  all  the  day  long. 

13  But s  I,  as  a  deaf  man,  heard 


nigh  ;  spoken  of  a  place,  Gen.  xix. 
20 ;  then  of  time,  Isa.  xiii.  6 ;  then  of 
kindred  or  affinity,  Num.  xxvii.  11 ; 
and  then  of  friendship,  meaning  our 
intimate  acquaintance — as  we  should 
say,  those  who  are  near  to  us,  Joh  xix. 
14.  The  word  would  he  applicable 
to  neighbours  or  to  warm  personal 
friends. 

12.  Tliey  also  that  seek  after  my 
life.  This  was  a  new  aggravation  of 
his  affliction,  that  those  who  were  his 
enemies  now  sought  to  accomplish 
their  purposes  against  him  with  bet- 
ter hopes  of  success,  by  taking  advan- 
tage of  his  sickness.  %  Lay  snares 
for  me.  On  the  meaning  of  this 
phrase,  see  Notes  on  Ps.  ix.  15.  The 
idea  here  is  that  they  sought  this  op- 
portunity of  ensnaring  or  entrapping 
him  so  as  to  ruin  him.  They  took 
advantage  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
weak  and  helpless,  and  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  forsaken  or  abandoned 
by  his  friends,  to  accomplish  his  ruin. 
IIoiv  this  was  done  is  not  stated.  It 
might  have  been  by  their  coming  on 
him  when  he  was  thus  helpless  ;  or  it 
might  have  been  by  endeavouringinhis 
weak  condition  to  extort  confessions 
or  promises  from  him  that  might  be 
turned  to  his  ruin.  An  enemy  may 
hope  to  succeed  much  better  when  the 
one  opposed  is  sick  than  when  he  is 
well,  and  may  take  advantage  of  his 
weak  state  of  body  and  mind,  and  of  the 
fact  that  he  seems  to  be  forsaken  by  all, 
to  accomplish  what  could  not  be  done 
if  he  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  health, 
or  sustained  by  powerful  friends,  or 
by  a  public  opinion  in  his  favour. 
%  And  they  that  seek  my  hurt.  They 
who  seek  to  injure  me.  \\  Speak 
mischievous  things.  Slanderous  words. 
They  charge  on  me  things  that  are 
false,  and  that  tend  to  injure  me.  The 
very  fact  that  he  was  thus  afflicted, 


not ;  and  I  was  as  a  dumb  man 
that  openeth  not  his  mouth. 

14  Thus  I  was  as  a  man  that- 
heareth  not,  and  in  whose  mouth 
are  no  reproofs. 

s  2  Sara.  xvi.  10,  etc.;  Isa.  xlii.  19,  20. 


they  might  urge  (in  accordance  with 
a  prevailing  belief,  and  with  the  con- 
viction of  the  psalmist  also,  vers.  3-5) 
as  a  proof  of  guilt.  This  was  done 
by  the  three  friends  of  Job ;  and  the 
enemies  of  the  psalmist  may  thus 
have  taken  advantage  of  his  sickness 
to  circulate  false  reports  about  him 
which  he  could  not  then  well  raeet. 
%  And  imagine  deceits.  Imagine  or 
feign  deceitful  things ;  things  which 
they  know  to  be  false  or  unfounded. 
%  All  the  day  long.  Constantly. 
They  seem  to  have  no  other  employ- 
ment.    See  Ps.  xxxv.  20. 

13.  But  I,  as  a  deaf  man,  heard 
not.  I  was  as  if  I  had  been  deaf,  and 
did  not  hear  them  or  know  what  they 
were  about.  I  took  no  notice  of  what 
they  did  any  more  than  if  I  had  not 
heard  them.  That  is,  he  did  not  reply 
to  them ;  he  did  not  become  angry ; 
he  was  as  calm  and  patient  as  if  they 
had  said  nothing.  %  And  I  was  as  a 
dumb  man  that  openeth  not  his  mouth. 
As  if  I  were  a  man  that  could  not 
speak.  I  was  perfectly  silent  under 
all  this  persecution.  Comp.  2  Sam. 
xvi.  10.  How  eminently  true  was 
this  of  the  Saviour  !  Isa.  liii.  7  j 
1  Peter  ii.  23 ;  Matt.  xxvi.  63 ;  xxvii. 
12,  14. 

14.  Thus  I  was  as  a  man  that 
heareth  not.  The  sentiment  in  the 
former  verse  is  repeated  here  to  show 
the  greatness  of  his  patience  and  for- 
bearance, or  to  fix  the  attention  on 
the  fact  that  one  who  was  so  ca- 
lumniated and  wronged  could  bear  it 
patiently.  ^  And  in  whose  mouth 
are  no  reproofs.  As  a  man  who  never 
reproved  another ;  who,  whatever 
might  be  the  wrong  which  he  en- 
dured, never  replied  to  it;  as  he 
would  be  who  was  incapable  of  re- 
proof, or  who  had  no  faculty  for 
reproving.     The  whole  of  this  is  de- 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


341 


15  For  l  in  thee,  O  Lord,  do 
I  hope  :  thou  wilt 2  hear,  O  Lord 
my  God. 

16  For  I   said,  Hear  me,  lest 

1  thee  do  I  wait  far.  2  Or,  answer. 


signed   to    show   his  entire   patience 
under  the  wrongs  which  he  suffered. 

15.  For  in  thee,  0  Lord,  do  I  hope. 
This  shows  the  reason  or  ground  of 
his  patience.  He  committed  his  whole 
cause  to  God.  He  helieved  that  God 
would  take  care  of  his  reputation,  and 
that  he  would  vindicate  him.  See  Ps. 
xxxvii.  5,  6.  He  had  no  doubt  that 
He  would  protect  his  character,  and 
that,  notwithstanding  the  reproaches 
of  his  enemies,  his  true  character 
would  at  last  he  made  to  shine  forth, 
so  that  all  men  would  see  that  he  had 
been  unjustly  aspersed.  The  exact 
idea  here  is  expressed,  and  the  senti- 
ment was  beautifully  and  perfectly 
illustrated,  in  what  is  said  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  : — "  Who,  when  he  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again ;  when  he  suffered, 
he  threatened  not ;  but  committed 
himself  to  him  that  judgeth  right- 
eously," 1  Peter  ii.  23.  f  Thou  wilt 
hear,  O  Loed  my  God.  Marg.,  as  in 
Heb.,  answer.  The  idea  is,  that  God 
would  answer  his  prayers,  and  that  his 
character  would,  in  answer  to  those 
prayers,  be  set  right  before  the  world. 

16.  For  I  said.  This  is  the  prayer 
to  which  he  referred  in  the  previous 
verse.  He  prayed  that  he  might  not 
be  permitted  to  fall  away  under  the 
influence  of  his  sins  and  sufferings ; 
that  his  faith  might  remain  firm ; 
that  he  might  not  be  allowed  to  act 
so  as  to  justify  the  accusations  of 
his  enemies,  or  to  give  them  occa- 
sion to  rejoice  over  his  fall.  The  entire 
prayer  (vers.  16-18)  is  one  that  is 
based  on  the  consciousness  of  his 
own  weakness,  and  his  liability  to 
sin,  if  left  to  himself;  on  the  cer- 
tainty that  if  God  did  not  interpose, 
his  sins  would  get  the  mastery  over 
him,  and  he  would  become  in  his  con- 
duct all  that  his  enemies  desired,  and 
be  in  fact  all  that  they  had  falsely 
charged  on  him.  \  Hear  me,  lest 
otherwise  they  should  rejoice  over  me. 


otherivise  they  should  rejoice  over 
me :  when  my  foot  slippeth,  they 
magnify  themselves  against  me. 
17  For  I   am  ready  3  to  halt, 

3  for  halting. 


Literally,  "For  I  said,  lest  they  should 
rejoice  over  me."     It  is  the  language 
of  earnest  desire  that  they  might  not 
thus  be  allowed  to  rejoice  over  his  fall. 
The  same  sentiment  occurs  substan- 
tially in  Ps.  xiii.  3,  4.     The  motive  is 
a  right  one  ;  alike  (a)  in  reference  to 
ourselves   personally  —  that  our  foes 
may  not  triumph  over  us  by  the  ruin 
of  our  character;  and  (b)  in  reference 
to  its  bearing  on  the  cause  of  virtue 
and  religion — that  that  cause  may  not 
suffer  by  our  misconduct ;  comp.  Ps. 
lxix.   6.     ^f   When   my  foot  slippeth. 
(a)  When  my  foot  really  has  slipped, 
or  when  I  have  committed  sin  (as  the 
psalmist  did   not   deny  that  he  had 
done,  vers.  3,  4,  5,  18) ;  or  {Jj)  when 
it  might  occur  again  (as  he  felt  was 
possible) ;  or  (c)  if  I  deviate  in  the 
slightest  degree  from  perfect  virtue ; 
if  I  inadvertently  do  anything  wrong. 
The  slipping  of  the  foot  is  an   indi- 
cation of  the   want  of  firmness,  and 
hence  it  comes  to  represent  the  falling 
into  sin.    %  They  magnify  themselves 
against  me.     See  Ps.  xxxv.  26.     They 
exult  over  me ;  they  triumph ;  they 
boast.     They  make  themselves  great 
on  my  fall,  or  by  my  being  put  down. 
This  he  says  (a)  they  were  disposed  to 
do,  for  they  had  shown  a  disposition 
to  do  it  whenever  he  had  fallen  into 
sin ;    (I))  he   apprehended  that   they 
tvotcld  do  it  again,  and  they  had  al- 
ready begun  to  magnify  themselves 
against  him,  as  if  they  were  certain 
that  it  would  occur.    He  did  not  deny 
that  there  was  ground  to  fear  this, 
for  he  felt  that  his  strength  was  al- 
most gone   (ver.  17),  and   that  God 
only  could  xiphoid  him,  and  save  him 
from  justifying  all  the  expectations  of 
his  enemies. 

17.  For  Jam  ready  to  half.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  for  halting.  The  word 
from  which  the  word  used  here  is 
derived  means  properly  to  lean  on  one 
side,  and  then  to  halt  or  limp.     The 


342 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


and  my  sorrow  is  continually  be- 
fore me. 

18  For  I  will  declare  mine  ini- 
quity ;  I  will  be  sorry  '  for  my 
sin. 

19  But  mine  enemies  i  are 
lively,  and  they  are  strong;  and 


meaning  here  is,  that  he  was  like  one 
who  was  limping  along,  and  who  was 
ready  to  fall ;  that  is,  in  the  case  here 
referred  to,  he  felt  that  his  strength 
was  almost  gone,  and  that  he  was  in  con- 
tinual danger  of  falling  into  sin,  or  sink- 
ing under  his  accumulated  burdens,  and 
of  thus  giving  occasion  for  all  that  his 
enemies  said  of  him,  or  occasion  for 
their  triumphing  over  him.  Men  often 
have  this  feeling, — that  their  sorrows 
are  so  great  that  they  cannot  hope  to 
hold  out  much  longer,  and  that  if  God 
does  not  interpose  they  must  fall.  % 
And  my  sorrow  is  continually  before 
me.  That  is,  my  grief  or  suffering  is 
unintermitted.  Probably  the  refer- 
ence here  is  particularly  to  that  which 
caused  his  grief,  or  which  was  the 
source  of  his  trouble — his  sin.  The 
fact  that  he  was  a  sinner  was  never 
absent  from  his  mind ;  that  was  the 
source  of  all  his  trouble ;  that  was 
what  so  pressed  upon  him  that  it  was 
likely  to  crush  him  to  the  dust. 

18.  For  I  will  declare  mine  ini- 
quity. That  is,  he  was  not  disposed 
to  hide  his  sin.  He  would  make  no 
concealment  of  the  fact  that  he  re- 
garded himself  as  a  sinner.  He  ad- 
mitted this  to  be  true,  and  he  admitted 
that  his  sin  was  the  cause  of  all  his 
troubles.  It  was  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  sinner  that  so  painfully  affected  his 
mind ;  and  he  was  not  disposed  to 
attempt  to  conceal  it  from  any  one. 
^[  I  will  be  sorry  for  my  sin.  I  will 
not  deny  it ;  I  will  not  apologise  for 
it.  I  admit  the  truth  of  what  my 
conscience  charges  on  me;  I  admit 
the  correctness  and  the  propriety  of 
the  Divine  judgment  by  which  I  have 
been  afflicted  on  account  of  my  sin ; 
I  desire  to  repent  of  all  my  trans- 
gressions, and  to  turn  from  them. 
Comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  41.     The  calamity 


they  that  hate  me  wrongfully  are 
multiplied. 

20  They  also  that  render  evil  for 
good  are  mine  adversaries  ;  be- 
cause I  follow  the  thing  that  good 
is. 

t  2  Cor.  vii.  9,  10. 

1  being  living,  are  strong. 


brought  upon  the  psalmist  for  his  sin 
had  produced  the  desired  effect  in 
this  respect,  that  it  had  brought  him 
to  true  repentance ;  and  now,  with  the 
full  confession  of  his  sin,  he  was 
anxious  only  lest  he  should  fall  utterly, 
arid  should  give  his  enemies,  and  the 
enemies  of  the  truth,  the  occasion  to 
triumph  over  him  which  they  desired. 

19.  But  mine  enemies  are  lively,  etc. 
De  YVette  renders  this,  "  My  enemies 
live  and  are  strong."  The  word  trans- 
lated lively — Ds*n>  hhayyim — means 
properly  living,  being  alive.  The 
literal  translation  would  be,  "  My 
enemies,  being  alive,  are  strong." 
The  idea  is,  that  while  he  was  weak 
and  apparently  near  to  death,  they 
were  in  the  full  vigour  of  life  and 
health.  They  were  able  to  engage 
in  active  efforts  to  accomplish  their 
purposes.  They  could  take  advantage 
of  his  weakness;  and  he  could  not 
contend  with  them,  for  he  was  no 
match  for  them.  In  every  respect 
they  had  the  advantage  of  him ;  and 
he  prays,  therefore,  for  the  Divine 
interposition  in  his  behalf.  ^[  And 
they  that  hate  me  ivroncfully.     Heb., 

falsely.  See  Ps.  xxxv.  19.  If  Are 
multiplied.  They  are  numerous.  They 
are  constantly  increasing. 

20.  They  also  that  render  evil  for 
good.  They  whose  characteristic  it 
is  to  return  evil  for  good,  are  opposed 
to  me.  This  implies  that  those  who 
were  now  seeking  his  ruin  had  been 
formerly  benefited  by  him.  They 
were  persons  who  cherished  no  grate- 
ful recollection  of  favours  bestowed 
on  them,  but  who  found  a  pleasure  in 
persecuting  and  wronging  their  bene- 
factor. Comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  12-16.  5T 
Are  my  adversaries.  Are  now  op- 
posed to  me ;  have  become  my  ene- 
mies.    %  Because  I  folloiv  the  thiDg 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


343 


21  Forsake  me  not,  0  Lord  : 
O  my  God,  be  not  far  from  me. 

1  for  my  help. 


that  good  is.  This  properly  means, 
Because  I  follow  the  good.  The 
Hehrew  word  rendered  because  — 
nnn,  tahhath  —  means  properly  the 
lower  part  ;  what  is  underneath ; 
then,  below  ;  beneath.  The  idea  here 
is,  that  the  underlying  reason  of  what 
they  did  was  that  he  followed  good, 
or  that  he  was  a  righteous  man ;  or, 
as  we  say,  This  was  at  the  bottom  of 
all  their  dealings  with  him.  Sinner 
as  he  felt  he  was  (and  as  he  acknow- 
ledged he  was)  before  God,  and  true 
as  it  was  that  his  sickness  was  brought 
upon  him  by  God  for  his  sinful- 
ness, yet  the  reason  why  men  treated 
him  as  they  did,  was  that  he  was  a 
friend  of  God — a  religious  man ;  and 
their  conduct,  therefore,  was  sheer 
persecution.  We  may,  with  entire 
consistency,  be  very  humble  before 
God,  and  acknowledge  that  we  de- 
Serve  all  that  He  brings  upon  us; 
and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  we  may 
be  sensible  that  we  have  not  wronged 
men,  and  that  their  conduct  toward 
us  is  wholly  undeserved,  is  most  un- 
grateful, is  sheer  malignity  against  us. 

21.  Forsake  me  not,  O  Lord.  That 
is,  Do  not  leave  me  in  my  troubles, 
my  sickness,  my  sorrow.  Leave  me 
not  to  die ;  leave  me  not  to  murmur 
and  dishonour  thee ;  leave  me  not  to 
the  reproaches  of  my  enemies,  %  O 
my  God,  be  not  far  from  me.  See  Ps. 
xxxv.  22.     Comp.  Ps.  x.  1 ;  xiii.  1. 

22.  Make  haste  to  help  me.  Marg., 
as  in  Heb.,  for  my  help.  This  is  an 
earnest  prayer  that  God  would  come 
immediately  to  his  rescue,  ^f  O  Lord 
my  salvation.  See  Notes  on  Psalm 
xxvii.  1.  The  effect,  therefore,  of  the 
trials  that  came  upon  the  psalmist 
was  to  lead  him  to  cry  most  earnestly 
to  God.  Those  sorrows  led  him  to 
God.  This  "is  one  of  the  designed 
effects  of  affliction.  Trouble  never 
accomplishes  its  proper  effect  unless 
it  leads  us  to  God  ;  and  anything  that 
tvill  lead  us  to  him  is  a  gain  in  the 
end.     The  deeper  our  trouble,  there- 


22  Make  haste  *  to  help  me,  O 
Lord  my  salvation. 


fore,  the  greater  may  be  the  ultimate 
good  to  us ;  and  at  the  end  of  life, 
when  we  come  to  look  over  all  that 
has  happened  in  our  journey  through 
this  world,  that  on  which  we  may 
look  back  with  most  satisfaction  and 
gratitude  may  be  the  sorrows  and 
afflictions  that  have  befallen  us, — for 
these  will  be  then  seen  to  have  been 
among  the  chief  instrumentalities  by 
which  we  were  weaned  from  sin  ;  by 
which  we  were  led  to  the  Saviour  ;  by 
which  we  were  induced  to  seek  a 
preparation  for  heaven.  No  Christian, 
when  he  comes  to  die,  ever  feels  that 
he  has  been  too  much  afflicted,  or  that 
any  trial  has  come  upon  him  for  which 
there  was  not  occasion,  and  which 
was  not  designed  and  adapted  to  do 
him  good. 

PSALM  XXXIX. 

This  psalm  purports  to  be  a  Psalm  of 
David,  but  the  special  occasion  in  his  life 
when  it  was  composed  is  not  specified, 
and  it  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  It 
was  evidently,  like  the  previous  psalm, 
in  a  time  of  affliction,  but  to  what  par- 
ticular affliction  it  refers  is  unknown. 
It  is,  however,  of  so  general  a  character, 
and  expresses  feelings  which  so  often 
spring  up  in  the  mind  of  the  afflicted, 
that  it  is  adapted  for  general  use  in  the 
world,  and  nothing  would  be  gained, 
perhaps,  if  we  could  ascertain  the  par- 
ticular trial  in  the  life  of  the  author  of 
the  psalm  to  which  it  had  referred.  On 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  the  title, 
"To  the  chief  Musician,"  see  Notes  on 
the  title  to  Ps.  iv.  The  addition  to  that 
in  this  place,  "to  Jeduthun,"  implies, 
according  to  the  rendering  in  our  com- 
mon version,  that  Jeduthun,  at  the  time 
when  the  psalm  was  composed,  occupied 
that  position  ;  and  this  is  probable.  The 
word  Jeduthun  means  properly  praising, 
celebrating  ;  but  here  it  is  used  evidently 
as  a  proper  name,  and  designates  some 
one  who  was  placed  over  the  music,  or 
who  had  charge  of  it.  The  reference  is 
to  one  of  the  choiisters  appointed  by 
David.  Jeduthun  is  expressly  men- 
tioned, among  others,  as  having  been 
appointed  for  this  service,  1  Chron.  xvi. 


344 


PSALM   XXXIX. 


41 :  u  And  with  them  Heman  and  Jedu- 
thun  .  .  .  t?  give  thanks  to  the  Lord." 
So,  a]  -.   "And  with  them  He- 

man  and  Jeduthun,  with  trumpets  and 
cymbals  for  those  that  should  make  a 
sound,  and  with  musical  instruments  of 
God."      See,   also.    1   Chron.   xxv.    6 ; 

hron.  xxxv.    15.      It  would  seem, 

.  from  ^eh.  xi.  17.  that  his  descend- 
ants held  the  same  office  in  his  time. 
The  psalm  was  composed  by  one  who 
in  trouble,  and  who  "had  such 
thoughts  in  his  affliction  that  he  did  not 
dare  to  express  them  for  fear  that  they 
would  do  injury  to  the  cause  of  religion. 

was  sad  and  dispirited.  He  could 
not  understand  the  reason  of  the  Divine 
dealings.  He  did  not  know  why  he 
dieted.  He  did  not  see  the 
justice,  the  propriety,  or  the  benevolence 
of  the  Divine  arrangements  by  which 
the  life  of  man  was  made  so  short  and 

on,  and  by  which  he  was  called  to 
suffer  so  much.  There  was,  in  his  case, 
a  conscious  spirit  of  complaining  against 
the  Divine  arrangements; ;  or  there  was 
so  much  that,  in  lm  .  was  myste- 

rious and  apparently  inconsistent  with 
benevoler;  ee  in  the  Divine  dealings,  that 
he  did  not  uare  to  express  what  was  going 
on  in  his  own  mind,  or  to  give  vent  to 
the  e  aref  th  aghts  :  his  soul;  andhe 
therefore  resolved  that  he  would  keep 
silence,  and  would  say  nothing  on  the 
subject  especially  when  the  wicked  were 
before  him.  He  bore  this  as  long  as  he 
could,  and  then  he  gave  vent  to  his  sup- 
.niotions,  and  sought  comfort  in 
pra; 

Ihe  psalm,  tl  a  of  two 

parts  :  — 

I.  His  purpose  to  keep  silence  ; 
nothing ;  to  suppress  the  emotions  which 

-  _  ling  in  his  bosom,  or  not  to 
give  utterance  to  what  was  passing  in 

:jind,  lest,  by  such  an  expression, 
he  should  strengthen  and  contirm  the 
wicked    in    what    they  were   thin 
about,  or  in  their  views  of  God.     So  far 
did  he  carry  this,  that  he  says  he  re- 

d   to  hiold  his    u  peace  from 

good;"    that  is,   he  resolved    that  he 
would  s  lest    h     should  be 

tempted        -      something  which  would 
injure  the  cause  of  religion,  and  which 
he  would  have  occasion  to  regret,  - 
1.  2. 

II.  The  fact  that  he  w  trained 
to  speak ;  that  he  could  not  confine  his 
thoughts  to  his  own  bosom ;  that  he  was 

:ch  anguish  that  he  must  find  relief 
g  iving  utterance  to  what  was  passing 


in  his  soul.  This  occupies  the  remain- 
der of  the  psalm,  vers.  3-13.  This  part 
of  the  psalm  embraces  the  following 
points  : — 

(1.)  The  depth  and  anguish  of  his 
feeling;  the  fact  that  his  feelings  be- 
came so  intense,  like  a  pent-up  fire  in 
his  bosom,  that  he  could  not  but  speak 
and  make  known  his  thoughts,  ver.  3. 

(2.)  The  utterance  in  words  of  the 
thoughts  which  he  had  been  cherishing, 
which  gave  him  so  much  trouble,  and 
which  he  had  been  unwilling  to  ex- 
press before  the  wicked,  lest  he  should 
confirm  them  in  their  views  about  God 
and  his  deahxr-.  vera.  4-6.  These 
thoughts  pertained  to  his  contemplation 
of  human  life, — its  brevity,  its  van 
and  its  sorrows ;  to  his  doubts  and 
plexities  about  the  purpose  for  which 
such  a  being  as  man  was  made  ;  and  to 
the  darkness  of  his  own  mind  concerning 
the  reasons  why  God  had  made  man 
thus,  and  why  he  dealt  thus  with  him. 
^Vhy  was  life* so  short :  TVhy  was  it  so 
vain  .:     "Why  was  it  so  full  of*  sorro" 

(3.)  His  earnest  appeal  to  God  in  this 
state  of  mind.  "-13. 

(a)  H  that  his  only  hope  was 
in  God,  ver.  7. 

(b)  He  asks  for  deliverance  from  his 
trar.  is— that  i^.  here,  from  the 
calamities  which  had  come  upon  him  for 
his  sins.  ver.  8. 

(c)  He  says  that  he  had  been  dumb 
before  God,  and  had  endeavoured  not 
to  murmur  at  his  dealings,  ver.  9. 

(d)  He  refers  to  the  fact  that  when 
God  undertakes  to  rebuke  man  for  his 
iniquity,  man  cannot  stand  before  him 
— that  his  beauty  is  made  to  consume 
away  like  a  moth,"  vers.  10,  11. 

(e)  He  earnestly  cries,  therefore,  to 
God,  and  prays  that  he  would  deliver 
him,  vers.  12,  13.     He  asks  for  strey 

in  these  struggles  and  trials,  before  he 
should  go  forth  and  be  no  more. 

The  psalm  will  be  found  to  exp. 
feelings  which  often  pass  through  the 
mind-  _     d  men  in  regard  to  the 

mysteries  of  our  condition  here,  and  will 
be  found  to  be  adapted  to  calm  d 
those  feelings  which  often  arise  in  the 
soul,  and  which  could  not  be  exprc— 
without  doing  injury  by  paining  the 
hearts  of  the  good,  and  )»  confirming 
the  wicked  in  their  notions;  to  silence 
the  murmurings  of  the  heart ;  and  to 
bring  the  soul  into  a  state  of  humble 
acqu:  _xod  under  a  recog- 

nition that  all  the  events  of  life  are  con- 
trolled by  bis  hand. 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


345 


PSALM  XXXIX. 

To  llic  chief  Musician,  even  to  u  Jeduthun. 
A  Psalm  of  David. 


I 


SAID,  I  will  take  heed  to  my 
ways,  that  I  sin  not  with  my 


u  1  Cliron.  xvi.  41. 


1.  I  said.  This  refers  to  a  resolu- 
tion which  he  had  formed.  He  does 
not  say,  however,  at  what  time  of  his 
life  the  resolution  was  adopted,  or 
how  long1  a  period  had  elapsed  from 
the  time  when  he  formed  the  resolu- 
tion to  the  time  when  he  thus  made  a 
record  of  it.  He  had  formed  the  re- 
solution on  some  occasion  when  he 
was  greatly  troubled  with  anxious 
thoughts ;  when,  as  the  subsequent 
verses  show,  his  mind  was  deeply  per- 
plexed about  the  Divine  administra- 
tion, or  the  dealings  of  God  with 
mankind.  It  would  seem  that  this 
train  of  thought  was  suggested  by  his 
own  particular  trials  (vers.  9,  10), 
from  which  he  was  led  to  reflect  on 
the  mysteries  of  the  Divine  adminis- 
tration in  general,  and  on  the  fact 
that  man  had  been  subjected  by  his 
Creator  to  so  much  trouble  and  sor- 
row,— and  that,  under  the  Divine 
decree,  human  life  was  so  short  and  ■ 
so  vain.  %  I  will  take  heed  to  my 
ways.  To  wit,  in  respect  to  this 
matter.  I  will  be  cautious,  circum- 
•  spect,  prudent.  I  will  not  offend  or 
pain  the  heart  of  others.  The  par- 
ticular thing  here  referred  to  was,  the 
resolution  not  to  give  utterance  to  the 
thoughts  which  were  passing  in  his 
mind  in  regard  to  the  Divine  admin- 
istration. He  felt  that  he  was  in 
danger,  if  he  stated  what  he  thought 
on  the  subject,  of  saying  things  which 
would  do  injury,  or  which  he  would 
have  occasion  to  regret,  and  he 
therefore  resolved  to  keep  silent. 
%  That  J  sin  not  with  my  tongue. 
That  I  do  not  utter  sentiments  which 
will  be  wrong,  and  which  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  repent ;  sentiments  which 
would  do  injury  to  those  who  are 
already  disposed  to  find  ground  of 
complaint  against  God,  and  who 
would  thus  be  furnished  with  argu- 
ments to  confirm  them  in  their  views.  | 


tongue  :  *  I  will  keep  *  my  mouth 
with  a  bridle,  while  w  the  wicked 
is  before  me. 

v  Prov.  xxi.  23  ;  James  iii.  2,  etc. 
1  a  bridle,  or,  muzzle  for  my  mouth, 
w  Col.  iv.  5. 


Good  men  often  have  such  thoughts 
passing  through  their  minds  ;  — 
thoughts  reflecting  on  the  government 
of  God  as  unequal  and  severe;  thoughts 
which,  if  they  were  suggested,  would 
tend  to  confirm  the  wicked  and  the 
sceptical  in  their  views  ;  thoughts 
which  they  hope,  in  respect  to  them- 
selves, to  be  able  to  calm  down  by 
meditation  and  prayer,  but  which 
would  do  only  unmitigated  harm  if 
they  were  communicated  to  other 
men,  especially  to  wicked  men.  %  I 
tvill  keep  my  mouth  ivith  a  bridle.  The 
word  here  used  means  rather  a  muzzle, 
or  something  placed  over  the  mouth. 
The  bridle  is  to  restrain  or  check  or 
guide  the  horse ;  the  muzzle  was  some- 
thing to  bind  or  fasten  the  mouth  so 
as  to  prevent  biting  or  eating.  Deut. 
xxv.  4 :  "  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the 
ox  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn." 
See  Notes  on  1  Cor.  ix.  9.  The  mean- 
ing here  is,  that  he  would  restrain 
himself  from  uttering  what  was  pass- 
ing in  his  mind.  %  While  the  wicked 
is  before  me.  In  their  presence.  He 
resolved  to  do  this,  as  suggested  above, 
lest  if  he  should  utter  what  was  pass- 
ing in  his  own  mind, — if  he  should 
state  the  difficulties  in  regard  to  the 
Divine  administration  which  he  saw 
and  felt, — if  he  should  give  expres- 
sion to  the  sceptical  or  hard  thoughts 
which  occurred  to  him  at  such  times, 
it  would  serve  only  to  confirm  them  in 
their  wickedness, and  strengthen  them 
in  their  alienation  from  God.  A  simi- 
lar state  of  feeling,  and  on  this  very 
subject,  is  referred  to  by  the  psalmist 
(Ps.  lxxiii.  15),  where  he  says  that  if 
he  should  utter  what  was  really  pass- 
ing in  his  mind,  it  would  greatly  pain 
and  offend  those  who  were  the  true 
children  of  God  ;  would  fill  their 
minds  with  doubts  and  difficulties 
which  might  never  occur  to  them- 
selves :  "If  I  sav,  I  will  speak  thus; 
Q2 


316 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


2  I  was  dumb  with  silence  :  I 
held  my  peace,  even  from  good ; 


behold,  I  shall  offend  against  the 
generation  of  thy  children."  As  illus- 
trations of  this  state  of  feeling  in  the 
minds  of  good  men,  and  as  evidence 
of  the  fact  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
psalmist,  their  existence  in  the  mind, 
even  in  the  severest  and  the  most  tor- 
turing form,  is  not  proof  that  the  man 
in  whose  bosom  they  arise  is  not  a 
truly  pious  man,  I  make  the  follow- 
ing extracts  as  expressing  the  feelings 
of  two  of  the  most  sincere  and  devoted 
Christian  men  that  ever  lived, — both 
eminently  useful,  both  in  an  eminent 
degree  ornaments  to  the  Church,— 
Cecil  and  Payson  : — "  I  have  read  all 
the  most  acute,  and  learned,  and 
serious  infidel  writers,  and  have  been 
really  surprised  at  their  poverty.  The 
process  of  my  mind  has  been  such  on 
the  subject  of  revelation,  that  I  have 
often  thought  Satan  has  done  more 
for  me  than  the  best  of  them  ;  for  I 
have  had,  and  could  have  produced, 
arguments  that  appeared  to  me  far 
more  weighty  than  any  I  ever  found  in 
them  against  revelation."  Cecil. — Dr. 
Payson  says  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  : — 
"  There  is  one  trial  which  you  cannot 
know  experimentally  :  it  is  that  of 
being  obliged  to  preach  to  others 
when  one  doubts  of  everything,  and 
can  scarcely  believe  that  there  is  a 
God.  All  the  atheistical,  deistical,  and 
heretical  objections  which  I  meet 
with  in  books  are  childish  babblings 
compared  with  those  which  Satan 
suggests,  and  which  he  urges  upon 
the  mind  with  a  force  which  seems 
irresistible.  Yet  I  am  often  obliged 
to  write  sermons,  and  to  preach  when 
these  objections  beat  upon  me  like  a 
whirlwind,  and  almost  distract  me." 

2.  I  was  dumb  with  silence.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxxviii.  13.  The  addition  of  the 
wrords  "  with  silence,"  means  that  he 
was  entirely  or  absolutely  dumb ;  he 
said  nothing  at  all.  The  idea  is,  that 
he  did  not  allow  himself  to  give  utter- 
ance to  the  thoughts  which  were 
passing  in  his  mind  in  regard  to  the 
Divine  dealings.  He  kept  his*  thoughts 


and  my  sorrow  was  1  stirred. 

1  troubled. 


to  himself,  and  endeavoured  to  sup- 
press them  in  his  own  bosom.  %  I 
held  my  peace,  even  from  good.  I 
said  nothing.  I  did  not  even  say  what 
I  might  have  said  in  vindication  of  the 
ways  of  God.  I  did  not  even  endea- 
vour to  defend  the  Divine  character, 
or  to  explain  the  reasons  of  the 
Divine  dealings,  or  to  suggest  any 
considerations  which  would  tend  to 
calm  down  the  feelings  of  complaint 
and  dissatisfaction  which  might  be 
rising  in  the  minds  of  other  men  as 
well  as  my  own.  1  And  my  sorrow 
was  stirred.  The  anguish  of  my 
mind;  my  trouble.  The  word  "stir- 
red "  here,  rendered  in  the  margin 
troubled,  means  that  the  very  fact  of 
attempting  to  suppress  his  feelings, — 
the  purpose  to  say  nothing  in  the  case, 
— was  the  means  of  increased  anguish. 
His  trouble  on  the  subject  found  no 
vent  for  itself  in  words,  and  at  length 
it  became  so  insupportable  that  he 
sought  relief  by  giving  utterance  to 
his  thoughts,  and  by  coming  to  God 
to  obtain  relief.  ^The  state  of  mind 
referred  to  here  is  that  which  often 
occurs  when  a  man  broods  over  his 
own  troubled  thoughts,  and  dwells 
upon  things  which  are  in  themselves 
improper  and  rebellious.  We  are 
under  no  necessity  of  endeavouring  to 
vindicate  the  psalmist  in  what  he  here 
did ;  nor  should  we  take  his  conduct 
in  this-  respect  as  our  example.  He 
evidently  himself,  on  reflection,  re- 
garded this  as  wrong;  and  recorded 
it  not  as  a  pattern  for  others,  but  as 
a  faithful  transcript  of  what  was  pass- 
ing at  the  time  through  his  own  mind. 
Yet,  wrong  as  it  was,  it  was  what  often 
occurs  even  in  the  minds  of  good  men. 
Even  they,  as  in  the  cases  referred  to 
above,  often  have  thoughts  about  God 
and  his  dealings  which  they  do  not 
dare  to  express,  and  which  it  would  do 
harm  to  express.  They,  therefore, 
hide  them  in  their  own  bosom,  and 
often  experience  just  what  the  psalm- 
ist did, — increased  trouble  and  per- 
plexity  from    the  very  purpose   to 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


347 


3  My  heart  was  hot  within 
me  :  while  I  was  musing  the  fire 
burned  :  then  spake  I  with  my 
tongue, 

1  Or,  what  lime  I  have  here. 


suppress  them.  They  should  go  at 
once  to  God.  They  may  say  to  him 
what  it  would  uot  be  proper  to  say  to 
men.  They  may  pour  out  all  their 
feelings  before  him  in  prayer,  with 
the  hope  that  in  such  acts  of  praying, 
and  in  the  answers  which  they  will 
receive  to  their  prayers,  they  may 
find  relief. 

3.  My  heart  was  hot  tvithin  me. 
My  mind  became  more  and  more  ex- 
cited; my  feelings  more  and  more 
intense.  The  attempt  to  suppress 
my  emotions  only  more  and  more  en- 
kindled them.  %  While  I  was  musing 
the  fire  burned.  Literally,  "  in  my 
meditation  the  fire  burned."  That  is, 
while  I  was  dwelling  on  the  subject; 
while  I  was  agitating  it  in  my  mind ; 
while  I  thought  about  it, — the  flame 
was  enkindled,  and  my  thoughts  found 
utterance.  He  was  unable  longer  to 
suppress  his  feelings,  and  he  gave 
vent  to  them  in  words.  Comp.  Jer. 
xx.  9;  Job  xxxii.  18,  19.  H  Then 
spake  I  with  my  tongue.  That  is,  in 
the  words  which  are  recorded  in  this 
psalm.  He  gave  vent  to  his  pent-up 
feelings  in  the  language  which  fol- 
lows. Even  though  there  to  as  a  feel- 
ing of  murmuring  and  complaining, 
he  sought  relief  in  stating  his  real 
difficulties  before  God,  and  in  seeking 
from  him  direction  and  support. 

4.  Loed,  make  me  to  know  mine 
end.  This  expresses  evidently  the 
substance  of  those  anxious  and  trou- 
bled thoughts  (vers.  1, 2)  to  which  he 
had  been  unwilling  to  give  utterance. 
His  thoughts  turned  on  the  shortness 
of  life  ;  on  the  mystery  of  the  Divine 
arrangement  by  which  it  had  been 
made  so  short ;  and  on  the  fact  that 
so  many  troubles  and  sorrows  had 
been  crowded  into  a  life  so  frail  and 
so  soon  to  terminate.  iCVith  some  im- 
patience, and  with  a  consciousness 
that  he  had  been  indulging:  feelings 
on  this  subject  which  were  not  pro- 


4  Lord,  make  me  to  know 
mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my 
days,  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  know 
1  how  frail  I  am, 


per,  and  which  would  do  injury  if 
they  were  expressed  before  men,  he 
now  pours  out  these  feelings  before 
God,  and  asks  what  is  to  be  the  end 
of  this  ;  how  long  this  is  to  continue  ; 
when  his  own  sorrows  will  cease.  It 
was  an  impatient  desire  to  know 
wdien  the  end  would  be,  with  a  spirit 
of  insubmission  to  the  arrangements 
of  Providence  by  which  his  life  had 
been  made  so  brief,  and  by  which  so 
much  suffering  had  been  appointed."*)* 
%  And  the  measure  of  my  days,  what 
it  is.  How  long  I  am  to  live;  how 
long  I  am  to  bear  these  accumulated 
sorrows.  ^[  That  1  may  know  how 
frail  I  am.  Marg.,  W hat  time  1  have 
here.  Prof.  Alexander  renders  this, 
when  I  shall  cease.  So  De  Wette. 
The  Hebrew  word  here  used — blTl, 
hhadail — means  ceasing  to  be ;  hence, 
frail ;  then,  destitute,  left,  forsaken. 
An  exact  translation  would  be,  "that 
I  may  know  at  what  (time)  or  (point) 
I  am  ceasing,  or  about  to  cease."  It 
is  equivalent  to  a  prayer  that  he 
might  know  when  these  sufferings — 
when  a  life  so  full  of  sorrow — would 
come  to  an  end.  The  language  is  an 
expression  of  impatience ;  the  utter- 
ance of  a  feeling  which  the  psalmist 
knew  was  not  right  in  itself,  and 
which  would  do  injury  if  expressed 
before  men,  but  which  the  intensity 
of  his  feelings  would  not  permit  him 
to  restrain,  and  to  which  he,  there- 
fore, gives  utterance  before  God. 
Similar  expressions  of  impatience  in 
view  of  the  sufferings  of  a  life  so 
short  as  this,  and  with  so  little  to 
alleviate  its  sorrows,  may  be  seen 
much  amplified  in  Job  iii.  1-26 ;  vi. 
4-12  ;  vii.  7  ;  xiv.  1-13.  Before  we 
blame  the  sacred  writers  for  the  in- 
dulgence of  these  feelings,  let  us  care- 
fully examine  our  own  hearts,  and 
recall  what  has  passed  through  our 
own  minds  in  view  of  the  mysteries 
of   the  Divine   administration;   and 


348 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


5  Behold,  tliou  hast  made  my 
days  as  an  handbreadtk ;  and 
*  mine  age  is  as  nothing  before 
thee :  verily  every  man  1  at  his 
best  state  is  altogether  vanity. 
Selah. 

x  Ps.  xc.  4,  etc. 


6  Surely  every  man  walketh  in 
2  a  vain  show ;  surely  they  are 
disquieted  in  vain :  he  v  heapeth 
up  riches,  and  knoweth  not  who 
shall  gather  them. 

1  settled.  2  an  image, 

y  Eccles.  ii.  18,  etc;  Luke  xii.  20,  21. 


let  us  remember  that  one  great  object 
of  the  Bible  is  to  record  the  actual 
feelings  of  men  —  not  to  vindicate 
them,  but  to  show  what  human  na- 
ture is  even  in  the  best  circumstances, 
and  what  the  human  heart  is  when  as 
yet  but  partially  sanctified. 

5.  Behold,  thou  hast  made  my  days 
as  an  handbreadth.  Literally,  "  Lo, 
handbreadths  hast  thou  given  my 
days/'  The  word  rendered  hand- 
breadth  means  properly  the  spread 
hand  ;  the  j)alrn ;  the  hand  when  the 
four  fingers  are  expanded.  The  word 
is  then  used  to  denote  anything  very 
short  or  brief.  It  is  one  of  the  small- 
est natural  measures,  as  distinguished 
from  the  "  foot  " — i.  e.  the  length  of 
the  foot ;  and  from  the  cubit, — i.  e. 
the  length  of  the  arm  to  the  elbow. 
It  is  the  shortness  of  life,  therefore, 
that  is  the  subject  of  painful  and  com- 
plaining reflection  here.  Who  has 
not  been  in  a  state  of  mind  to  sym- 
pathise with  the  feelings  of  the 
psalmist  ?  Who  is  there  that  does 
not  often  wonder,  when  he  thinks  of 
what  he  could  and  would  accomplish 
on  earth  if  his  life  extended  to  a 
thousand  years,  and  when  he  thinks 
of  the  great  interests  at  stake  in  re- 
ference to  another  world  which  God 
has  made  dependent  on  so  short  a 
life  ?  Who  can  at  all  times  so  calm 
down  his  feelings  as  to  give  utterance 
to  no  expressions  of  impatience  that 
life  is  so  soon  to  terminate  ?  Who  is 
there  that  reflects  on  the  great  in- 
terests at  stake  that  has  not  asked 
the  question  why  God  has  not  given 
man  more  time  to  prepare  for  eter- 
nity ?  %  And  mine  age.  Or,  my 
life.  The  word  here  used — *rl?n, 
hheled — means  properly  duration  of 
life,  lifetime ;  and  then,  life  itself; 
Job  xi.  17.  IT  Is  as  nothing.  That 
is,  it  is  so  short  that  it  seems  to  be 


nothing  at  all.  If  Before  thee.  As 
over  against  thee ;  that  is,  in  com- 
parison with  thee.  Comp.  Isa.  xl.  17, 
"  All  nations  before  him  are  as  no- 
thing ;"  that  is,  over  against  him,  or 
in  comparison  with  him.  When  the 
two  are  placed  together,  the  one 
seems  to  be  as  nothing  in  the  presence 
of  the  other.  So  the  life  of  man, 
when  placed  by  the  side  of  the  life  of 
God,  seems  to  be  absolutely  nothing. 
^[  Verily  every  man  at  his  best  state 
is  altogether  vanity.  Marg.,  settled. 
The  idea  is,  that  every  man  is  con- 
stituted vanity.  Literally,  "All  vanity 
every  man  is  constituted."  There 
seems  to  be  nothing  but  vanity  ;  and 
this  is  the  result  of  a  Divine  constitu- 
tion or  arrangement.  The  idea  ex- 
pressed in  our  common  version,  "  at 
his  best  state,"  however  true  in  itself, 
is  not  in  the  original.  The  thoughts 
in  the  original  are  (a)  that  all  men 
are  vanity;  that  is,  life  is  so  short, 
and  man  accomplishes  so  little,  that  it 
seems  to  be  perfect  vanity;  and  (b) 
that  this  is  the  result  of  the  Divine  con- 
stitution under  which  man  was  made. 
It  was  the  fact  that  man  has  been  so 
made  which  gave  so  much  trouble  to 
the  mind  of  the  psalmist. 

6.  Surely  every  man  walketh  in  a 
vain  show.  Marg.,  an  image.  The 
word  rendered  vain  shoto  —  E^S, 
tzelem — means  properly  a  shade,  a 
shadow;  and  then,  an  image  or  like- 
ness, as  shadowing  forth  any  real 
object.  Then  it  comes  to  denote  an 
idol,  2  Kings  xi.  18 ;  Amos  v.  26. 
Here  the  idea  seems  to  be  that  of  an 
image,  as  contradistinguished  from  a 
reality ;  the  shadow  of  a  thing,  as 
distinguished  from  the  substance.  Man 
seems  to  be  like  an  image,  a  shadow, 
a  phantom, — and  not  a  real  object, 
walking  about.  He  is  a  form,  an  ap- 
pearance, that  soon  vanishes  away  like 


PSALM   XXXIX. 


349 


7  And  now,  Lord,  what  wait  I 
for  ?  iny  hope  is  in  thee. 


8  Deliver    me    from   all     my 
transgressions  ;  make  me  not  the 


a  shadow.  ^[  Surely  they  are  dis- 
quieted in  vain.  That  is,  they  are 
actively  engaged ;  they  bustle  about ; 
they  are  full  of  anxiety;  they  form 
plans  which  they  execute  with  much 
toil,  care,  and  trouble ;  yet  for  no  pur- 
pose worthy  of  so  much  diligence  and 
anxious  thought.  They  are  busy, 
bustling  shadows — existing  for  no  real 
or  substantial  purposes,  and  accom- 
plishing nothing.  "  What  shadows 
we  are,  and  what  shadows  do  we  pur- 
sue/' said  the  great  orator  and  states- 
man, Edmund  Burke ;  and  what  a 
striking  and  beautiful  comment  on 
the  passage  before  us  was  that  saying, 
coming  from  such  a  man,  and  from 
one  occupying  such  a  position.  ^[  He 
heapeth  up  riches.  The  word  here  used 
means  to  heap  up,  to  store  up,  as 
grain,  Gen.  xli.  35 ;  or  treasures,  Job 
xxvii.  16 ;  or  a  mound,  Hab.  i.  10. 
Here  it  undoubtedly  refers  to  the 
efforts  of  men  in  accumulating  wealth, 
or  storing  up  property.  This  was  the 
thing  which  struck  the  psalmist  as  the 
leading  employment  of  these  moving 
shadows, — a  fact  that  would  strike 
any  one  as  he  looks  upon  this  busy 
world.  If  And  lenoweth  not  ivho  shall 
gather  them.  Who  shall  gather  them 
to  himself;  to  whom  they  will  go 
when  he  dies.  Comp.  Job  xxvii. 
16-19;  Eccles.  ii.  18,  21;  v.  13,  14; 
Luke  xii.  20.  The  idea  is,  that  it  is 
not  only  vanity  in  itself,  considered  as 
the  great  business  of  life,  to  attempt 
to  accumulate  property, — seeing  that 
this  is  not  what  the  great  object  of 
life  should  be,  and  that  a  life  thus 
spent  really  amounts  to  nothing, — but 
vanity  in  this  respect  also,  that  a  man 
can  have  no  absolute  control  over  his 
property  when  he  is  dead,  and  he 
knows  not,  and  cannot  know,  into 
whose  hands  his  accumulated  gains 
may  fall.  The  facts  on  this  subject ; 
the  actual  distribution  of  property 
after  a  man  is  dead;  the  use  often 
made  of  it,  against  which  no  man  can 
guard, — should,  together  with  other 
and  higher  motives,  be   a  powerful 


consideration  with  every  one,  not  to 
make  the  amassing  of  wealth  the 
great  business  of  life. 

7.  And  iioiv,   Loed,  what   tvait  I 
for?  From  the  consideration  of  a  vain 

world, — of  the  fruitless  efforts  of  man, 
— of  what  so  perplexed,  embarrassed, 
and  troubled  him, — the  psalmist  now 
turns  to  God,  and  looks  to  him  as  the 
source  of  consolation.  Turning  to 
him,  he  gains  more  cheerful  views  of 
life.  The  expression  "  What  wait  I 
for  ?"  means,  what  do  I  now  expect  or 
hope  for ;  on  what  is  my  hope  based ; 
where  do  I  find  any  cheerful,  comfort- 
ing views  in  regard  to  life  ?  He  had 
found  none  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  world  itself,  in  man  and  his  pur- 
suits; in  the  course  of  things  so 
shadowy  and  so  mysterious;  and  he 
says  now,  that  he  turns  to  God  to 
find  comfort  in  his  perplexities.  ^[  My 
hope  is  in  thee.  In  thee  alone. 
My  reliance  is  on  thee;  my  expectation 
is  from  thee.  It  is  not  from  what 
I  see  in  the  world;  it  is  not  in  my 
power  of  solving  the  mysteries  which 
surround  me ;  it  is  not  that  I  can  see 
the  reason  why  these  shadows  are 
pursuing  shadows  so  eagerly  around 
me ;  it  is  in  the  God  that  made  all, 
the  ruler  over  all,  that  can  control 
all,  and  that  can  accomplish  his  own 
great  purposes  in  connexion  even  with 
these  moving  shadows,  and  that  can 
confer  on  man  thus  vain  in  himself 
and  in  his  pursuits  that  which  will  be 
valuable  and  permanent.  The  idea 
is,  that  the  contemplation  of  a  world 
so  vain,  so  shadowy,  so  mysterious, 
should  lead  us  away  from  all  expecta- 
tion of  finding  in  that  world  what  we 
need,  or  finding  a  solution  of  the 
questions  which  so  much  perplex  us, 
up  to  the  groat  God  who  is  infinitely 
wise,  and  who  can  meet  all  the  ne- 
cessities of  our  immortal  nature  ;  and 
who,  in  his  own  time,  can  solve  all 
these  mysteries. 

8.  Deliver  me  from  all  my  trans- 
gressions. Recognising,  as  in  Ps. 
xxxviii.  3-5,  his  sins  as  the  source  of 


350 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


reproach  of  the  foolish. 

9  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my- 


all bis  troubles  and  sorrows.  If  bis 
transgressions  were  forgiven,  be  felt 
assured  tbat  his  trouble  would  be 
removed.  His  first  petition,  there- 
fore, is,  that  his  sins  might  be  par- 
doned, with  the  implied  conscious 
assurance  that  then  it  would  be  con- 
sistent and  proper  for  God  to  remove 
bis  calamity,  and  deliver  him  from 
the  evils  which  had  come  upon  him. 
%  Make  me  not  the  reproach  of  the 
foolish.  Of  the  wicked ;  of  those  who 
are  foolish,  because  they  are  wicked. 
See  Notes  on  Ps.  xiv.  1.  The  prayer 
here  is,  that  God  would  not  suffer  him 
to  become  an  object  of  reproach  to 
wicked  and  foolish  men  ;  that  is,  as 
the  passage  implies,  that  God  would 
not  so  continue  to  treat  him  as  if 
he  were  a  sinner  as  to  justify  to  them- 
selves their  reproaches  of  him  as  a 
wicked  man.  In  other  words,  he 
prays  that  God  w^ould  forgive  his  sin, 
and  would  withdraw  his  hand  of 
affliction,  so  that  even  the  wicked 
might  see  that  be  was  not  angry  with 
him,  but  that  he  was  an  object  of  the 
Divine  favour. 

9.  Iicas  dumb.  See  Notes  on  ver.  2. 
Comp.  Isa.  liii.  7.  The  meaning  here 
is,  tbat  he  did  not  open  his  mouth 
to  complain ;  he  did  not  speak  of  God 
as  if  he  had  dealt  unkindly  or  un- 
justly with  him.  ^[  I  opened  not  my 
mouth.  I  kept  entire  silence.  This 
would  be  better  rendered,  "  I  am 
dumb ;  I  will  not  open  my  mouth." 
The  meaning  is,  not  that  he  had  been 
formerly  silent  and  uncomplaining, 
but  tbat  he  was  noio  silenced,  or  that 
his  mind  was  now  calm,  and  that  he 
acquiesced  in  the  dealings  of  Divine 
Providence.  Tbe  state  of  mind  here, 
it  should  be  further  observed,  is  not 
that  which  is  described  in  ver.  2. 
There  he  represents  himself  as  dumb, 
or  as  restraining  himself  from  utter- 
ing what  was  in  his  mind,  because  he 
felt  tbat  it  would  do  barm,  by  en- 
couraging tbe  wicked  in  their  views 
of  God  and  of  his  government;  here 
he  says  that  he  was  now  silenced — he 


mouth  ;  because  thou  didst  it. 
10  Remove  thy   stroke    away 


acquiesced — he  had  no  disposition  to 
say  anything  against  the  government 
of  God.  He  was  dumb,  not  by  put- 
ting a  restraint  on  himself,  but  be- 
cause be  had  nothing  to  say.  ^[ 
Because  thou  didst  it.  Thou  hast 
done  that  which  was  so  mysterious 
to  me ;  that  about  which  I  was  so 
much  disposed  to  complain  ;  that 
which  has  overwhelmed  me  with 
affliction  and  sorrow.  It  is  now,  to 
my  mind,  a  sufficient  reason  for  si- 
lencing all  my  murmurs,  and  pro- 
ducing entire  acquiescence,  that  it  has 
been  done  by  thee.  That  fact  is  to 
me  sufficient  proof  that  it  is  right, 
and  wise,- and  good;  tbat  fact  makes 
my  mind  calm.  The  best  proof  that 
anything  is  right  and  best  is  that  it  is 
done  by  God.  The  most  perfect  calm- 
ness and  peace  in  trouble  is  produced, 
not  when  we  rely  on  our  own  reason- 
ings, or  when  we  attempt  to  compre- 
hend and  explain  a  mystery,  but  when 
we  direct  our  thoughts  simply  to  the 
fact  that  God  has  done  it.  This  is 
the  highest  reason  that  can  be  pre- 
sented to  the  human  mind,  tbat  what 
is  done  is  right;  this  raises  the  mind 
above  the  mysteriousness  of  what  is 
done,  and  makes  it  plain  that  it  should 
be  done ;  this  leaves  the  reasons  why 
it  is  done,  where  they  should  be  left, 
with  God.  This  consideration  will 
calm  down  the  feelings  when  nothing 
else  would  do  it,  and  dispose  tbe  mind, 
even  under  tbe  deepest  trials,  to  ac- 
quiescence and  peace.  I  saw  this  verse 
engraved,  with  great  appropriateness, 
on  a  beautiful  marble  monument  that 
had  been  erected  over  a  grave  where 
lay  three  children  that  had  been  sud- 
denly cut  down  by  the  scarlet  fever. 
What  could  be  more  suitable  in  such 
a  trial  than  such  a  text  ?  What  could 
more  strikingly  express  the  true  feel- 
ings of  Christian  piety  —  tbe  calm 
submission  of  redeemed  souls — than 
the  disposition  of  parents,  thus  be- 
reaved, to  record  such  a  sentiment 
over  the  grave  of  their  children  ? 
10.  Remove  thy  stroke  away  from 


PSALM  XXXIX. 


351 


from  me  :  I  am  consumed  by  the 
1  blow  of  thine  hand. 

11  When  thou  with  rebukes 
dost  correct  man  for  iniquity, 
thou  makest  2  his  beauty  to  con- 
sume away  like  a  moth :  surely 

1  conflict. 


every  man  is  vanity.     Selah. 

12  Hear  my  prayer,  O  Lord, 
and  give  ear  unto  my  cry  ;  hold 
not  thy  peace  at  my  tears  :  for  I 
am  a  stranger  with  thee,  and  a 

2  that  which  is  to  be  desired  in  him  to  melt 
away. 


pie.  And  yet  this  calm  submission, 
as  expressed  in  ver.  9,  does  not  take 
away  the  desire  that  the  hand  of  God 
may  be  removed,  and  that  the  suffer- 
ing that  is  brought  upon  us  may  cease. 
Perfect  submission  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  prayer  that,  if  it  be  the  will 
of  God,  the  calamity  may  be  removed: 
Luke  xxii.  42.  On  the  word  here 
rendered  stroke  —  yp;j,  naiga  —  see 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxxviii.  11.  It  is  equiva- 
lent here  to  chastisement,  or  judg- 
ment. It  refers  to  the  trial  which  he 
was  then  enduring,  whatever  it  was, 
which  had  given  occasion  to  the  feel- 
ings that  he  says  (ver.  1,  2)  he  had 
felt  bound  to  suppress  when  in  the 
presence  of  the  wicked,  but  in  refer- 
ence to  which  he  had  learned  entirely 
to  acquiesce  (ver.  9).  From  that 
trial  itself  he  now  prays  that  he  may 
be  delivered.  %  I  am  consumed.  I 
am  wasting  away.  I  cannot  long 
bear  up  under  it.  I  must  sink  down 
to  the  grave  if  it  is  not  removed.  See 
ver.  13.  ^J  By  the  hlow  of  thine  hand. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  conflict.  That  is, 
the  blow  which  God  brings  on  any  one 
when  he  has,  as  it  were,  a  strife  or  a 
conflict  with  him.  It  is  designed 
here  to  express  his  affliction,  as  if  God 
had  struck  him. 

11,  When  thou  tvith  rebukes.  The 
word  here  rendered  rebukes  means  pro- 
perly (a)  proof  or  demonstration ;  (b) 
confutation  or  contradiction;  (c)  re- 
proof or  admonition  by  words ;  (d)  re- 
proof by  correction  or  punishment. 
This  is  the  meaning  here.  The  idea 
of  the  psalmist  is,  that  God,  by  punish- 
ment or  calamity,  expresses  his  sense 
of  the  evil  of  human  conduct ;  and 
that,  under  such  an  expression  of  it, 
man,  being  unable  to  sustain  it,  melts 
away  or  is  destroyed.  %  Dost  cor- 
rect man  for  iniquity.     Dost  punish 


man  for  his  sin ;  or  dost  express  thy 
sense  of  the  evil  of  sin  by  the  calami- 
ties which  are  brought  upon  him.  ^f 
Thou  makest  his  beauty.  Marg.,  That 
which  is  to  be  desired  in  him.  The 
Hebrew  means  desired,  delighted  in; 
then,  something  desirable,  pleasant;  a 
delight.  Its  meaning  is  not  confined 
to  beauty.  It  refers  to  anything  that 
is  to  man  an  object  of  desire  or  de- 
light,— strength,  beauty,  possessions, 
life  itself.  All  are  made  to  fade  away 
before  the  expressions  of  the  Divine 
displeasure,  %  To  consume  aivay  like 
a  moth.  Not  as  a  moth  is  consumed, 
but  as  a  moth  consumes  or  destroys 
valuable  objects,  such  as  clothing. 
See  Notes  on  Job  iv.  19.  The  beauty, 
the  vigour, '  the  strength  of  man  is 
marred  and  destroyed,  as  the  texture 
of  cloth  is  by  the  moth.  %  Surely  every 
man  is  vanity.  That  is,  he  is  seen  to 
be  vanity — to  have  no  strength,  no 
permanency — by  the  ease  with  which 
God  takes  away  all  on  which  he  had 
prided  himself.  See  Notes  on  ver.  5. 
12.  Hear  my  prayer,  O  Loed,  and 
give  ear  unto  my  cry.  That  is,  in 
view  of  my  affliction  and  my  sins  ;  in 
view,  also,  of  the  perplexing  ques- 
tions which  have  agitated  my  bosom ; 
the  troublous  thoughts  which  passed 
through  my  soul,  which  I  did  not  dare 
to  express  before  man  (vers.  1,  2), 
but  which  I  have  now  expressed  be- 
fore thee.  ^f  Hold  not  thy  peace. 
Be  not  silent.  Do  not  refuse  to  an- 
swer me ;  to  speak  peace  to  me.  ^[ 
At  my  tears.  Or  rather,  at  my  weep- 
ing ;  as  if  God  heard  the  voice  of  his 
weeping.  Weeping,  if  unmurmuring, 
is  of  the  nature  of  prayer,  for  God 
regards  the  sorrows  of  the  soul  as  he 
sees  them.  The  weeping  penitent, 
the  weeping  sufferer,  is  one  on  whom 
we    may    suppose    God   looks    with 


352 


PSALM   XXXIX. 


sojourner,  as  all  my  fathers  were. 
13    O  spare  me,  that  I  may- 


recover    strength,  "before    I  go 
hence,  and  be  no  more. 


compassion,  even  though  the  sorrows 
of  the  soul  do  not  find  words  to  give 
utterance  to  them.  Conrp.  Notes  on 
Job  xvi.  20.  See  also  Rom.  viii.  26. 
%  For  I  am  a  stranger.  The  word 
used  —  "13,  gair  —  means  properly  a 
sojourner ;  a  foreigner ;  a  man  living 
out  of  his  own  country  :  Gen.  xv.  13 ; 
Ex.  ii.  22.  It  refers  to  a  man  who 
has  no  permanent  home  in  the  place 
or  country  where  he  now  is ;  and 
it  is  used  here  as  implying  that, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  psalmist 
himself,  he  had  no  permanent  abode 
on  earth.  He  was  in  a  strange  or 
foreign  land.  He  was  passing  to  a 
permanent  home ;  and  he  prays  that 
God  would  be  merciful  to  him  as  to 
a  man  who  has  no  home — no  per- 
manent abiding  place  —  on  earth. 
Conip.  Notes  on  Heb.  xi.  13 ;  1  Peter 
ii.  11.  ^  And  a  sojourner.  This  word 
has  substantially  the  same  significa- 
tion. It  denotes  one  living  in  ano- 
ther country,  without  the  rights  of  a 
citizen.  %  As  all  my  fathers  were. 
All  my  ancestors.  The  allusion  is 
doubtless  derived  from  the  fact  that 
the  patriarchs  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  thus  lived  as  men  who  had  no 
permanent  home  here, — who  had  no 
possession  of  soil  in  the  countries 
where  they  sojourned, — and  whose 
whole  life,  therefore,  was  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  fact  that  they  were  on  a 
journey — a  journey  to  another  world. 
1  Chron.  xxix.  15,  —  "For  we  are 
strangers  before  thee,  and  sojourners, 
as  were  all  our  fathers ;  our  days  on 
the  earth  are  as  a  shadow,  and  there 
is  none  abiding."  Comp.  Notes  on 
Heb.  xi.  13-15. 

13.   O  spare  me.     The  word  here 

used — from  nVti)    shaah  —  means  to 

'  T ' 
look;  and  then,    in  connexion  with 

the  preposition,  to  look  aicay  from; 

and  it  here  means,  Look  away  from 

me;  that  is,  Do  not  come  to  inflict 

death  on  me.    Preserve  me.    The  idea 

is  this :  God  seemed  to  have  fixed  his 

eyes  on  him,  and  to  be  pursiiing  him 

with  the  expressions  of  his  displea- 


sure (comp.  Job  xvi.  9) ;  and  the 
psalmist  now  prays  that  he  would 
turn  away  his  eyes,  and  leave  him.  % 
That  I  may  recover  strength.  The 
word  here  used  —  *£>2,  lalag  — 
means,  in  Arabic,  to  be  bright;  to 
shine  forth  ;  and  then,  to  make  cheer- 
ful, to  enliven  one's  countenance,  or 
to  be  joyful,  glad.  In  Job  ix.  27,  it 
is  rendered  comfort;  in  Job  x.  20, 
that  I  may  take  comfort ;  in  Amos  v. 
9,  strengthened.  It  is  not  used  else- 
where. The  idea  is  that  of  being 
cheered  up ;  of  being  strengthened 
and  invigorated  before  he  should  pass 
away.  He  wished  to  be  permitted  to 
recover  the  strength  which  he  had 
lost,  and  especially  to  receive  consola- 
tion, before  he  should  leave  the  earth. 
He  desired  that  his  closing  days 
might  not  be  under  a  cloud,  but  that 
i  he  might  obtain  brighter  and  more 
cheerful  views,  and  have  more  of  the 
\  consolations  of  religion  before  he 
j  should  be  removed  finally  from  this 
world.  It  is  a  wish  not  to  leave 
the  world  in  gloom,  or  with  gloomy 
and  desponding  views,  but  with  a 
cheerful  view  of  the  past;  with  joy- 
ful confidence  in  the  government  of 
God;  and  with  bright  anticipations 
of  the  coming  world.  %  Before  I  go 
hence.  Before  I  die.  %  And  be  no 
more.  Be  no  more  upon  the  earth. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Ps.  vi.  5 ;  xxx.  9. 
See  also  Notes  on  Job  xiv.  1-12. 
Whatever  may  have  been  his  views 
of  the  future  world,  he  desired  to 
be  cheered  and  comforted  in  the  pros- 
pect of  passing  away  finally  from 
earth.  He  was  unwilling  to  go  down 
to  the  grave  in  gloom,  or  under  the 
influence  of  the  dark  and  distressing 
views  which  he  had  experienced,  and 
to  which  he  refers  in  this  psalm.  A 
religious  man,  about  to  leave  the 
world,  should  desire  to  have  bright 
hopes  and  anticipations.  For  his  own 
comfort  and  peace,  for  the  honour  of 
religion,  for  the  glory  of  God,  he 
should  not  leave  those  around  under 
the  impression  that  religion  does  no- 


PSALM  XL. 


353 


thing  to  comfort  a  dying  man,  or  to 
inspire  with  hope  the  mind  of  one 
about  to  leave  the  earth,  or  to  give 
to  the  departing  friend  of  God  cheer- 
ful anticipations  of  the  life  to  come. 
A  joyful  confidence  in  God  and  his 
government,  when  a  man  is  about 
to  leave  the  world,  does  much,  very 
much,  to  impress  the  minds  of  others 
with  a  conviction  of  the  truth  and 
reality  of  religion,  as  dark  and  gloomy 
views  can  hardly  fail  to  lead  the  world 
to  ask  what  that  religion  is  worth 
which  will  not  inspire  a  dying  man 
with  hope,  and  make  him  calm  in 
the  closing  scene. 

PSALM  XL. 

This  psalm,  which  purports  to  have 
been  composed  by  David,  is  another  of 
the  psalms  addressed  or  dedicated  "  to 
the  chief  Musician;"  that  is,  which  he 
is  desired  to  adjust  to  the  appropriate 
music  ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  probably  one 
that  wag  particularly  intended  to  be  em- 
ployed in  the  public  worship  of  the  He- 
brews. On  the  meaning  of  this  expres- 
sion, see  Notes  to  the  inscription  of  Ps.  iv. 

There  is  no  method  of  ascertaining 
with  certainty  on  what  occasion  the 
psalm  was  composed.  Doubtless  it  was 
in  view  of  some  of  the  trials  which  oc- 
curred in  the  life  of  David,  since  there 
were  many  of  these  to  which  the  senti- 
ments of  the  psalm  may  with  propriety 
be  applied.  As  it  is  impossible  now, 
however,  from  anything  in  the  psalm 
itself,  to  ascertain  which  of  those  afflic- 
tions were  here  referred  to,  or  which 
suggested  the  psalm,  conjecture  would 
be  useless ;  nor,  if  we  could  ascertain  to 
what  particular  time  of  his  life  he  made 
reference,  would  it  furnish  any  material 
aid  in  interpreting  the  psalm.  It  is  to 
be  presumed,  however,  that  there  was  a 
reference  to  some  trouble  or  calamity*  in 
his  own  life  ;  and  even  if  it  be  supposed 
that  the  psalm  was  designed  to  refer 
wholly  to  the  Messiah,  and  to  be  descrip- 
tive of  his  sufferings,  still  it  is  probable 
that  the  language  employed  was  sug- 
gested by  something  in  the  life  of  the 
author  of  the  psalm,  and  that  he  was 
led  to  contemplate  the  future  sufferings 
of  the  Messiah  in  connexion  with  his 
own  trials.- 

The  contents  of  the  psalm  are  as  fol- 
lows : — 

(1.)  A  reference  to  some  time  of  cala- 
mity  or  deep    sorrow,    represented   by 


being  in  a  horrible  pit,  from  which  he 
had  been  delivered  in  answer  to  prayer, — 
a  deliverance  so  remarkable  that  the 
effect  would  be  to  lead  many,  on  account 
of  it,  to  praise  God,  vers.  1-3. 

(2.)  A  statement  of  the  blessedness  of 
the  man  that  made  the  Lord  his  trust, 
and  put  confidence  in  him  rather  than  in 
the  proud  of  the  earth,  or  in  those  who 
were  faithless  or  deceitful,  ver.  4. 

(3.)  A  grateful  remembrance  of  the 
many  works  of  the  Lord; — evidently  as 
laying  the  foundation  of  obligation  to 
serve  him  in  every  way  possible,  and  as 
a  reason  of  the  purpose  of  obedience 
immediately  referred  to,  ver.  5. 

(4.)  A  statement  of  what  he  had  done, 
or  what  he  proposed  to  do,  as  expressive 
of  his  sense  of  obligation,  or  of  the  ser- 
vice which  God  required  of  him,  vers. 
6-10.  The  speaker  in  the  psalm  says 
that  God  did  not  require  of  him  sacrifice 
and  offering — that  is,  the  bloody  sacri- 
fices prescribed  in  the  Hebrew  ritual, 
ver.  6  ;  that  God  had  disposed  him  to 
obey,  or  had  prepared  him  to  render 
such  obedience  as  was  required — ("  Mine 
ears  hast  thou  opened"),  ver.  6;  that 
he  came  to  obey,  in  accordance  with 
some  prediction  or  previous  record  in  re- 
gard to  him,  ver.  7 ;  that  he  found  his 
supreme  pleasure  in  doing  the  will  of 
God,  ver.  8  ;  and  that,  in  pursuance  of 
this  arrangement  and  of  this  purpose, 
he  had  made  known  the  will  of  God — 
had  preached  righteousness  in  the  great 
congregation,  and  had  faithfully  declared 
the  salvation  of  God,  vers.  9,  10. 

(5.)  Piters  and  supplications  founded 
on  these  facts—  on  his  trials ;  on  his 
dangers ;  on  the  attempts  of  his  enemies 
to  destroy  him  ;  on  his  desire  for  the 
welfare  and  safety  of  the  people  of  God, 
vers.  11-17.  Particularly  {a)  prayer  for 
his  own  deliverance  from  the  troubles 
which  encompassed  him  still,  vers.  11- 
13 ;  (b)  prayer  that  those  who  were 
opposed  to  him  might  be  abased  and 
humbled,  vers.  14,  15  ;  (c)  prayer  that 
those  who  sought  the  Lord  might  rejoice 
and  be  glad,  ver.  16 ;  and  (d)  a  prayer 
for  himself,  as  poor  and  needy,  on  the 
grounds  that  God  was  his  help  and  his 
deliverer,  ver.  17. 

A  very  important  and  difficult  ques- 
tion occurs  here.  It  is  the  question  to 
whom  the  psalm  originally  referred. 

On  this  question  there  have  been  the 
following  opinions :  (1)  That  it  refers 
originally  and  exclusively  to  David  ;  (2) 
that  it  had  an  original  and  exclusive 
reference  to  the  Messiah ;  (3)  that  it  is 


354 


PSALM   XL. 


susceptible  of  a  double  application,  part 
of  the  psalm  having  reference  to  David, 
and  the  other  portion  to  the  Messiah,  as 
having  been  suggested  by  his  own  cir- 
cumstances; and  (4)  that  the  portion 
of  the  psalm  applied  to  the  Messiah  in 
Heb.  x.  5-9  is  applied  by  way  of  accom- 
modation, or  as  expressing  the  meaning 
of  the  author  of  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, but  without  affirming  on  the  part 
of  the  writer  of  that  epistle  that  the 
psalm  had  originally  any  Messianic  re- 
ference. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  examine  these 
opinions  in  detail ;  and  all  that  is  need- 
ful in  this  brief  introduction  to  the  psalm 
may  be  to  state  some  reasons  for  what 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  true  opinion,  that 
the  psalm  had  an  original  and  exclusive 
reference  to  the  Messiah,  or  that  it  is  one 
of  the  compositions  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, like  Ps.  ii.,  xxii.,  and  Is.  liii., 
which  were  designed  by  the  Spirit  of 
inspiration  to  describe  the  Messiah,  as  to 
some  of  his  characteristics,  and  as  to 
what  he  would  suffer. 

(1)  There  are  such  psalms,  such  por- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament.  This  is 
admitted  by  all  who  believe  in  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Scriptures.  The  Messiah 
was  the  hope  of  the  Jewish  people.  He 
was  the  subject  of  their  most  sublime 
prophecies.  The  nation  was  accustomed 
to  look  forward  to  him  as  their  great 
Deliverer.  In  all  times  of  national 
calamity  they  looked  forward  to  the 
period  when  he  would  appear  for  their 
rescue.  He  was,  so  to  speak,  the  "hero" 
of  their  national  literature  ;  the  bright 
object  in  the  future  to  which  all  the 
sacred  writers  looked  forward ;  the  glo- 
rious Saviour  and  Deliverer  whose  com- 
ing, and  the  anticipated  benefit  of  whose 
coming,  animated  their  lays,  and  cheered 
them  in  the  darkest  days  of  trouble  and 
sorrow.     Comp.  Introd.  to  Isaiah,  §  7. 

(2)  The  author  of  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews expressly  applies  a  part  of  this 
psalm  to  the  Messiah,  Heb.  x.  5-9. 
There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
he  emoted  this  with  the  belief  that  the 
psalm  had  original  reference  to  him,  and 
that  he  did  not  use  the  language  by  way 
of  accommodation,  for  he  was  endeavour- 
ing to  demonstrate  a  point,  or  to  prove 
that  what  he  was  stating  was  true.  This 
he  does  by  referring  to  the  passage  in 
the  psalm  as  proof  on  the  point  then 
wider  consideration.  But  there  would 
have  been  no  proof— no  argument — in 
the  case,  if  he  had  merely  quoted  lan- 
guage by  way  of  accommodation,  which 


had  originally  a  different  design.  The 
very  point  of  his  quotation  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  he  was  adducing  a  passage 
which  had  original  reference  to  the  Mes- 
siah, and  which  might  be  properly 
quoted  as  characterizing  his  work.  The 
proof  (as  derived  from  this  fact)  that 
the  psalm  had  reference  to  the  Messiah, 
consists  of  two  things  :  —  (a)  That  it  is 
so  applied  by  an  inspired  apostle,  which, 
with  all  who  admit  his  inspiration  would 
seem  to  be  decisive  of  the  question  ;  ( b) 
that  he  so  applied  it,  shews,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  this  was  an  ancient  and 
admitted  interpretation.  He  was  writing 
to  those  who  had  been  Jews ;  to  those 
whom  he  was  desirous  of  convincing  as 
to  the  truth  of  what  he  was  alleging  in 
regard  to  the  notion  of  Hebrew  pacri- 
fices.  For  this  purpose  it  was  nece 
to  appeal  to  the  Old  Testament ;  i  > 
cannot  be  supposed  that  he  woui 
duce,  as  proof,  a  passage  whose  rele 
to  the  point  would  not  be  at  once  ad- 
mitted. It  ma}-  be  presumed,  therefore, 
that  the  passage  was  commonly  applied 
by  the  Hebrews  themselves  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  the  apostle  used  it,  or 
that  the  application,  when  made,  was 
so  plain  and  obvious  that  they  would 
not  call  it  in  question. 

(3)  The  entire  psalm  may  be  applied 
to  the  Messiah  without  anything  forced 
or  unnatural  in  the  interpretation.  This 
will  be  shewn,  in  detail,  in  the  exposi- 
tion of  the  psalm  ;  but  hi  the  meantime 
it  may  not  be  improper  to  refer  to  the 
principal  difficulties  in  such  an  applica- 
tion, and  to  the  principal  objections  de- 
rived from  this  source  against  the  idea 
that  the  psalm  refers  to  the  Messiah. 
The  principal  of  these  relate  to  the  fol- 
lowing points :  —  (a)  In  ver.  2  the 
speaker  in  the  pj-.Jm  says  :  "  He  brought 
me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible  pit,  and 
out  of  the  miry  cla)r,  and  set  my  feet 
upon  a  rock,  and  established  my  goings ;" 
and  on  the  ground  of  this,  he  gives 
thanks  to  God.  But  there  is  no  real 
difficulty  in  supposing  that  this  refers 
to  the  Messiah,  and  that  it  was  actually 
fulfilled  in  the  case  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
His  enemies  often  plotted  against  his 
life ;  they  laid  snares  for  him ;  they 
endeavoured  to  destroy  him;  his  dan- 
gers may  well  be  represented  as  "  an 
horrible  "pit,"  and  as  "miry  clay  ;"  and 
his  deliverance  from  those  perils  may 
well  be  compared  with  the  case  of  one 
who  is  raised  up  from  such  a  pit,  and 
from  the  deep  mire.  Even  supposing 
that  this  was  designed  to  refer  to  the 


PSALM  XL. 


355 


personal  experience  of  the  psalmist  him- 
self, still  the  language  would  be  figura- 
tive, a-nd  must  be  designed  to  refer  to 
some  danger,  peril,  or  trouble  that  would 
be  well  represented  by  being  thrown  into 
such  a  pit,  or  sinking  in  miry  clay.  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  the  psalmist 
meant  to  say  this  had  really  and  literally 
occurred  in  his  own  life.  Without  any 
impropriety,  therefore,  the  language  may 
be  applied  to  the  trials  and  dangers  of 
the  Messiah,  and  to  the  merciful  inter- 
position of  God  in  delivering  him.  (b) 
The  second  objection  or  difficulty  in  re- 
ferring it  to  the  Messiah  is  derived  from 
what  is  said  in  ver.  12  :  "  Mine  iniquities 
have  taken  hold  on  me,  so  that  I  am  not 
able  to  look  up  ;  they  are  more  than  the 
hairs  ef  my  head ;  therefore  my  heart 
'■^1' '  .  me."  But,  in  reference  to  the 
;ty  of  applying  this  to  the  Messiah, 
b-  , marks  may  be  made  :  First.  It 
true  that  the  Messiah  was  so 
ideiv.iiied  with  men — became  so  truly  a 
substitute  for  sinners — experienced  in 
his  own  soul,  in  the  deep  sorrows  of  the 
atonement,  so  intensely  the  effects  of 
their  sin, — and  so  bore  the  sufferings 
that  were  expressive  of  the  Divine  sense 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  that  the  language 
might  be  applied  to  him  as  if  these  sins 
were  his  own.  He  was  treated  as  if 
they  were  his — as  if  he  had  been  a  sin- 
ner. He  so  made  them  his  own,  that  it 
was  proper  he  should  be  treated  as  if 
they  were  his,  ^nd  that  he  might  feel  he 
was  suffering  as  if  they  \\^:-e  his.  It  is 
true  that  they  could  not  be  literally 
transferred  to  him  ;  it  is  true  that  in  no 
proper  sense  of  the  term  was  he  a  sinner ; 
it  is  true  that  in  the  just  signification  of 
the  word  he  was  not  "  guilty,"  and  that 
God  always  saw  he  was  personally  inno- 
cent; but  still  it  is  tiste  that,  in  the 
work  of  the  atonement,  he  was  treated 
as  if  he  had  been  a  sinner,  and  that,  in 
this  sense,  he  might  speak  of  the  sins 
for  which  he  suffered  as  his -own.  He 
had  voluntarily  assumed  them,  and  he 
was  suffering  for  them  as  if  they  had 
been  his.  Thus  we  have  in  Isa.  liii.  4-6 
similar  language  applied  to  him :  "  He 
hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows;"  "he  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  him  ;  "  "  the  Lord  hath  laid 
on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  If  such 
language  might  properly  be  applied  to 
him  and  his  sufferings,  then  there  could 
be  no  impropriety  or  incongruity  in  his 
regarding  himself  as  so  identified  with 


sinful  men,  and  as  so  truly  bearing  what 
was  due  to  their  sins,  that  he  might 
speak  of  those  sins  as  if  they  were  bis 
own,  as  one  might  speak  of  a  debt  in- 
curred by  a  friend,  and  which  he  had 
brought  himself  under  voluntary  obli- 
gation to  pay,  as  if  it  were  his  own,  and 
might  say,  "it  is  no  longer  his,  but 
mine."  The  language  of  Scripture  in 
regard  to  the  relation  of  the  Kedeemer 
to  sin  is  often  so  marked  and  striking  as 
to  suggest  and  to  justify  this  language. 
See  2  Cor.  v.  21 ;  Gal.  hi.  13.  Second. 
It  is  possible,  after  all,  that  the  word 
rendered  iniquities  in  the  psalm,  means 
here  merely  calamity,  trouble,  sor- 
roiv.  (See  Notes  on  Heb.  x.  5 ;  and 
comp.  Prof.  Stuart  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  Excursus  xx.,  p.  594.)  So  the 
same  word  which  is  here  used  means,  in 
2  Sam.  xvi.  12,  "  It  may  be  that  the  Lord 
will  look  on  mine  affliction."  The  words 
iniquity  and  calamity — sin  and  punish- 
ment— are  closely  connected  in  the 
Scriptures ;  so  closely  that  the  one  is 
often  put  for  the  other,  and  when  a 
sacred  writer  speaks  of  his  sin,  he  often 
means  the  suffering  or  calamity  that  has 
come  upon  him  in  consequence  of  his 
sin.  So  the  Messiah  may  be  understood 
here  to  mean  that  the  calamities  or  woes 
which  had  come  upon  him  in  conse- 
quence of  his  taking  upon  him  the  sins 
of  the  world  made  it  proper  to  say  that 
his  "iniquities" — the  iniquities  which 
he  had  assumed,  or  Avhich,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Isaiah,  he  "  bore  "—had  "  taken 
hold  on  him,  so  that  he  was  not  able  to 
look  up  ;"  or,  considering  their  great 
number,  he  might  sa}r,  "  they  are  more 
than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  therefore  my 
heart  faileth  me."  (c)  A  third  obj ection 
to  the  application  of  the  psalm  to  the 
Messiah  is,  that  it  cannot  be  supposed 
he  would  utter  such  imprecations  on  his 
enemies  as  ai-e  found  in  vers.  14,  15  : 
"  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  confounded ; 
let  them  be  driven  backward ;  let  them 
be  desolate."  To  this  it  may  be  replied, 
that  such  imprecations  are  as  proper  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Messiah  as  in  the 
mouth  of  David  ;  and  that  they  are  im- 
proper in  neither.  Both  David  and  the 
Messiah  did  utter  denunciations  against 
the  enemies  of  piety  and  of  God.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  there  was  any  ma- 
lignant feeling  in  either  case ;  nor  is  it 
inconsistent  with  the  highest  benevolence 
to  utter  denunciation  of  guilt.  God 
constantly  does  it  in  his  word  ;  and  he 
as  often  does  it  in  the  dealings  of  his 
Providence.     The  wicked  cannot  walk 


355 


PSALM  XL. 


PSALM  XL. 

To  the  chief  Musician.     A  Psalm  of  David. 

T   i  WAITED  patiently  for  the 


Lord  :  and  he  inclined  nnto  me, 
and  heard  my  cry . 

1  In  vaiting  I  wailed. 


through  this  world  without  meeting  de- 
nunciations of  their  guilt  on  every  hand, 
and  there  was  no  impiety  in  the  factthat 
he  who  will  pronounce  a  sentence  in  the 
great  day  of  judgment  on  all  guilty  men, 
should  apprize  them  beforehand  of  what 
would  be  sure  to  come  upon  them.  The 
objections,  then,  are  not  of  .such  a  nature 
that  it  is  improper  to  regard  the  psalm 
as  wholly  applicable  to  the  Messiah. 

(4)  The  psalm  cannot  be  applied  with 
propriety  to  David,  nor  do  we  know  of 
any  one  to  whom  it  can  be  applied  but 
the  Messiah.  It  was  not  true  of  David 
that  he  "had  come  to  do  the  will"  of 
God,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  God  did 
not  require  sacrifice  and  offerings,  vers. 
6.  7  ;  it  was  not  true  that  it  was  written 
of  hini  "  in  the  volume  of  the  book," 
that  he  delighted  to  do  the  will  of  God, 
and  that  he  had  come  into  the  world  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  it  had  been  so 
written  (vers.  7,  8)  :  it  was  not  true 
that  it  had  been  his  characteristic  work 
to  "preach  righteousness  in  the  great 
congregation  "  (ver.  9)  ;  but  all  this  was 
true  of  the  Messiah.  These  expressions 
are  such  as  can  be  applied  only  to  him ; 
and,  taking  all  these  circumstances  to- 
gether, the  conclusion  seems  to  be  a  pro- 
per one  that  the  whole  psalm  had  ori- 
ginal reference  to  the  Redeemer,  and  is 
to  be  interpreted  as  appplying  to  him 
alone. 

There  is  a  remarkable  resemblance  be- 
tween the  close  of  this  psalm  (vers.  13- 
17)  and  Ps.  lxx.  Indeed,  that  entire 
psalm  is  the  same  as  the  closing  part  of 
this  one.  "Why  that  portion  of  the  psalm 
before  us  is  thus  repeated,  and  why  it 
is  separated  from  this  and  made  a  psalm 
by  itself,  is  wholly  unknown.  It  cannot 
be  supposed  to  be  an  error  in  transcrib- 
ing, for  the  error  would  be  too  material, 
and  would  most  certainly  be  detected. 
Perhaps  it  can  best  be  accounted  for  by 
supposing  the  author  of  Ps.  lxx.  to  have 
been  in  the  state  of  mind,  and  in  the 
circumstances  there  described,  and  by 
supposing  that  instead  of  writing  a  new 
psalm  which  would  express  his  feelings, 
ne  found  that  this  part  of  Ps.  xl.,  already 
composed,  would  "describe  so  exactly 
what  he  wished  to  express,  and  that 
he  regarded  it  as  so  adapted  to  be  a 
prayer  by  itself,  that  he  therefore  copied 
it.  "  The  fact  that  it  was  thus  copied, 


and  that  the  sentiments  were  i-epeated, 
does  not  in  any  manner  detract  from  the 
supposition  that  it  is  inspired. 

1.  I  waited  patiently  for  the 'Lo'KD. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  In  ivaiting  1 waited. 
That  is,  I  continued  to  wait.     It  was 
not  a  single,  momentary  act  of  ex- 
pectation or  hope ;  it  was  continuous ; 
or,  was  persevered  in.     The  idea  is, 
that  his  prayer  was  not  answered  at 
once,  but  that  it  was  answered  after 
he   had   made   repeated   prayers,    or 
when    it    seemed   as   if    his   prayers 
would  not  be  answered.  It  is  earnest, 
persevering  prayer  that  is  referred  to ; 
it  is  continued  supplication  and  hope 
when  there  seemed  to  be  no  answer  to 
prayer,  and  no  prospect  that  it  would 
be  answered.     %  And  he  inclined  xnito 
me.    That  is,  ultimately  he  heard  and 
answered  me;  or  he  turned  himself 
favourably  towards  me,  as  the  result 
of   persevering    prayer.       The    word 
'•  inclined"  here  means  properly  bowed; 
that  is,  he  bent  forward  to  hearken, 
or  to  place  his  ear  near  my  mouth  and 
to  hear  me.     At  first  he  seemed  as 
one  that  would  not  hear  ;  as  one  that 
throws  his  head  backward    or  turns 
his  head  away.     Ultimately,  however, 
he  bent  forward  to  receive  my  prayer. 
%  And  heard  my  cry.      The  cry  or 
supplication  which  1  made  for  help ; 
the  cry   which  I  directed  to  him  in 
the  depth   of  my   sorrows   and   my 
danger,   ver.  2.     As   applied  to   the 
Eedeemer,   this  would   refer  to   the 
fact  that  in  his  sorrows,  in  the  deep 
soitows  connected  with  the  work  of 
redemption,  he  persevered  in  calling 
on  God,  and  that  God  heard  him,  and 
raised  him  up  to  glory  and  joy.     See 
Matt.  xxvi.  36-46.      Comp.  Kotes  on 
Heb.  v.  7.     The  time  supposed  to  be 
referred  to,  is  after  his  sufferings  were 
closed ;    after   his    work    was    done ; 
after  he  rose  from  the  dead.     It  is 
the  language  of  grateful  remembrance 
which  we  may  suppose  he  uttered  in 
the  review  of  the    amazing  sorrows 


PSALM  XL. 


357 


2  He  brought  me  up  also  out 
of  x  an  horrible  pit,  out  of  the 
miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  established  my  goings. 

1  a  pit  of  noise. 


through  which  he  had  passed  in  mak- 
ing the  atonement,  and  in  the  recollec- 
tion that  God  had  kept  him  in  those 
sorrows,  and  had  brought  him  up 
from  such  a  depth  of  wroe  to  such  a 
height  of  glory. 

2.  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  an 
horrible  pit.  Marg.,  A  pit  of  noise. 
The  word. here  used  means  a  pit;  a 
cistern;  a  prison;  a  dungeon;  a  grave. 
This  last  signification  of  the  word  is 
found  in  Ps.  xxviii.  1;  xxx.  4;  lxxxviii. 
4;  Isa.  xxxviii.  18;  xiv.  19.  It  may 
refer  to  any  calamity — or  to  trouble, 
like  being  in  a  pit, — or  it  may  refer 
to  the  grave.  The  word  rendered 
horrible  —  liNU),  shdon — means  pro- 
perly noise,  uproar,  tumult,  as  of 
waters  ;  of  a  crowd  of  men ;  of  war. 
Then  it  seems  to  be  used  in  the  sense 
of  desolation   or  ,  as  ap- 

plicable to  the  grave.  De  Wette 
understands  it  here  of  a  pit,  a  cavern, 
or  an  abyss  that  roars  or  is  tumultu- 
ous ;  that  is,  that  is  impassable.  Per- 
haps this  is  the  idea, — a  cavern,  deep 
and  dark,  where  the  waters  roar,  and 
which  seems  to  be  filled  with  horrors. 
So  Rosenmuller  understands  it.  The 
LXX.renderit£K  Aa/oicou  raXai—wpiag, 
a  lake  of  misery.  It  is  a  deep  and 
horrid  cavern,  where  there  is  no  hope 
of  being  rescued,  or  where  it  would 
seem  that  there  would  be  certain 
destruction.  %  Outof  the  miry  clay. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  pit.  Where 
there  was  no  solid  ground — no  rock 
on  which  to  stand.  See  Jer.  xxxviii. 
6 ;  Ps.  lxix.  2,  14.  %  And  set  my  feet 
upon  a  rock.  Where  there  was  firm 
standing,  ^f  And  established  my  goings. 
Or,  fixed  my  steps.  That  is,  he  en- 
abled me  to  walk  as  on  solid  ground ; 
he  conducted  me  along  safely,  where 
there  was  no  danger  of  descending 
to  the  pit  again  or  of  sinking  in 
the  mire.  If  we  undei'stand  this  of 
the  Redeemer,  it  refers  to  that  time 
when,  his  sorrows  ended,  and  his  work 


3  And  he  hath  put  a  new  song 
in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto 
our  God :  many  shall  see  it,  and 
fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the  Lord. 


of  atonement  done,  it  became  certain 
that  he  would  never  be  exposed  again 
to  such  dangers,  or  sink  into  such  a 
depth  of  woes,  but  that  his  course 
ever  onward  would  be  one  of  safety 
and  of  glory. 

3.  And  he  hath  put  a  neiv  song  in 
my  mouth.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xxxiii. 
3.  The  idea  is,  that  he  had  given  a 
new  or  fresh  occasion  for  praise.  The 
deliverance  was  so  marked,  and  was 
such  an  addition  to  former  mercies, 
that  a  new  expression  of  thanks  was 
proper.  It  was  an  act  of  such  sur- 
prising intervention  on  the  part  of 
God  that  the  language  used  on  former 
occasions,  and  which  was  adapted  to 
express  the  mercies  then  received, 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  convey  the 
sense  of  gratitude  felt  for  the  present 
deliverance.  As  applied  to  the  Mes- 
siah, and  referring  (as  it  was  supposed 
in  the  Notes  on  ver.  2)  to  his  being 
raised  up  to  glory  after  the  depth  of 
his  sorrows,  it  would  mean  that  no 
language  hitherto  employed  to  ex- 
press gratitude  to  God  would  be  ade- 
quate to  the  occasion,  but  that  the 
language  of  a  neiv  song  of  praise 
would  be  demanded  to  celebrate  so 
great  an  event.  %  Even  praise  unto 
our  God.  "  To  our  God ;" — identi- 
fying himself,  as  the  Messiah  does, 
with  his  people,  and  expressing  the 
idea  that  the  new  song  of  praise  was 
appropriate  to  them  as  well  as  to  him- 
self,— since  they  would  be  benefited 
by  his  work,  and  since  God  was  their 
God  as  well  as  his.  Comp.  John  xx. 
17.  If  Many  shall  see  it.  Great 
numbers  of  the  human  race  shall  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  occasion 
which  there  was  for  such  a  song. 
^f  And  fear.  Learn  to  reverence,  to 
worship,  to  honour  God,  as  the  result 
of  what  had  been  done,  %  And  shall 
trust  in  the  Lord.  Shall  confide  in 
God ;  shall  put  their  trust  in  him ; 
shall  become  his  true  worshippers  and 


358 


PSALM  XL. 


4  Blessed  is  that  man  that 
maketh  the  Lord  his  trust,  and 
respecteth  ■  not  the  proud,  nor 
such  as  a  turn  aside  to  lies. 

5  Many,  O  LoRD^my  God,  are 
thy  b  wonderful  works  ivhich  thou 

2  Ps.  xv.  4.  a  Ps.  cxxv.  5. 

b  Job  ix.  10. 


friends ; — (a)  as  the  effect  of  this 
merciful  interposition  in  hehalf  of  him 
who  had  been  thus  in  trouble  or  dis- 
tress, and  who  was  enabled  to  triumph; 
(b)  as  the  result  of  the  work  accom- 
plished by  him.  The  effect  of  the  Re- 
deemer's sorrows,  and  of  God's  merci- 
ful help,  would  be  that  great  numbers 
would  learn  to  put  their  trust  in  God, 
or  would  become  his  true  friends. 
No  man,  in  fact,  can  compute  the 
numbers  of  those  who,  in  consequence 
of  the  work  of  the  Messiah,  will  turn 
to  God  and  become  his  true  worship- 
pers and  friends. 

4.  Blessed  is  that  man  that  maketh 
the  Lord  his  trust.  See  Xotes  on 
Ps.  xxxiv.  8.  Comp.  Ps.  xxvii.  1. 
Literally  here,  "  The  blessings  of  the 
man  who  places  Jehovah  for  his  con- 
fidence;" that  is,  who  makes  Him  his 
security,  or  who  feels  that  his  security 
for  happiness  and  salvation  is  in  Him. 
%  And  respecteth  not  the  proud.  The 
haughty,  or  those  who  are  confident 
in  themselves.  Literally,  "who  looks 
not  to  the  proud  ;"  that  is,  who  does 
not  depend  on  them  for  help  and  for 
salvation,  %  Nor  such  as  turn  aside 
to  lies.  AVho  depart  from  the  straight 
path,  and  incline  to  that  which  is 
false  and  deceitful.  The  reference  is 
to  those  who  are  easily  made  to  swerve 
from  that  which  is  true  and  honest 
to  that  which  is  delusive  and  false. 
Their  integrity  cannot  be  confided  in. 
There  is  no  security  that  they  will  be 
disposed  to  do  right.  The  idea  is, 
that  the  man  wrho  trusts  in  God  is 
blessed  or  happy,  as  compared  with 
one  who  trusts  in  man ; — man  confi- 
dent in  himself;  man  liable  to  fall 
into  error ;  man  who  is  easily  led 
astray ;  man  who  is  deceitful,  and 
who  cannot,  therefore,  be  relied  on. 
God  is  mighty,  but  not  haughty ;  God 


hast  done,  and  c  thy  thought!* 
wh  ich  are  to  us- ward  :  they  can- 
not be  reckoned  up  in  order  untc 
thee :  if  I  would  declare  and 
speak  of  them,  they  are  more 
than  can  be  numbered. 

c  Jer.  xxix.  11. 

1  Or,  none  can  order  them  unto  thee. 


never  is  drawn  aside  from  the  truth  ; 
he  never  deceives. 

5.  Many,  O  Lord  my  God,  are  thy 
wonderful  tuorks  which  thou  hast 
done.  Literally,  "  Many  [things],  0 
Lord  my  God,  hast  thou  .done;  thy 
wonderful  things  and  thy  thoughts 
towards  us,  it  is  not  [possible]  to 
state  unto  thee."  The  recollection  of 
the  particular  kindness  shown  to  the 
speaker,  as  referred  to  in  the  previous 
verses,  suggests  the  recollection  of  the 
great  number  of  wonders  that  God 
had  done  for  his  people, — the  acts  of 
his  kindness  which  it  would  be  hope- 
less to  attempt  to  recount  before  him. 
And  who  could  enumerate  and  record 
all  the  acts  of  God's  benevolence  to- 
wards men  in  the  works  of  creation, 
providence,  and  redemption  ;  all  that 
he  has  done  in  the  history  of  the 
Church,  and  for  the  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  in  past  times ;  all 
that  he  has  done  to  save  his  people 
in  the  days  of  persecution;  all  that 
has  been  accomplished  in  our  own  in- 
dividual lives  ?  Obviously  these  things 
are  beyond  all  power  of  enumeration 
by  man.  They  can  be  admired  now 
only  in  the  gross ;  eternity  alone  will 
be  sufficient  for  us  to  look  at  them 
and  to  recount  them  in  detail.  The 
phrase  "  wonderful  works "  means 
here  remarkable  interventions;  things 
fitted  to  excite  astonishment ;  things 
that  surpass  what  man  could  have 
anticipated ;  things  that  could  have 
been  done  only  by  God.  ^[  And  thy 
thoughts  which  are  to  us-ward.  To- 
ward us;  or  which  pertain  to  us. 
The  word  "  thoughts  "  here  refers  to 
the  plans,  purposes,  arrangements  of 
God  designed  for  our  welfare;  the 
things  that  are  the  result  of  his  think- 
ing of  our  wants — of  what  we  need — 
of  what  would  do  us  good.     See  ver. 


PSALM  XL. 


359 


6  Sacrifice  d  and  offering  thou 
didst  not  desire  ;    mine  ears  hast 

d  Vs.  Ii.  16  ;  Ilcb.  x.  4—10. 
1  digged,  Ex.  xxi.  6. 


17.  \  They  cannot  be  reckoned  up  in 
order  unto  thee.  Marg.,  None  can 
order  them  unto  thee.  Literally, 
"  There  is  no  putting  them  in  order 
before  thee  ;"  that  is,  there  is  no  such 
arranging  of  them,  or  disposing  of 
them  in  order,  that  thev  can  all  he 
brought  into  their  proper  place,  so  as 
to  he  perceived  or  numbered.  The 
Hebrew  word — 7PV,  arach — means 
properly,  to  place  in  a  row;  to  put 
in  order ;  to  arrange ;  as,  to  put  an 
army  in  battle  array,  or  to  draw  it 
up  for  battle,  Judges  xx.  20,  22 ;  to 
put  words  in  order  for  an  argument, 
or  to  arrange  thoughts  so  as  to  pre- 
sent an  argument,  Job  xxxii.  14 ;  to 
set  a  cause  in  order  before  a  judge,  or 
to  lay  it  before  him,  Job  xiii.  18. 
The  word  also  means  to  place  together 
with  anything,  or  by  the  side  of  any- 
thing,— that  is,  to  make  a  compari- 
son. Gesenius  {Lex.)  supposes  that 
this  is  the  idea  here,  and  that  the 
proper  interpretation  is,  Nothing  can 
be  compared  unto  thee.  But  the 
other  interpretation  seems  best  to  ac- 
cord with  the  connexion,  as  referring 
to  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  and 
to  his  thoughts  of  mercy  and  good- 
ness as  being  beyond  the  power  of 
computation,  or  as  too  numerous  to  be 
brought  into  order  and  arrangement 
before  the  mind.  %  If  I  ivould  de- 
clare and  speak  of  them.  If  I  should 
attempt  to  speak  of  them  ;  or  to  re- 
count them.  ^[  They  are  more  than 
can  be  numbered.  More  than  man 
can  enumerate.  They  go  beyond  the 
power  of  language  to  express  them. 
This  is  literally  true.  No  language 
of  man  can  describe  what  God  has 
done  and  has  purposed  in  fitting  up 
this  world  as  an  abode  for  men,  and 
in  his  mercy  towards  them 

6.  Sacrifice  and  offering.  The  first 
of  the  words  here  used — rOT,  zebahh 
— means  properly  a  bloody-offering ; 
the  other — rTn!7p>  minhhah — an  offer- 
ing without  blood,  as  a  thank-offering. 


thou  1  opened : 
and  sin -offering 
required. 


burnt-offering 
hast  thou  not 


See  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  11.  The  four 
words  employed  in  this  verse — sacri- 
fice, offering,  burnt-offering,  sin-offer- 
ing— embrace  all  the  species  of  sacri- 
fice and  offerings  known  among  the 
Hebrews ;  and  the  idea  here  is,  that 
no  such  offering  as  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  offer  was  required  of  him 
who  is  here  referred  to.  A  higher 
service  was  needed.  ^[  Thou  didst  not 
desire.  The  word  here  rendered  de- 
sire means  to  incline  to,  to  be  favour- 
ably disposed,  as  in  reference  to 
doing  anything;  that  is,  to  will,  to 
desire,  to  please.  The  meaning  here 
is,  that  he  did  not  will  this  or  wish 
it ;  he  would  not  be  pleased  with  it 
in  comparison  with  obedience,  or  as  a 
substitute  for  obedience.  He  pre- 
ferred obedience  to  any  external  rites 
and  forms ;  to  all  the  rites  and  foiuns 
of  religion  prescribed  by  the  law. 
They  were  of  no  value  without  obe- 
dience; they  could  not  be  substituted 
in  the  place  of  obedience.  This  senti- 
ment often  occurs  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, showing  that  the  design  of  all 
the  rites  then  prescribed  was  to  bring 
men  to  obedience,  and  that  they  were 
of  no  value  without  obedience.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  10 — 20  ;  comp.  1  Sam. 
xv.  22  ;  Ps.  li.  10,  17  ;  Hos.  vi.  6  ;  see 
also  Notes  on  Heb.  x.  5.  ^[  Mine 
ears  hast  thou  opened.  Marg.,  digged. 
The    Hebrew    word — TTO,    karah — 

1    T 

means  to  dig ;  as,  to  dig  a  well,  Gen. 
xxvi.  25 ;  to  dig  a  sepulchre,  Gen. 
1.  5.  As  used  here  this  would  pro- 
perly mean,  mine  ears  hast  thou  digged 
out;  that  is,  thou  hast  so  opened 
them  that  there  is  a  communication 
with  the  seat  of  hearing  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hear 
this  truth,  or  hast  revealed  it  to  me. 
Comp.  Isa.  1.  5,  "  The  Lord  God  hath 
opened  mine  ear,  and  I  was  not  re- 
bellious." The  meaning  here  would 
be,  that  the  ear  had  been  opened,  so 
that  it  was  quick  to  hear.  An  indis- 
position to  obey  the  will  of  God  is 


360 


PSALM  XL. 


7  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come :   in 

e  Luke  xxiv.  44;  John  v.  39. 


often  expressed  by  the  fact  that  the 
ears  ay  estopped :  Zech.  vii.  11;  Ps.  lviii. 
4, 5;  Prov.  xxi.  13.  There  is  manifestly 
no  allusion  here,  though  that  has 
been  supposed  by  many  to  be  the 
reference,  to  the  custom  of  boring 
through  the  ear  of  a  servant  with  an 
awl,  as  a  sign  that  he  was  willing  to 
remain  with  his  master :  Exod.  xxi.  6 ; 
Dent.  xv.  17.  In  that  case  the  outer 
circle,  or  rim  of  the  ear  was  bored 
through  with  an  awl ;  here  the  idea  is 
that  of  hollowing  out,  digging,  exca- 
vating, that  is,  of  making  a  pas- 
sage through,  so  that  one  could  hear; 
not  the  mere  piercing  of  the  outer 
ear.  The  essential  idea  is,  that  this 
truth  had  been  communicated  to  him 
— that  God  preferred  obedience  to 
sacrifice ;  and  that  he  had  been  made 
attentive  to  that  truth,  as  if  he  had 
been  before  deaf,  and  his  ears  had  been 
opened.  The  principal  difficulty  in 
the  passage  relates  to  its  application 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  ch.  x.  5. 
That  difficulty  arises  from  the  fact 
that  the  Septuagint  translates  the 
phrase  here  by  the  words  "  a  body  hast 
thou  prepared  me;"  and  that  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
founds  an  argument  on  that  transla- 
tion, with  reference  to  the  work  of 
the  Messiah.  On  this  point,  see 
the  Notes  on  Heb.  x.  5.  It  is  per- 
haps not  now  possible  to  explain  this 
difficulty  in  a  way  that  will  be  entirely 
satisfactory.  *~u  Burnt- offering.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  11.  The  peculiarity 
of  this  offering  was  that  it  was  con- 
sumed by  fire.  %  And  sin-offering. 
Sin-offering  was  an  offering  or  sacri- 
fice made  specifically  for  sin,  with  a 
view  to  expiate  either  sin  in  general, 
or  some  specific  act  of  sin.  In  the 
Mosaic  law  there  are  two  kinds  of 
these  offerings  prescribed  ; — trespass- 
offerings,  or  offerings  for  guilt  or  fault, 
denoted  bv  the  word  Qtiftt>    a  sham  ; 

T       T 

and  sin-ottering,  denoted  by  the  word 
used  here.  They  are  offerings  which 
were  consumed  by  fire,  Lev.  v.  1 — 19; 
vi.  1 — 7;  xiv.  10.    But  the  essential 


e  the  volume  of  the  book   it   is 
written  of  me, 


idea  was  that  they  were  for  sin,  or  for 
some  act  of  guilt.  In  a  general  sense, 
this  was  true  of  all  bloody  offerings  or 
sacrifices ;  but  in  these  cases  the  at- 
tention of  the  worshipper  was  turned 
particularly  to  the  fact  of  sin  or  trans- 
gression. %  Thou  hast  not  required. 
That  is,  thou  hast  not  required  them 
as  compared  with  obedience  ;  in  other 
words,  thou  hast  preferred  the  latter. 
These  offerings  would  not  meet  the 
case.  More  was  necessary  to  be  done 
than  was  implied  in  these  sacrifices. 
They  would  not  expiate  sin;  they 
would  not  remove  guilt ;  they  would 
not  give  the  conscience  peace.  A  higher 
work,  a  work  implied  in  an  act  of 
obedience  of  the  most  exalted  kind, 
was  demanded  in  order  to  accomplish 
the  work  to  be  done.  Comp.  Ps.  li.  16. 
7.  Then  said  I.  In  Heb.  x.  7, 
the  apostle  applies  this  to  the  Mes- 
siah. See  Notes  on  that  verse.  This 
is  the  most  simple  and  satisfactory 
interpretation  of  the  passage.  The 
word  "  then"  in  this  verse  means, 
"  since  this  is  the  case  ;"  or,  "  things 
being  thus."  It  does  not  refer  to 
time,  but  to  the  condition  of  things. 
"  Since  it  was  certain  that  the  work 
needful  to  be  done  could  not  be  ac- 
complished by  bloody  ofleriugs — the 
sacrifice  of  animals, — under  these  cir- 
cumstances I  said;"  that  is,  I  resolved 
or  purposed  to  come,  %  Lo,  I  come. 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  could 
be  applied  to  David  ;  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  it  could  be  applied  to  the  Messiah. 
When  all  bloody  offerings  under  the 
law — all  the  sacrifices  which  men 
could  make  —  did  not  avail  to  put 
away  sin,  it  was  true  of  the  Messiah 
that  he  came  into  the  world  to  per- 
form a  higher  work  that  would  meet 
the  case — a  lofty  work  of  obedieuce, 
extending  even  unto  death,  Phil.  ii. 
8.  This  is  precisely  the  use  which  the 
apostle  makes  of  the  passage  in  Heb. 
x.  7,  and  this  is  clearly  the  most 
obvious  meaning.  It  is  in  no  sense 
applicable  to  David ;  it  is  fully  ap- 
plicable to  the  Messiah.      %  In  the 


PSALM  XL. 


361 


8  If  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O 

/John  iv.  34. 

1  in  the  midst  of  my  hoicels. 


volume  of  the  hoolc.  Literally,  "  in 
the  roll  of  the  book."  See  Notes  on 
Luke  iv.  17.  The  phrase  would  most 
naturally  denote  the  roll  of  the  laio ; 
but  it  might  include  any  volume  or 
roll  where  a  record  or  prophecy  was 
made.  In  a  large  sense  it  would  em- 
brace all  that  had  been  written  at  the 
command  of  God  at  the  time  when 
this  was  supposed  to  be  spoken.  That 
is,  as  spoken  by  the  Messiah,  it  would 
include  all  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.  See  Notes  on  Heb.  x.  7. 
^[  It  is  written  of  me.  It  is  recorded; 
or,  there  is  a  record  made  of  me;  to 
wit,  in  this  respect,  that  his  great 
delight  would  be  to  do  the  will  of 
God.  The  proper  interpretation  of 
this  expression  must  be,  that  there 
must  be  some  record  to  be  found  in 
the  "  book  "  or  "  volume  "  referred  to, 
which  was  designed  to  describe  him  in 
this  respect,  or  which  had  an  original 
reference  to  him.  The  meaning  is 
not  that  there  wras  a  general  record 
on  the  point  of  obedience  which  might 
be  applied  to  him  as  well  as  to  others, 
but  that  the  record  was  intended  to 
be  applied  to  him,  and  to  describe  his 
character.  This  is  one  of  the  pas- 
sages in  the  Psalms  which  cannot  with 
any  propriety  be  applied  to  David 
himself.  There  was  no  such  ante- 
cedent record  in  regard  to  him ;  no 
statement  in  any  "  book "  or  "  vo- 
lume" that  this  would  be  his  cha- 
racter. There  is  no  promise  —  no 
intimation — in  any  of  the  books  of 
Scripture  written  before  the  time  of 
David  that  he  would  come  to  do  the 
will  of  God  with  a  view  to  effect  that 
which  could  not  be  done  by  the 
sacrifices  and  offerings  under  the 
law.  The  reference  of  the  language, 
therefore,  must  be  to  the  Messiah — 
to  some  place  where  it  is  represented 
or  affirmed  that  he  would  come  to 
accomplish  by  his  obedience  what 
could  not  be  done  by  tbe  sacrifices 
and  oblations  made  under  the  law. 
Thus  understood,  and  regarded  as  the 
vor.  r. 


my  God :  yea,  thy  law  is  l  within 
my  heart. 


language  of  the  Messiah  himself,  tbe 
reference  might  be  to  all  the  books 
of  the  Old  Testament  (for  all  were 
completed  before  he  came),  and  not 
merely  to  those  which  had  been  writ- 
ten in  the  time  of  David.  But  still, 
it  is  true  that  no  such  declaration,  in 
so  many  words,  can  now  be  found  in 
any  of  those  books  ;  and  the  meaning 
must  be  that  this  was  the  language 
which  was  everywhere  implied  re- 
specting the  Messiah ;  that  this  was 
the  substance  of  the  description  given 
of  him;  that  this  characterised  his 
work  as  predicted  there ;  —  to  wit, 
that  when  all  sacrifices  and  offerings 
under  the  law  failed ;  when  they  had 
all  shown  that  they  were  not  effica- 
cious to  put  away  sin,  One  would 
come  to  perform  some  higher  work 
that  would  be  effectual  in  putting 
away  transgression,  and  that  this 
work  might,  in  the  highest  sense, 
be  described  as  "  obedience,"  or  as 
"  doing  the  will  of  God."  This  was 
true.  The  language  and  the  institu- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament  contem- 
plated him  as  the  One  who  only  could 
put  away  sin.  The  entire  spirit  of 
the  Mosaic  economy  supposed  that  a 
Saviour  would  come  to  do  the  will  of 
God  by  making  an  atonement  for  the 
sin  of  the  world.  The  meaning  then 
is,  "  I  come  to  do  thy  will  in  making 
an  atonement,  for  no  other  offering: 
would  expiate  sin  ;  that  I  would  do 
this,  is  the  language  of  the  Scriptures 
in  predicting  my  coming,  and  of  the 
whole  spirit  and  design  of  the  ancient 
dispensation." 

8.  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  my 
God.  To  wit,  in  obeying  the  law; 
in  submitting  to  all  the  trials  ap- 
pointed to  me ;  in  making  an  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  men.  See  Notes 
on  Heb.  x.  7.  Comp.  Phil.  ii.  8; 
Matt.  xxvi.  39.  %  Yea,  thy  law  is 
within  my  heart.  Marg.,  In  the  midst 
of  my  bowels.  So  the  Hebrew.  The 
idea  is,  that  the  law  of  God  was  within, 
him.  His  obedience  was  not  exter- 
R 


362 


PSALM  XL. 


9  I  have  preached  g  righteous- 
ness in  the  great  congregation : 
lo,  I  have  not  refrained  my  lips, 
O  Lord,  thou  knowest. 

10  I  have  not  hid  h  thy  right- 
eousness within  rny  heart ;  I  have 
declared  thy  faithfulness  and  thy 

g  Luke  iv.  16—22. 
h  Acts  xx.  20,  27. 


salvation  :  I  have  not  concealed 
thy  loving-kindness  and  thy 
truth  from  the  great  congrega- 
tion. 

11  Withhold  not  thou  thy  ten- 
der mercies  from  me,  O  Lord  : 
let  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy 
truth  *  continually  preserve  me. 

i  Ps.  lxxxv.  10. 


rial,  but  proceeded  from  the  heart. 
How  true  tins  was  of  the  Redeemer 
it  is  not  necessary  here  to  say. 

9.  I  have  preached  righteousness  in 
the  great  congregation.  I  have  main- 
tained and  defended  the  principles  of 
righteousness  and  truth  among  as- 
sembled multitudes.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  see  how  this  could  be  ap- 
plied to  David  himself,  or  on  what 
occasion  of  his  life  this  could  be  said 
of  him  ;  but  no  one  can  doubt  that 
this  is  applicable  to  the  Messiah, 
(a)  He  was  a  preacher,  (b)  He  ad- 
dressed vast  multitudes,  (c)  Before 
them  all,  and  at  all  times,  he  main- 
tained and  illustrated  the  great  prin* 
ciples  of  "righteousness"  as  demanded 
by  the  law  of  God,  and  unfolded  the 
way  in  which  all  those  multitudes 
might  become  "righteous"  before  God. 
%  Lo,  I  have  not  refrained  my  lips. 
I  have  not  closed  my  lips.  I  have 
not  kept  back  the  truth.  %  O  Loed, 
thou  knowest.  He  could  make  this 
solemn  appeal  to  God  as  the  searcher 
of  hearts,  in  proof  that  he  had  faith- 
fully uttered  all  that  had  been  re- 
quired of  hira  in  making  known  the 
will  of  God.  Comp.  John  xvii.  4,  6, 
8,  14,  26. 

10.  I  have  not  hid  thy  righteousness 
within  my  heart.  The  word  righteous- 
ness here  may  denote  the  Divine  vieivs 
on  the  subject  of  righteousness,  or 
the  Divine  method  of  making  man 
righteous  ;  that  is,  the  method  of  jus- 
tification, as  the  word  is  used  in  the 
New  Testament.  See  Notes  on  Rom. 
i.  17.  The  word,  as  it  might  have 
been  employed  by  David,  would  have 
been  used  in  the  former  sense,  as 
meaning  that,  knowing  what  God 
requires  of  men,  he  had  not  concealed 
that  ia  his  heart,  or  had  not  kept  it 


to  himself;  as  used  by  the  Messiah, 
as  I  suppose  it  to  be  here,  it  would  be 
employed  in  the  latter  sense,  or  per- 
haps embrace  both.  The  idea  would 
be,  that  he  had  not  concealed  in  his 
own  mind,  or  had  not  kept  to  himself, 
the  knowledge  which  he  had  of  the 
requirements  of  the  law  of  God,  or 
of  the  way  in  which  man  can  be  jus- 
tified or  regarded  and  treated  as 
righteous  m  his  sight.  He  had 
fully  communicated  this  knowledge 
to  others.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say 
that  this  was  literally  fulfilled  in  the 
work  of  the  Redeemer.  He  spent 
his  life  in  making  known  the  great 
truths  about  the  righteousness  of  God; 
he  died  that  he  might  disclose  to  man 
a  way  by  which  God  could  consistently 
regard  and  treat  men  as  righteous. 
See  Notes  on  Rom.  iii.  24-26.  %  I 
have  declared  thy  faithfulness.  Thy 
truthfulness ;  I  have  showed  that  God 
is  worthy  of  confidence.  %  And  thy 
salvation.  Thy  method  of  salvation, 
or  of  saving  men.  %  I  have  not  con- 
cealed thy  loving -kindness.  Thy  mercy 
or  thy  merciful  disposition  towards 
men.  He  had  shown  to  the  human 
race  that  God  was  a  merciful  Being ; 
a  Being  who  would  pardon  sin.  % 
And  thy  truth.  The  truth  which 
thou  hast  revealed;  the  truth  on  all 
subjects  which  it  was  important  for 
men  to  understand.  %  From  the  great 
congregation.  That  is,  as  in  ver.  9, 
the  assembled  multitudes — the  throngs 
that  gathered  to  hear  the  words  of 
the  Great  Teacher.  Comp.  Matt.  v.  1 ; 
xiii.  2 ;  Luke  viii.  4. 

11.  Withhold  not  thou  thy  tender 
mercies  from  me,  O  Loed.  Do  not 
restrain  or  hold  back  thy  compas- 
sions. Let  thy  mercies — the  expres- 
sions  of  thy   love  —  flow  out  freely 


PSALM  XL. 


d'~) 


12  For  innumerable  *  evils  have 
compassed  me  about :  mine  ini- 
quities '  liave  taken   hold  upon 


I  ffeb.  iv.  15. 


I  Ps.  xxxviii.  4,  etc. 


me,  so  that  I  am  not  able  to  look 
up :  they  are  more  than  the 
hairs  of  mine  head ;  therefore  my 
heart l  faileth  me. 

1  forsaketh. 


towards  me  in  connexion  with  what 
I  have  done.  As  applicable  to  the 
Redeemer,  this  is  a  prayer  that  God 
would  bestow  upon  him  in  connexion 
with  his  work,  and  as  a  reward  of 
his  work,  appropriate  proofs  of  his 
goodness.  And  especially  is  this  to 
be  understood  here  as  a  prayer  for 
support  and  deliverance  in  the  sor- 
rows that  came  upon  him  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  work.  The 
prayer  is  intermediate  between  the 
expression  of  his  purpose  to  do  the 
will  of  God  when  all  other  means  of 
salvation  had  failed  (vers.  6-8),  and 
the  sorrows  or  sufferings  that  ivould 
come  upon  him  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  work  (vers.  12,  13).  He 
saw  himself  at  this  point  of  his  life, 
as  represented  in  the  psalm,  as  about 
to  sink  into  the  depth  of  woes.  He 
had  kept  the  law  of  God,  and  bad  by 
his  obedience  thus  far  done  his  will. 
He  had  made  known  the  truth  of 
God,  and  had  declared  his  great  mes- 
sage to  the  assembled  multitude  that 
had  crowded  his  path,  and  thronged 
to  hear  him.  He  saw  himself  now 
about  to  enter  the  vale  of  sorrow ; 
to  plunge  into  that  depth  of  the  un- 
utterable woes  connected  with  the 
making  of  an  atonement.  He  prayed, 
therefore,  that,  in  these  approaching 
sorrows,  God  would  not  withhold  the 
expression  of  his  tender  mercy.  The 
point  of  time,  therefore,  in  the  Re- 
deemer's life  which  the  verse  before 
us  occupies,  is  that  awful  and  sor- 
rowful hour  when,  bis  public  work  of 
teaching  and  of  miracles  finished,  he 
was  about  to  endure  the  agonies  of 
Gethsemane  and  of  the  cross.  ^[  Let 
thy  loving -kindness.  Thy  mercy. 
And  thy  truth.  Thy  promises; 
plighted  support  and  strength; 
fidelity.  That  is,  he  prayed  that  God 
v»uld  show  himself  true  and  faithful 

great 
Con- 


1 

thy 
thy 


in  bearing   him   through    the 
work   of  the    atonement.      *\\ 


tinually.  Through  the  whole  of  these 
sorrows.  Do  not  for  a  moment  leave 
or  forsake  me.  %  Preserve  me.  Keep 
me  from  sinking  under  these  woes; 
from  speaking  any  improper  word; 
from  shrinking  back ;  from  being 
overcome  by  the  tempter ;  from 
failing  in  the  great  work  now  to  be 
accomplished.  As  the  Redeemer  had 
a  human  as  well  as  a  Divine  nature ; 
— as  he  was  man,  with  all  human  sus- 
ceptibilities to  suffering,  it  was  not 
inappropriate  that  he  should  utter 
this  prayer,  and  lift  up  his  heart  with 
the  utmost  earnestness  to  God,  that 
he  might  not  be  forsaken  in  the  con- 
summation of  the  great  work  of  his 
life,  and  that  this  work  might  not  fail. 
12.  For  innumerable  evils  have 
compassed  me  about.  Have  sur- 
rounded me,  or  have  beset  me  on 
every  side.  The  "  evils  "  here  referred 
to,  understood  as  being  those  which 
came  upon  the  Messiah,  were  sorrows 
that  came  upon  him  in  consequence 
of  his  undertaking  to  do  what  could 
not  be  done  by  sacrifices  and  offer- 
ings (ver.  6);  that  is,  his  undertaking 
to  save  men  by  bis  own  "  obedience 
unto  death."  The  time  referred  to 
here,  I  apprehend,  is  that  when  the 
full  effects  of  his  having  assumed  the 
sins  of  the  world  to  make  expiation 
for  them  came  upon  him ;  when  he 
was  about  to  endure  the  agonies  of 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary.  %  Mine 
iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  me. 
On  this  passage,  as  constituting  one 
of  the  main  objections,  and  the 
strongest  objection,  to  the  application 
of  the  psalm  to  the  Messiah,  and  on 
the  way  in  which  such  objection  may 
be  met,  see  introd.  to  this  psalm 
(3  b).  %  So  that  I  am  not  able  to 
look  up.  This  is  not  the  exact  idea 
of  the  Hebrew  word.  That  is  simply, 
I  am  not  able  to  see ;  and  it  refers  to 
the  dimness  or  failure  of  sight  caused 
by    distress,    weakness,   or    old   age. 


364 


PSALM  XL. 


13  Be  pleased,  O  Lord,  to  de- 
liver me :  O  Lord,  make  haste 
to  help  me. 

14  Let  them  be  ashamed  and 
confounded  together  that  seek 
after  my  soul  to  destroy  it ;    let 


them   be   driven  backward,  and 
put  to  shame,  that  wish  me  evil. 
15  Let  them  be  desolate  for  a 
reward  of  their  shame,  that  say 
unto  me,  Aha,  aha  ! 


1  Sam.  iii.  2 ;  iv.  15  ;  1  Kings  xiv.  4 ; 
coinp.  Ps.  vi.  7.  The  idea  here  is, 
not  that  he  was  unable  to  look  up, 
but  that  the  calamities  which  came 
upon  him  were  so  heavy  and  severe 
as  to  make  his  sight  dim,  or  to  de- 
prive him  of  vision.  Either  by  weep- 
ing, or  by  the  mere  pressure  of  suf- 
fering, he  was  so  affected  as  almost  to 
be  deprived  of  the  power  of  seeing. 
\  They  are  more  than  the  hairs  of 
mine  head.  That  is,  the  sorrows  that 
come  upon  me  in  connexion  with  sin. 
The  idea  is  that  they  were  innumer- 
able,— the  hairs  of  the  head,  or  the 
sands  on  the  seashore,  being  employed 
in  the  Scriptures  to  denote  what  can- 
not be  numbered.  See  Ps.  lxix.  4. 
Comp.  Gen.  xxii.  17 ;  xxxii.  12;  Josh, 
xi.  4;  2  Sam.  xvii.  11.  %  Therefore 
my  heart  faileth  me.  Marg.,  as  in 
Heb.,forsaketh.  The  idea  is,  that  he 
sank  under  these  sufferings;  he  could 
not  sustain  them. 

13.  Be  pleased,  0  Loed,  to  deliver 
me.  That  is,  in  these  troubles  and 
sorrows.  See  Matt.  xxvi.  39.  The 
prayer  is  that,  if  possible,  the  cup  of 
sorrow  might  be  taken  away.  *fi  0 
Loed,  make  haste  to  help  me.  This 
is  the  same  form  of  prayer,  and  re- 
ferring, I  suppose,  to  the  same  occa- 
sion as  that  which  occurs  in  Ps.  xxii. 
19.     See  Notes  on  that  verse. 

14.  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  con- 
founded together.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxxv.  4,  26.  This  may  be  understood 
here  rather  as  a  confident  expectation 
than  a  wish  or  desire.  It  implies  the 
certainty  that  they  ivould  thus  be 
ashamed  and  confounded;  that  is, 
that  they  would  not  be  successful,  or 
would  be  foiled  in  their  purposes. 
But  understood  as  a  wish  or  prayer, 
it  could  not  be  improper.  There  is 
no  sin  in  the  wish  that  the  wicked 
may  not  be  successful  in  their  plans, 
and  may  not  be  suffered  to  injure  us. 


As  the  language  of  the  Messiah  it  was 
in  every  way  an  appropriate  prayer 
that  the  purposes  of  those  who  would 
defeat  his  design  in  coming  into  the 
world  might  be  foiled, — for  on  the 
execution  of  that  design  depended 
the  saltation  of  a  lost  race.  ^  That 
seek  after  my  soul  to  destroy  it.  That 
seek  after  my  life;  that  would  destroy 
me.  That  is,  they  seek  to  kill  me ; 
they  would  take  my  life  before  the 
full  time  is  come.  As  understood  of 
the  Messiah,  this  would  refer  to  the 
times  when  his  life  was  in  danger,  as 
it  often  was,  before  the  full  period 
had  arrived  for  him  to  die  :  John  vii. 
6 ;  Matt.  xxvi.  18.  The  purpose  of 
his  enemies  was  to  take  his  life ;  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  his  doctrines; 
to  check  him  in  his  work.  The  taking 
of  his  life  at  any  time  before  the  full 
period  had  arrived,  or  in  any  other 
way  than  that  in  which  he  had  pur- 
posed to  lay  it  down,  would  have  been 
a  defeat  of  his  work,  since  in  the  plan 
of  salvation  it  was  contemplated  that 
he  should  die  at  a  certain  time,  and 
in  a  certain  manner, — that  he  should 
die  at  the  time  which  had  been  pre- 
dicted by  the  prophets,  and  in  such  a 
mode  as  to  make  an  atonement  for 
sin.  All  this  would  have  been  de- 
feated if,  before  that  time  came,  he 
had  been  put  to  death  by  stoning,  or 
in  any  of  the  numerous  ways  in  which 
his  life  was  threatened.  %  Let  them 
be  driven  backward,  and  put  to  shame, 
that  icish  me  evil.  Turned  backward, 
as  they  are  who  are  unsuccessful,  or 
are  defeated.     Comp.  John  xviii.  6. 

15.  Let  them  be  desolate.  The  word 
here  employed  means  to  be  astonished 
or  amazed  ;  then,  to  be  laid  waste,  or 
made  desolate.  As  used  here,  it  refers 
to  their  purposes,  and  the  wish  or 
prayer  is  that  they  might  be  wholby  f 
unsuccessful,  or  that  in  respect  to 
success  they  might  be  like  a   waste 


PSALM  XL. 


365 


16  Let  all  those  that  seek  thee 
rejoice  and  be  glad  in  thee :  let 
such  as  love  thy  salvation  say 
continually,  The  Lord  be  magni- 
fied. 


n  ver.  5 ;  1  Pet.  v.  7. 


and  desolate  field  where  nothing 
grows.  ^f  For  a  reward.  The  word 
here  used — 3py,  aikeb — means  the 
end,  the  last  of  anything ;  then,  the 
recoinpence,  reward,  wages,  as  being 
the  end,  the  result,  or  issue  of  a  certain 
course  of  conduct.  That  is,  in  this 
case,  the  "desolation"  prayed  for 
would  be  a  proper  recompence  for 
their  purpose,  or  for  what  they  said. 
^  Of  their  shame.  Of  their  shameful 
act  or  purpose  ;  their  act  as  deserving 
of  ignominy ._  ^f  That  say  unto  me, 
Aha,  aha.  That  use  language  of  re- 
proach and  contempt.  This  is  a  term 
of  exultation  over  another ;  a  word  of 
rejoicing  at  the  calamities  that  come 
on  another ;  an  act  of  joy  over  a 
fallen  enemy :  Ezek.  xxv.  3.  ;  see 
Notes  on  Ps.  xxxv.  21,  25.  As  un- 
derstood of  the  Messiah,  this  wTould 
refer  to  the  taunts  and  reproaches  of 
his  enemies;  the  exultation  which 
they  manifested  when  they  had  him 
in  their  power, — when  they  felt  secure 
that  their  vexations  in  regard  to  him 
were  at  an  end,  or  that  they  would 
be  troubled  with  him  no  more.  By 
putting  him  to  death  they  supposed 
that  they  might  feel  safe  from  further 
molestation  on  his  account.  For  this 
act,  this  note  of  exultation  and  joy, 
on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  and 
of  the  people  as  stimulated  by  those 
rulers,  the  "  desolation  "  which  came 
upon  them  (the  litter  ruin  of  their 
temple,  their  city,  and  their  nation) 
wras  an  appropriate  "  reward."  That 
desolation  did  not  go  beyond  their 
desert,  for  their  treatment  of  the 
Messiah, — as  the  ruin  of  the  sinner  in 
the  future  world  will  not  go  beyond 
his  desert  for  having  rejected  the 
same  Messiah  as  his  Saviour. 

#16.  Let  all  those  that  seek  thee.  All 
those  who  desire  to  know  thee ;  to 
understand  thy  ways;  to  be  thy  friends. 
The  phrase  is  used  to  denote  the  truly 


17  But  I  am  poor  and  needy ; 
yet  the  Lord  thinketh  n  upon 
me :  thou  art  my  help  and  my 
deliverer;  make  no  tarrying,  O 
my  God. 


pious,  because  it  is  a  characteristic  of 
all  such  that  they  truly  desire  to  be 
acquainted  with  God,  and  to  find  the 
way  which  leads  to  his  favour.  %  Re~ 
joiee  and  be  glad  in  thee.  (1)  By 
finding  thee,  or  securing  the  object 
which  they  sought ;  (2)  in  thee,  as 
the  source  of  all  true  comfort  and  joy. 
The  prayer  is  that  all  such  may  be 
successful  in  their  efforts,  while  those 
who  have  no  such  aim  may  be  disap- 
pointed, ver.  14.  If  Let  such  as  love 
thy  salvation,  (a)  Thy  method  of  sal- 
vation, or  the  appointed  way  by  which 
men  may  be  saved  ;  and  (b)  the  salva- 
tion itself,  —  deliverance  from  the 
guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  and  com- 
plete and  eternal  restoration  to  the 
favour  of  God.  ^f  Say  continually, 
The  Loed  be  magnified.  See  Notes 
on  Ps.  xxxv.  27,  where  the  same  ex- 
pression occurs. 

17.  But  I  am  poor  and  needy. 
More  literally,  a  I  am  afflicted  and 
poor."  The  language  would  describe 
the  condition  of  one  who  was  afflicted 
and  was  at  the  same  time  poor ;  of 
one  who  had  no  resource  but  in  God, 
and  who  was  passing  through  scenes 
of  poverty  and  sorrow.  There  were 
undoubtedly  times  in  the  life  of  David 
to  which  this  language  would  be  ap- 
plicable; but  it  would  be  far  more 
applicable  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  Kedeemer  was  placed ; 
and,  in  accordance  with  the  interpre- 
tation which  has  been  given  of  the 
other  parts  of  the  psalm,  I  suppose 
that  this  is  designed  to  represent  his 
afflicted  and  humble  condition  as  a 
man  of  poverty  and  sorrow,  *f  Yet 
the  Loed  thinketh  upon  me.  The  Lord 
cares  for  me;  he  has  not  forgotten 
me.  Man  forsakes  me,  but  he  will 
not.  Man  leaves  me  to  poverty  and 
sorrow,  but  he  will  not.  How  true 
this  was  of  the  Redeemer,  that  the 
"Lord,"    the    Father     of    mercies, 


366 


PSALM  XLI. 


"  thought  "  on  him,  it  is  not  needful 
now  to  say;  nor  can  it  be  doubted 
that  in  the  heavy  sorrows  of  his  life 
this  was  a  source  of  habitual  consola- 
tion. To  others  also  —  to  all  his 
friends — this  is  a  source  of  unspeak- 
able comfort.  To  be  an  object  of  the 
thoughts  of  God;  to  be  had  in  his 
mind ;  to  be  constantly  in  his  re- 
membrance ;  to  be  certain  that  he 
will  not  forsake  us  in  our  trouble;  to 
be  assured  in  our  own  minds  that  one 
so  great  as  God  is — the  infinite  and 
eternal  One — will  never  cease  to 
"  think "  on  us,  may  well  sustain  us 
in  all  the  trials  of  life.  It  matters 
little  who  does  forsake  us,  if  he  does 
not;  it  would  be  of  little  advantage 
to  us  who  should  think  on  us,  if  he 
did  not.  Tj"  Thou  art  my  help  and 
my  deliverer.  Implying  the  highest 
confidence.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  xviii. 
2.  %  Make  no  tarrying,  O  my  God. 
Do  not  linger  or  delay  in  coming  to 
my  assistance.  The  psalm  closes  with 
this  prayer.  Applied  to  the  Redeemer, 
it  indicates  strong  confidence  in 
God  in  the  midst  of  his  afflictions 
and  sorrows,  with  earnest  pleading, 
coming  from  the  depth  of  those  sor- 
rows, that  God  would  interpose  for 
him.  The  vision  of  the  psalmist  ex- 
tended here  no  farther.  His  eye 
rested  on  a  suffering  Messiah, — af- 
flicted, crushed,  broken,  forsaken — 
with  all  the  woes  connected  with  the 
work  of  human  redemption,  and  all 
the  sorrows  expressive  of  the  evil  of 
sin  clustering  upon  him,  yet  confident 
in  God,  and  finding  his  last  consola- 
tion in  the  feeling  that  God  "thought" 
on  him,  and  in  the  assurance  that  He 
would  not  ultimately  forsake  him. 
There  is  something  delightful,  though 
pensive,  in  the  close  of  the  psalm. 
The  last  prayer  of  the  sufferer — the 
confident,  earnest  pleading — lingers  on 
the  ear,  and  we  almost  seem  to  behold 
the  Sufferer  in  the  depth  of  his  sor- 
rows, and  in  the  earnestness  of  his 
supplication,  calmly  looking  up  to  God 
as  One  that  "  thought  "  on  him  when 
all  others  had  forgotten  him  ;  as  a 
last,  safe  refuge  when  every  other  re- 
fuge had  failed.     So,  in  our  sorrows, 


we  may  lie  before  the  throne,  calmly 
looking  up  to  God  with  a  feeling  that 
we  are  not  forgotten ;  that  there  is 
One  who  "thinks"  on  us;  and  that 
it  is  our  privilege  to  pray  to  him  that 
he  would  hasten  to  deliver  us.  All 
sorrow  can  be  borne  when  we  feel 
that  God  has  not  forgotten  us ;  we 
may  be  calm  when  all  the  world  for- 
sakes us,  if  we  can  feel  assured  that 
the  great  and  blessed  God  "  thinks  " 
on  us,  and  will  never  cease  to  re- 
member us. 

PSALM  XLI. 

This  psalm,  ascribed  to  David,  has,  in 
its  general  design  and  spirit,  a  strong 
resemblance  to  Ps.  xxxviii.  The  occa- 
sion on  which  it  was  composed  is  not 
certainly  known  ;  but,  like  that,  it  seems 
to  have  been  when  the  author  was  suf- 
fering under  bodily  sickness,  not  impro- 
bably brought  on  him  by  mental  Borrows 
caused  by  the  ingratitude  of  Iris  friends, 
or  by  those  nearly  related  to  him  in  life. 
It  is  certain  that  his  bodily  sufferings 
were  either  caused  or  aggravated  by 
the  neglect  of  his  friends  ;  by  then  cold 
treatment  of  him  ;  by  their  ingratitude 
towards  him  ;  by  the  reports  which  they 
circulated  in  regard  to  him.  See  Ps. 
xxxviii.  11, 12 ;  comp.  Ps.  xli.  5-9.  It  was 
this  unkindness  certainly  which  greatly- 
increased  his  suffering,  and  which  pro- 
bably gave  occasion  to  the  psahn.  AVho 
the  persons  were  that  thus  treated  him 
with  neglect  and  coldness  cannot  now 
be  ascertained ;  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
know  who  the}'  Avere  in  order  to  appre- 
ciate the  meaning  and  the  beauty  of  the 
psalm.  Their  conduct  is  so  accurately 
and  so  feelingly  described,  that  it  would 
be  no  particular  advantage  to  be  made 
acquainted  with  then  names. 

The  case,  therefore,  in  the  psalm  is 
that  of  one  who  is  sick  ;  who  is  forsaken 
by  his  friends ;  who  is  subjected  to  un- 
kind remarks  alike  when  they  are  with 
him  and  when  absent  from  him ;  of 
one,  therefore,  whose  only  refuge  is  God, 
and  who  looks  to  him  for  sympathy. 

According  to  this  view,  the  psalm 
may  be  conveniently  divided  into  four 
parts  : — 

I.  The  psalmist  dwells  on  the  blessed 
character  of  one  who  does  show  compas- 
sion or  kindness  to  the  poor  and  the 
suffering  ;  the  blessedness  of  the  man 
who  is  merciful,  vers.  1-3.  This  is  evi- 
dently a  reflection  forced  upon  him  by 


PSALM  XLL 


367 


PSALM  XLL 

To  the  chief  Musician.    A  Psalm  of  David. 

"DLESSED  o  is  lie  that  consider- 


eth  the  i  poor:   the  Lord  will 
deliver  him  in  2  time  of  trouble. 

o  Prov.  xiv.  21;  Heb.  vi.  10. 
]  iceah,  or,  sick.  2  the  day  of  evil. 


the  opposite  conduct  of  those  ■whom  he 
supposed  he  might  have  regaided  as  his 
friends,  and  to  whom  he  had  a  right  to 
look  for  Sympathy  and  kindness.  In  his 
own  mind,  therefore,  he  contrasts  their 
actual  conduct  with  the  character  of  the 
truly  land  and  merciful  man,  and  is  led, 
in  few  words,  to  describe  the  happiness 
which  would  follow  if  proper  kindness 
were  shown  to  the  poor  and  the  afflicted. 
He  says  that  the  effect  of  such  conduct 
would  be  (a)  that  the  Lord  would  deliver 
such  an  one  in  the  time  of  trouble,  ver. 
1 ;  (b)  that  the  Lord  would  preserve  him 
alive,  ver.  2 ;  (c)  that  he  would  be 
blessed  upon  the  earth,  ver.  2  ;  (d)  that 
the  Lord  would  not  deliver  hini  to  the 
will  of  his  enemies,  ver.  2  ;  (e)  that  he 
would  strengthen  him  on  the  bed  of 
languishing,  and  would  make  his  bed  in 
his  sickness,  ver.  3. 

II.  An  appeal  to  God  for  mercy,  and 
for  restoration  to  health,  with  an  humble 
confession  that  it  was  for  his  own  sin 
that  he  was  suffering  ;  and  with  a  pur- 
pose not  to  attempt  to  justify  himself,  or 
to  say  that  he  had  not  deserved  this  at 
the  hand  of  God,  ver.  4.  He  makes  no 
complaint  of  God,  much  as  he  had  occa- 
sion to  complain  of  his  friends. 

III.  A  statement  in  regard  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  been  treated 
in  his  sickness,  vers.  5-9.  («)  His  ene- 
mies took  occasion  to  speak  evil  of  him, 
and  to  utter  the  wish,  in  a  manner  which 
would  be  most  painful  to  a  sufferer,  that 
he  might  die,  and  that  his  name  might 
perish,  ver.  5.  (b)  If  they  came  to  see 
him  in  his  sickness,  instead  of  speaking 
words  of  kindness  and  comfort,  they 
spoke  only  .  "  vain"  and  unmeaning 
words ;  they  sought  occasion  to  gratify 
their  own  malignity  by  finding  some- 
thing in  his  manner,  or  in  his  language, 
which  they  could  repeat  to  his  disad- 
vantage, ver.  6.  (c)  All  that  hated  him 
took  occasion  now  to  conspire  against  him, 
to  lay  together  all  that  they  individually 
knew  or  could  say  that  would  be  injurious 
to  him,  and  to  urge  their  individual  causes 
of  complaint  against  him  in  a  gene- 
ral statement  in  regard  to  his  charac- 
ter, ver.  7.  (d)  They  especially  sought 
to  injure  him  by  reporting  that  a  disease 
clave  to  him  which  was  the  result  of  sin, 
perhaps  of  an  irregular  life,  and  that 


there  was  no  pi-ospect  that  he  would  be 
again  restored  to  health  ;  that  the  hand 
of  God  was  upon  him,  and  that  he  must 
sink  to  the  grave,  ver.  8.  {c)  All  this 
was  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  his  own 
familiar  friend,somc  one  who  had  enjoyed 
his  confidence,  and  had  partaken  of  the 
hospitality  of  his  table,  had  abused  his 
friendship,  and  was  found  among  his 
detractors  and  calumniators,  ver.  9. 

IV.  An  earnest  invocation  of  the 
mercy  of  God,  and  an  expression  of  the 
confident  assurance  of  his  favour,  closes 
the  psalm,  vers.  10-13. 

This  psalm,  like  Ps.  xxxviii.,  which 
it  so  much  resembles,  is  one  that  will  be 
always  eminentl}'  useful  to  those  who 
are  visited  with  sickness,  and  who,  at 
the  same  time,  are  deprived  of  the  sym- 
pathy in  their  sufferings  which  the 
afflicted  so  much  need  and  desire,  and 
who,  instead  of  sympathy,  are  sub- 
jected to  detraction  and  calumny, 
— their  enemies  taking  advantage  of 
their  condition  to  circulate  unfavourable 
reports  in  regard  to  them,  and  their 
heretofore  pi-ofessed  friends  withdrawing 
from  them,  and  uniting  AS'ith  their  ca- 
lumniators and  detractors.  Such  cases 
may  not  be  very  common  in  the  world, 
but  they  occur  with  sufficient  frequency 
to  make  it  proper  that,  in  a  book  claim- 
ing to  be  inspired,  and  designed  to  be 
adapted  to  all  times  and  all  classes  of 
men,  they  should  be  referred  to,  and  that 
we  should  be  told  what  is  the  true  source 
of  consolation  in  such  troubles.  Indeed, 
a  book  professing  to  come  from  God  would 
be  defective  in  the  highest  degree  if  such 
a  case  were  not  provided,  for,  and  if  suit- 
able instructions  for  such  an  occasion. 
had  not  been  furnished  by  precept,  or 
example,  or  both.  On  the  phrase  in  the 
title,  "  To  the  chief  Musician,"  see  Notes 
on  the  title  to  Ps.  iv. 

1.  Blessed  is  he.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
i.  1.  Literally,  "  Oh  the  blessings  of 
him  that  considers  the  poor."  The 
object  is  to  describe  the  advantages 
of  doing  what  is  here  said;  or  the 
excellence  of  the  spirit  which  would 
be  manifested  in  such  a  case,  and  the 
effect  which  this  would  have  on  his 
own  happiness.     These  happy  effects 


368 


PSALM  XLI. 


2  The  Lord  will  preserve  him, 
and  keep  him  alive ;  and  he  shall 
be  blessed  upon  the  earth :  and 
1  thou  wilt  not  p  deliver  him  un- 


are  described  in  the  remainder  of  this 
verse,  and  in  the  two  following  verses. 
^[  Thatconsidereth.  The  word  here  used 
— from  >Dto,  s achat — means  properly 
to  look  at,  to  behold;  then,  to  be 
prudent  or  circumspect ;  then,  to  at- 
tend to;  and  then  in  general  to 
act  prudently,  wisely,  intelligently, 
in  any  case.  Here  it  means  to  at- 
tend to ;  to  show  an  interest  in ;  to 
care  for.  The  idea  is  that  of  not 
neglecting ;  not  passing  by  ;  not  being 
indifferent  to  ;  not  being  hard-hearted 
and  uncharitable  towards.  %  The 
poor.  Marg.,  the  weak,  or  the  sicJc. 
The  word  used  in  the  Hebrew — bl 
dal — means  properly  something  hang- 
ing or  swinging,  as  of  pendulous 
boughs  or  branches;  and  then,  that 
which  is  weak,  feeble,  powerless. 
Thus  it  comes  to  denote  those  who 
are  feeble  and  helpless  either  by 
poverty  or  by  disease,  and  is  used 
with  a' general  reference  to  those  who 
are  in  a  low  or  humble  condition,  and 
who  need  the  aid  of  others.  The 
statement  here  is  of  a  general  nature, 
— that  he  is  blessed  who  shows  pro- 
per sympathy  for  all  of  that  class : 
for  those  who  need  the  sympathy  of 
others  from  any  cause — poverty,  sick- 
ness, a  low  condition,  or  trouble. 
The  particular  thing  here  referred  to 
was  a  case  of  sickness;  where  one 
was  borne  down  by  disease,  perhaps 
brought  on  by  mental  sorrow,  and 
when  he  particularly  needed  the  sym- 
pathy of  his  friends.  See  vers.  5-8. 
%  The  Loed  will  deliver  him  in  time 
of  trouble.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  in  the 
day  of  evil.  This  is  the  first  happy 
effect  or  result  of  showing  proper 
sympathy  with  others  in  their  trou- 
bles. It  is  a  statement  of  the  gene- 
ral principle  that  the  Lord  will  deal 
with  us  as  we  do  with  others.  See 
this  principle  stated  and  illustrated 
In  Ps.  xviii.  24-26. 

2.  The  Loed  trill  preserve  him,  and 


to  the  will  of  his  enemies. 

3  The  Lord   will   strengthen 
him  upon  the  bed  of  languishing  : 

1  Or,  do  not  thou,      p  Ps.  xxxvii.  32,  33. 


keep  him  alive.  This  is  a  farther 
statement  of  the  same  principle,  and 
it  refers  to  a  general,  not  a  universal 
rule  in  the  Divine  administration, 
that  acts  of  piety  will  be  partially 
rewarded  on  the  earth;  or  that  the 
Divine  favour  will  be  shown  to  those 
who  deal  kindly  with  others.  This 
principle  is  often  referred  to  in  the 
Scriptures.  See  Notes  on  Ps.  i.  3 ; 
xxxvii.  3,  4,  11,  23-26,  37;  comp. 
Matt.  v.  5  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  8.  The  par- 
ticular application  here  is,  that  if 
any  one  showed  kindness  to  him  that 
was  sick  or  enfeebled  by  disease,  he 
might  expect  that  God  would  inter- 
pose in  his  case  under  similar  circum- 
stances, and  would  "preserve"  him, 
or  "  keep  him  alive."  Of  course  this 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  statement 
made  under  the  general  principle. 
It  is  not  to  be  interpreted  as  teaching 
that  this  would  be  universally  true, 
or  that  he  who  did  this  would  never 
die,  but  the  meaning  is,  that  he 
might  look  for  special  Divine  aid  and 
favour,  when  he  in  turn  should  be 
sick,  ^i"  And  he  shall  be  blessed  upon 
the  earth.  This  is  in  accordance  with 
the  doctrine  noticed  above,  and  so 
often  referred  to  in  the  Psalms  and 
elsewhere,  that  the  effect  of  religion 
will  be  to  promote  happiness  and 
prosperity  in  this  life.  %  And  thou 
wilt  not  deliver  him  unto  the  will  of 
his  enemies.  Marg.,  Do  not  thou  de- 
liver. The  margin,  perhaps,  expresses 
most  correctly  the  sense  of  the  origi- 
nal, but  still  it  is  an  expression  of  the 
confident  belief  of  the  psalmist  that 
this  will  not  occur;  a  belief  expressed 
here  rather  in  the  form  of  a  prayer 
than  of  a  direct  assertion.  The  idea 
is,  that  he  would  find  God  to  be  a 
defender  and  a  helper  when  he  was 
attacked  by  his  foes. 

3.  The  Loed  will  strengthen  him 
upon  the  bed  of  languishing.  The 
word  rendered  strengthen  here  means 


PSALM  XLI. 


3G9 


thou  wilt  i  make  all  his  bed  in 
his  sickness. 

4  I  said,  3  Lord,  be  merciful 
unto  me ;  heal  r  my  soul ;  for  I 


have  sinned  against  thee. 

5  Mine  enemies  speak  evil  of  me, 

1  turn.  q  Ps.  xxxii.  5. 

r  Ps.  cxlvii.  3  ;  Hos.  vi.  1. 


to  support;  to  uphold;  to  sustain. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  God  would 
enable  him  to  bear  his  sickness,  or 
would  impart  strength  —  inward 
strength — when  his  body  failed,  or 
when  but  for  this  aid  he  must  sink 
under  his  disease  and  die.  The  word 
rendered  languishing  means  properly 
languor  or  sickness;  and  more  ge- 
nerally something  sickening ;  that 
is,  something  unclean,  unwholesome, 
nauseating,  Job  vi.  6.  The  idea  here, 
in  accordance  with  what  is  stated 
above,  is,  that  acts  of  religion  will 
tend  to  promote  our  welfare  and  hap- 
piness in  this  life;  and  more  parti- 
cularly that  the  man  who  shows 
favour  (ver.  1)  to  those  who  are  weak, 
sick,  helpless,  will  find  in  turn  that 
God  will  support  him  when  he  is  sick. 
Thus,  Ps.  xviii.  25,  "  With  the  merci- 
ful thou  wilt  show  thyself  merciful." 
%  Thou  wilt  make  all  his  bed  in  his 
sickness.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  turn.  So 
the  LXX.,  ttrrpexpag.  Luther  renders 
it,  "  Thou  dost  help  him."  The  idea 
is,  that  God  will  tarn  his  bed  or  his 
couch ;  that  is,  that  he  will  render 
favour  like  turning  his  couch,  or 
making  his  bed  when  he  is  sick ;  or,  in 
other  words,  he  will  relieve  his  suffer- 
ing, and  make  him  comfortable  on 
his  bed.  It  does  not  mean  that  he  will 
turn  his  sickness  to  health,  but  that 
he  will  relieve  and  comfort  him,  as 
one  is  relieved  and  soothed  on  a  sick 
bed  by  having  his  bed  "made  up." 
This,  too,  is  in  accordance  with  the 
general  sentiment  that  God  will  show 
himself  merciful  to  those  who  are 
merciful ;  kind  to  those  who  are  kind. 
On  the  bed  of  languishing  it  will  be 
much  to  be  able  to  remember  that 
we,  in  our  health,  have  contributed 
to  the  comfort  of  the  sick  and  the 
dying.  (a)  The  recollection  itself 
will  do  much  to  impart  inward  satis- 
faction then,  for  we  shall  then  ap- 
preciate better  than  we  did  when  we 
performed  the  act  the  value  of  this 


trait  of  character,  and  have  a  deeper 
sense  of  gratitude  that  we  have  been 
able  to  relieve  the  sufferings  of 
others ;  (b)  we  may  believe  and  trust 
that  God  will  remember  what  we 
have  done,  and  that  he  will  manifest 
himself  to  us  then  as  our  gracious 
supporter  and  our  comforter.  It  will 
not  be  because  by  our  own  acts  we 
have  merited  his  favour,  but  because 
this  is  his  gracious  purpose,  and  be- 
cause it  is  in  accordance  with  his 
nature  thus  to  bestow  kindness  on 
those  who  have  been  kind  to  others. 

4.  I  said,  Loed.  I  said  in  my 
sickness,  or  in  the  trial  referred  to  in 
the  psalm.  I  called  on  God  to  be 
merciful  to  me  when  others  had  no 
mercy ;  to  be  near  to  me  when  others 
turned  away ;  to  save  me  when  pressed 
down  with  disease  on  account  of  my 
sins.  All  that  follows  relates,  like 
this  passage,  to  what  occurred  when 
he  was  sick ;  to  the  thoughts  that 
passed  through  his  mind,  and  to  the 
treatment  which  he  then  experienced 
from  others.  %  Be^  merciful  unto 
me.  In  forgiving  my  sins,  and  re- 
storing me  to  health.  %  Seal  my 
soul.  In  restoring  my  soul  to  spiritual 
health  by  forgiving  the  sin  which  is 
the  cause  of  my  sickness ;  or  it  may 
mean,  Restore  my  life, — regarding  his 
life  as  (as  it  were)  diseased  and  in 
danger  of  extinction.  The  probabi- 
lity, however,  is  that  he  had  particu- 
lar reference  to  the  soul  as  the  word 
is  commonly  understood,  or  as  de- 
signating himself ;  heal,  or  restore 
me.  ^[  For  I  have  sinned  against 
thee.  Regarding  his  sin  as  the  cause 
of  his  sickness.  See  Notes  on  Ps. 
xxxviii.  3,  4,  5. 

5.  Mine  enemies  speak  evil  of  me. 
They  take  occasion  to  speak  evil  of 
me  in  my  weak  and  feeble  state,  thus 
adding  to  my  sorrows.  The  word 
"  evil "  here  refers  to  their  calumnies 
or  reproaches.  They  spoke  of  him  as 
a  bad  man ;  as  if  it  were  desirable 

R2 


370 


PSALM  XLL 


When  shall  he  die,  and  his  name 
perish  ? 

6  And  if  he  come  to  see  me, 

s  Prov.  xxvi.  24,  25. 


he  sspeaketh  vanity:  his  heart 
gathereth  iniquity  to  itself;  when 
he  goeth  abroad,  he  telleth  it. 


that  he  should  die ;  that  his  influence 
in  the  world  should  come  to  an  end, 
and  that  his  name  should  be  forgot- 
ten. ■[[  When  shall  he  die.  "  He  is 
sick;  sick  on  account  of  his  sins;  it 
seems  certain  that  he  will  die ;  and 
it  is  desirable  that  such  a  man  should 
die.  But  he  seems  to  linger  on,  as  if 
there  were  no  hope  of  his  dying." 
Nothing  can  be  imaginedmore  unkind, 
cutting,  severe  than  this, — the  desire 
that  a  man  who  is  sick  shall  die,  and 
be  out  of  the  way.  Nothing  could 
add  more  to  the  sorrows  of  sickness 
itself  than  such  a  wish ;  than  to  have 
it  talked  about  among  men — whis- 
pered from  one  to  another — that  such 
a  man  was  a  nuisance;  that  he  was  a 
bad  man ;  that  he  was  suffering  on 
account  of  his  sins ;  that  it  was  desira- 
ble that  his  death  should  occur  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  that  all  remem- 
brance of  him  on  earth  should  cease. 
%  And  his  name  perish.  That  he 
should  be  forgotten  altogether ;  that 
his  name  should  be  no  more  men- 
tioned ;  that  all  the  influence  of  his 
life  should  cease  for  ever.  Of  a  truly 
bad  man — a  corrupter  of  the  faith 
and  the  virtue  of  others — this  is  de- 
sirable, for  the  sooner  such  men  are 
forgotten  the  better.  Forgotten  they 
will  be  (Prov.  x.  7),  mat  there  is  no 
more  malignant  feeling  in  regard  to 
a  good  man,  and  especially  when  such 
a  man  is  suffering  under  a  severe 
disease,  than  the  wish  that  he  should 
die,  and  that  his  name  should  wholly 
fade  away  from  recollection. 

6.  And  if  he  come  to  see  me.  If 
he  condescends  to  visit  me  in  my 
sickness.  The  word  "me"  is  not 
in  the  original ;  and  perhaps  the  idea 
is  not  that  he  came  to  see  the  suf- 
ferer, but  that  he  came  to  see  for 
himself  though  under  pretence  of 
paying  a  visit  of  kindness.  His  real 
motive  was  to  make  observation,  that 
he  might  find  something  in  the  ex- 
pressions or  manner  of  the   sufferer 


that  would  enable  him  to  make  a 
report  unfavourable  to  him,  and  to 
confirm  him  in  his  impression  that  it 
was  desirable  such  a  man  should  die. 
He  would  come  under  the  mask  of 
sympathy  and  friendship,  but  really 
to  find  something  that  would  confirm 
him  in  the  opinion  that  he  was  a  bad 
man,  and  that  would  enable  him  to 
state  to  others  that  it  was  desirable 
he  should  die.  U  He  spedketh  vanity. 
He  utters  no  expressions  of  sincerity 
and  truth ;  he  suggests  nothing  that 
would  console  and  comfort  me;  his 
words  are  all  foreign  to  the  purpose 
for  which  a  man  should  visit  another 
in  such  circumstances,  and  are,  there- 
fore, vain  words.  What  he  says  is 
mere  pretence  and  hypocrisy,  and  is 
designed  to  deceive  me,  as  if  he  had 
sympathy  with  me,  while  his  real 
purpose  is  to  do  me  mischief.  %  His 
heart  gathereth  iniquity  to  itself 
Or,  in  his  heart  he  is  gathering  mis- 
chief. That  is,  in  his  heart,  or  in  his 
secret  purpose,  under  the  pretence  of 
sympathy  and  friendship,  he  is  really 
aiming  to  gather  the  materials  for 
doing  me  wrong.  He  is  endeavour- 
ing to  find  something  in  my  words  or 
manner;  in  my  expressions  of  im- 
patience and  complaining ;  in  the 
utterances  of  my  unguarded  moments, 
when  I  am  scarcely  conscious — some- 
thing that  may  be  uttered  in  the 
honesty  of  feeling  when  a  man  thinks 
that  he  is  about  to  die — some  reflec- 
tions of  my  own  on  my  past  life — 
some  confession  of  sin,  which  he  mav 
turn  to  my  disadvantage,  or  which 
may  justify  his  slanderous  report  that 
I  am  a  bad  man,  and  that  it  is  de- 
sirable that  such  a  man  should  live 
no  longer.  Can  anything  be  imagined 
more  malicious  than  this  ?  Tf  When 
he  goeth  abroad,  he  telleth  it.  Lite- 
rally, he  tells  it  to  the  street,  or  to 
those  who  are  without.  Perhaps  his 
friends,  as  malicious  as  himself,  are 
anxiously  waiting  without  for  his  re- 


PSALM  XLI. 


371 


7  All  that  hate  me  whisper  to- 
gether against  me:  against  me 
do  they  devise  l  my  hurt. 

1  evil  to  me.  2  A  thing  of  Belial. 


port,  and,  like  him,  are  desirous  of 
finding  something  that  may  confirm 
them  in  their  opinion  of  him.  Or 
perhaps  he  designs  to  tell  this  to  the 
friends  of  the  sufferer,  to  show  them 
now  that  they  were  deceived  in  the 
man ;  that  although  in  the  days  of 
his  health,  and  in  his  prosperity,  he 
seemed  to  he  a  good  man,  yet  that 
now,  when  the  trial  has  come,  and 
a  real  test  has  been  applied,  all  his 
religion  has  been  found  false  and 
hollow ;  his  impatience,  his  complain- 
ing, his  murmuring,  and  his  un- 
willingness to  die,  all  showing  that 
he  was  a  hypocrite,  and  was  at  heart 
a  bad  man.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  i.  9-11. 
7.  All  that  hate  me  ivhisper  together 
against  me.  They  talk  the  matter 
over  where  they  suppose  that  no  one 
can  hear ;  they  endeavour  to  collect 
and  arrange  all  that  can  be  said 
against  me;  they  place  all  that  they 
can  say  or  think  as  individuals,  all 
that  they  have  separately  known  or 
suspected,  into  common  stock,  and 
make  use  of  it  against  me.  There  is 
a  conspiracy  against  me — a  purpose 
to  do  me  all  the  evil  that  they  can. 
This  shows  that,  in  the  apprehension 
of  the  sufferer,  the  one  who  came  to 
see  for  himself  (ver.  6)  came  as  one  of 
a  company — as  one  deputed  or  de- 
legated to  find  some  new  occasion 
for  a  charge  against  him,  and  that  he 
had  not  to  suffer  under  the  single 
malignity  of  one,  but  under  the  com- 
bined malignity  of  many,  %  Against 
me  do  they  devise  my  hurt.  Marg.,  as 
in  Heb.,  evil  to  me.  That  is,  they 
devise  some  report,  the  truth  of  which 
they  endeavour  to  confirm  by  some- 
thing that  they  may  observe  in  my 
sickness  which  will  be  injurious  to 
me,  and  which  will  prove  to  the  world 
that  I  am  a  bad  man — a  man  by  whose 
death  the  world  would  be  benefited. 
The  slanderous  report  on  which  they 
seemed  to  agree  is  mentioned  in  the 
following  verse, — that  he  was  suffering 


8  2  An  evil  disease,  say  they, 
cleaveth  fast  unto  him  :  and  now 
that  he  lieth,  he  shall  rise  up  no 
more. 


under  a  disease  which  was  directly 
and  manifestly  the  result  of  a  sinful 
life,  and  that  it  must  be  fatal. 

8.  An  evil  disease.  Marg.,  a  thing  of 
Belial.  The  Hebrew  is  literally  a  word 
'  of  Belial.  This  has  been  very  variously 
understood  and  interpreted.  The  LXX. 
render  it,  Xoyov  Tzapavojxov — a  wicked 
word;  "  a  wicked  determination  " 
(Thompson);  that  is,  they  formed  a 
wicked  purpose  against  him,  to  wit, 
by  saying  that  he  was  now  confined  to 
his  bed,  and  could  not  rise  again. 
The  Latin  Vulgate  renders  it  in  a 
similar  manner :  Verbum  iniquitum 
constituerunt  adversum  me.  Luther, 
"  They  have  formed  a  wicked  device 
(Bubenstiick)  against  me  ;"  they  be- 
have in  a  knavish  or  wicked  manner. 
De  Wette,  "  Destruction  ( Verderben) 
or  punishment  (Strafe)  is  poured  upon 
him."  The  term  rendered  disease 
means  properly  tvord  or  thing ;  and 
Professor  Alexander  renders  it,  "A 
word  of  Belial  is  poured  upon  him." 
The  word  rendered  evil,  Belial,  means 
literally  without  use — by*!?3 — from 
vll»  belt,  not  or  without,  and  by*_, 
yaal,  use  or  profit.  Then  it  means 
worthlessness,  wickedness,  destruc- 
tion; and  hence,  in  connexion  with 
man,  denotes  one  who  is  wicked,  worth- 
less, abandoned.  It  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine its  meaning  here.  The  con- 
nexion (ver.  3)  would  seem  to  suggest 
the  idea  adopted  by  our  translators  ; 
the  words  themselves  would  seem 
rather  to  convey  the  idea  of  some  re- 
proach, or  harsh  saying — some  vain, 
wicked,  malicious  words  that  were 
uttered  against  him.  That  there  was 
disease  in  the  case,  and  that  the  psalm 
was  composed  in  view  of  it,  and  of 
the  treatment  which  the  author  ex- 
perienced from  those  who  had  been 
his  professed  friends  when  suffering 
under  it,  seems  to  me  to  be  manifest 
from  vers.  1,  3,  4,  8 ;  but  it  is  pro- 
bable   that    the    reference    in    this 


372 


PSALM    XLI. 


9    Tea,    l    mine   own  familiar 
friend,  in  whom  I  trusted,  which 

1  the  man  of  my  peace. 


expression  is  not  to  the  disease,  but  to 
the  words  or  the  conduct  of  his  calum- 
niators. It  is  evident  from  the  pro- 
noun him — the  third  person — that 
this  refers,  as  our  translators  have  in- 
dicated by  the  words  "  say  they "  to 
something  that  they  said  in  regard  to 
him  ;  something  which  they  affirmed 
as  the  result  of  their  observations  on 
his  condition,  vers.  6,  7.  The  true 
idea,  therefore,  I  thi»k  is  this : — 
"  They  say — that  is,  those  who  came 
to  see  me  said — A  '  word  of  evil ' — 
a  sentence  of  evil  or  destruction — is 
poured  upon  him.  He  is  suffering 
under  such  a  '  word  of  destruction ;' 
or,  such  a  word  (that  is,  sentence) 
as  will  involve  his  destruction,  by  way 
of  punishment  for  his  sins ;  therefore 
all  is  over  with  him,  and  he  must  die. 
He  can  hope  to  rise  no  more."  This 
would  express  the  idea  that  they  re- 
garded his  death  as  certain,  for  he 
seemed  to  be  under  a  sentence  which 
made  that  sure.  *[T  Cleaveth  fast 
unto  him.  Or  rather,  is  poured  upon 
him.  The  word  here  used — p^, 
tzuh — means  (1)  to  be  narrow,  strait- 
ened, compressed ;  and  then  (2)  to 
pour  out — as  metal  is  poured  out 
(Job  xxviii.  2),  or  as  words  are  poured 
out  in  prayer  (Tsa.  xxvi.  16).  Here  it 
would  seem  to  mean  that  such  a  sen- 
tence was  poured  upon  him,  or  that 
he  had  become  submerged  or  swallowed 
up  under  it.  It  was  like  the  pouring 
out  of  a  torrent  on  him,  overwhelming 
him  with  floods  of  water,  so  that  he 
could  not  hope  to  escape,  or  to  rise 
again.  \  And  now  that  he  lieth,  he 
shall  rise  up  no  more.  There  is  no 
hope  for  him ;  no  prospect  that  he 
will  ever  get  up  again.  They  felt 
that  they  might  indulge  their  re- 
marks, therefore,  freely,  as  he  would 
not  be  able  to  take  revenge  on  them, 
and  their  expectations  and  hopes  were 
about  to  be  accomplished  by  his 
death.  Comp.  ver.  5.  As  a  part  of 
his  sufferings,  all  this  was  aggravated 


'  did  eat  of  my  Dread,  hath  2  lifted 
up  his  heel  against  me. 

t  Job  xix.  19  ;  John  xiii.  18.       2  magnifed. 


by  the  fact  that  they  regarded  those 
sufferings  as  full  proof  of  his  guilt ; 
that  he  could  not  reply  to  their  accu- 
sations ;  and  that  he  was  about  to  die 
under  that  imputation. 

9.  Yea,  mine  own  familiar  friend. 
Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  the  man  of  my 
peace.  The  man  with  whom  I  was 
at  peace ;  who  had  no  cause  of  aliena- 
tion from  me;  with  whom  I  was 
associated  in  the  most  peaceful  and 
friendly  relations.  %  In  whom  I 
trusted.  He  whom  I  made  my  con- 
fidential friend,  and  on  whom  I  sup- 
posed I  could  rely  in  the  time  of 
trouble.  %  Which  did  eat  of  my 
bread.  This  may  either  denote  one 
who  was  supported  by  him  as  one  of 
his  family,  or  else  one  who  partook  of 
his  hospitality.  In  the  former  case, 
if  that  is  the  meaning,  he  had  a  right 
to  expect  that,  as  a  matter  of  grati- 
tude, such  an  one  would  stand  by 
him,  and  not  be  found  among  his 
enemies.  In  the  latter  case,  if  that 
is  the  meaning,  he  had  a  right  to 
expect  that  one  who  had  shared  his 
hospitality  would  not  be  found  among 
his  foes,  ^f  Hath  lifted  up  his  heel 
against  me.  Marg.,  as  in  Heb.,  mag- 
nified. So  the  LXX.  and  the  Latin 
Vulgate.  Luther  renders  this,  "  hath 
trodden  me  under  his  feet."  The 
figure  here  is  taken  from  a  horse  that 
turns  and  kicks  him  that  had  fed 
him.  This  passage  is  applied  (John 
xiii.  18)  to  Judas,  with  the  state- 
ment, in  regard  to  him,  that  what 
he  had  done  was  done  "  that  the 
Scripture  might  be  fulfilled : "  see 
Notes  on  that  passage.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  the  Saviour 
meant  to  say  that  the  passage  in  the 
psalm  had  original  and  exclusive  re- 
ference to  Judas;  the  phrase  em- 
ployed by  the  Saviour,  "that  the 
Scripture  might  be  fulfilled,"  may 
have  been  used  by  him  in  that  large 
sense  in  which  these  words  are  often 
used  as  denoting,  either  (a)  that  the 


PSALM  XLI. 


373 


10  But  thou,  O  Lord,  be  merci- 
ful unto  me,  and  raise  me  up,  that 
I  may  requite  them. 


11  By  this  I  know  that  thou 
favourest  me,  because  mine  ene- 
my doth  not  triumph  over  me. 


language  found  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  applicable  originally  to  another 
case,  tvould  properly  express  the  idea, 
or  describe  the  fact;  or  (b)  that  the 
case  referred  to  was  one  of  a  class ; 
or  that,  as  it  was  accomplished  in  the 
case  of  David,  so  in  a  similar  sense  it 
was  accomplished  in  the  case  of  the 
Saviour.  In  other  words,  Judas  was 
regarded  as  belonging  to  the  same 
class  as  the  individual  to  whom  the 
psalm  refers.  He  was  one  to  whom 
the  language  of  the  psalm  was  ap- 
plicable ;  and  the  Saviour  endured 
the  same  kind  of  suffering  which  the 
person  did  who  is  referred  to  in  the 
psalm.  Thus  the  language  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, applicable  to  all  such  cases,  re- 
ceived a  complete  fulfilment  in  Him. 
It  is  remarkable  that,  in  the  reference 
to  Judas,  the  Saviour  quotes  only  a 
part  of  the  verse :  "  He  that  eateth 
bread  with  me/'  He  omits,  appa- 
rently from  design,  the  former  part  of 
the  verse  in  the  psalm,  "mine  own 
familiar  friend,  in  whom  I  trusted," 
as  if  he  would  not  even  seem  to  convey 
the  idea  that  he  ever  regarded  Judas 
as  his  intimate  friend,  or  as  if  he  had 
ever  really  "  trusted  "  him.  He  con- 
veys the  idea  that  Judas  had  par- 
taken largely  of  his  favours,  but  not 
that  He  himself  was  ever  really  a 
stranger  to  the  baseness  of  his  heart, 
John  vi.  64,  70. 

10.  But  thou,  0  Loed,  he  merciful 
unto  me.  That  is,  give  me  strength  ; 
restore  me  from  my  sickness  and  weak- 
ness. %  And  raise  me  up.  From 
my  bed  of  languishing.  %  That  I 
mag  requite  them.  That  I  may  repay 
them ;  or  may  recompense  them.  The 
word  here  used — tfexStshalam — means 
properly,  to  be  whole,  sound,  safe ; 
then,  in  Piel,  to  make  secure,  or  pre- 
serve in  safety ;  and  then,  to  com- 
plete, to  make  whole,  to  make  good, 
to  restore ;  and  then,  to  make  whole 
or  to  complete  in  the  sense  of  recom- 
pensing or  requiting  : — to  make  the 
matter  equal.     It  would  be  well  ex- 


pressed here  by  the  familiar  language, 
giving  them  tohat  they  deserve.  But 
it  is  not  necessary  to  understand 
this  as  indicating  an  unforgiving 
spirit.  The  writer  may  have  meant 
to  say  that  the  persons  who  demeaned 
themselves  in  this  manner  ought  to 
be  punished ;  that  the  public  good 
required  it ;  and  being  a  magistrate, 
he  spoke  as  one  appointed  to  ad- 
minister the  laws,  and  prayed  for  a" 
restoration  to  strength,  that  he  might 
administer  justice  in  this  and  in  all 
similar  cases.  It  is  possible  also  that 
he  meant  to  say  he  would  repay  them 
by  "  heaping  coals  of  fire  on  their 
heads  " — by  acts  of  kindness  in  place 
of  the  wrongs  that  they  had  done  him 
(see  Prov.  xxv.  21,  22 ;  comp  Rom. 
xii.  20,  21)  ;  though  I  admit  that  this 
is  not  the  obvious  interpretation.  But 
in  order  to  show  that  this  was  uttered 
with  a  bad  spirit,  and  under  the 
promptings  of  revenge,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  show  that  neither  of 
these  supposable  interpretations  could 
be  the  true  one.  It  may  be  added  here 
that  we  may  not  be  required  to  vindi- 
cate all  the  expressions  of  personal 
feeling  found  in  the  Psalms  in  order 
to  any  just  view  of  inspiration.  See 
General  Introduction,  §  6  (6). 

11.  By  this  I  know.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Ps.  xx.  6.  This  indicates  a  con- 
fident assurance  that  his  prayer  would 
be  answered,  and  that  he  would  be  re- 
stored to  health.  How  he  had  this 
assurance  we  are  not  informed,  but  it 
seems  most  probable  that  it  was  by  an 
intimation  conveyed  to  his  mind  by 
God  himself.  Comp.,  for  a  similar  case, 
Phil.  i.  25.  See  Notes  on  that  pas- 
sage. %  That  thou  favourest  me. 
That  thou  dost  delight  in  me ;  that 
thou  art  my  friend.  ■([  Because  mine 
enemy  doth  not  triumph  over  me.  The 
word  here  rendered  triumph  properly 
means  to  shout,  or  to  make  a  noise. 
As  a  sign  of  exultation,  more  especially 
in  war :  1  Sam.  xvii.  20.  Here  it 
means    that    hi3    enemy  would  not 


374 


PSALM  XLI. 


12  And  as  for  me,  thou  up- 
boldest  me  in  mine  integrity,  and 
settest  me  before  thy  face  for 
ever. 


secure  a  victory  over  him ;  or  would 
not  shout  as  if  such  a  victory  were 
obtained.  That  is,  he  felt  assured 
now  that  all  the  machinations  of  his 
foes  wrould  be  defeated ;  that  all  the 
hopes  which  they  cherished  that  he 
was  soon  to  die  would  be  disappointed ; 
that  he  himself  would  be  recovered 
from  his  sickness,  contrary  to  their 
malicious  anticipations  and  desires. 
This  he  regarded  as  an  evidence  that 
God  was  his  friend. 

12.  And  as  for  me.  Literally, 
"  and  I ;"  as  if  there  were  some  verb 
understood.  The  reference  is  turned 
on  himself;  on  all  that  was  suggested 
by  this  train  of  remark  as  bearing  on 
himself.  The  result  of  the  whole  was 
a  firm  assurance  that  God  would  sus- 
tain him,  and  that  he  would  be  estab- 
lished before  God  for  ever.  The  train 
of  thought  is  this  :  "  And  I — thou 
upholdest  me."  Perhaps  the  course 
of  expression,  if  it  had  not  been  sud- 
denly changed,  would  have  been, 
"  And  I  am  sustained  or  held  up." 
The  thought,  however,  turns  rather 
on  God  than  on  himself  and  instead 
of  carrying  out  the  reference  to  him- 
self so  prominently,  he  turns  to  God 
as  the  source  whence  all  this  was 
derived.  ^[  Thou  upholdest  me.  Not 
merely  in  strengthening  me  in  my 
sickness,  but,  what  is  more  important, 
in  vindicating  my  character  against 
the  aspersions  which  are  cast  upon  it. 
Thou  dost  show  that  I  am  upright. 
*j[  In  mine  integrity.  Literally,  "  in 
my  'perfection."  See  Notes  on  Job 
i.  1.  The  word  here  means  upright- 
ness, sincerity,  probity.  He  had  been 
calumniated  by  his  foes.  His  sickness 
had  been  regarded  by  them  as  a  proof 
that  he  was  a  hypocrite  or  a  stranger 
to  God.  If  he  had  died,  they  would 
have  urged  that  fact  as  evidence  that 
he  was  the  object  of  the  Divine  dis- 


13  Blessed  be  *  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel  from  everlasting,  and  to 
Amen,  and  Amen. 

t  Ps.  lxxii.  18,  19. 


everlasting 


pleasure.  His  restored  health  was  clear 
proof  that  their  suggestions  were  false, 
and  that  he  was  not  suffering  for  the 
cause  witich  they  alleged.  God  thus 
showed  that  he  regarded  him  as 
upright  and  sincere.  The  claim  is 
not  that  of  absolute  perfection,  but 
only  of  a  character  of  piety  or  integ- 
rity in  opposition  to  the  slanderous 
charges  of  his  enemies.  Comp.  Ps. 
vii.  8  ;  xxv.  21 ;  xxvi.  1,  11.  %  And 
settest  me  before  thy  face  for  ever. 
That  is,  Thou  tvilt  do  it.  God  would 
always  have  him  in  his  presence,  per- 
mit him  always  to  dwell  with  him — 
the  highest  proof  of  his  friendship. 

13.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel.  That  is,  Let  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel  be  praised,  honoured,  adored. 
The  language  is  an  expression  of  de- 
sire that  all  honour,  all  happiness, 
might  be  His.  It  is  a  recognition  of 
God  as  the  source  of  the  mercies  re- 
ferred to,  and  an  expression  of  the 
feeling  that  he  is  entitled  to  univer- 
sal praise.  The  word  Israel  here  re- 
fers to  the  people  of  God  as  de- 
scended from  Jacob  or  Israel,  ^f 
From  everlasting,  and  to  everlasting. 
Through  eternity,  or  eternal  ages, — 
from  all  pa^st  duration  to  all  future 
duration.  The  expression  "from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting,"  would  embrace 
eternity ;  and  the  idea  is  that  God  is 
deserving  of  eternal  praise.  ^[  Amen, 
and  amen.  The  word  amen  means 
properly  surely,  certainly,  truly,  and 
is  a  word  expressive  of  solemn  affir- 
mation, or  of  the  desire  of  the  mind 
that  this  should  be  so.  Its  repetition 
is  emphatic,  expressing  strong  assent 
to  what  is  said  as  certainly  true,  or 
as  eminently  the  wish  of  the  mind. 
This  benediction  marks  the  close  of 
one  of  the  five  books  into  which  the 
Psalms  are  commonly  divided.  See 
the  General  Introduction,  §  3. 


END    OF  VOL.   I. 


Students'  Scripture   Histories. 


The  Student's  Old  Testament  History. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY.  From  the  Creation 
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Those  who  have  read  the  New  Testament  only  in  a  desultory  fashion,  or  in  the 
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